Connect to Google Tasks Data in JRuby

JRuby is a high-performance, stable, fully threaded Java implementation of the Ruby programming language. The CData JDBC Driver for Google Tasks makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Google Tasks data in JRuby. This article shows how to create a simple JRuby app that connects to Google Tasks data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Configure a JDBC Connection to Google Tasks Data

Before creating the app, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Google Tasks\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to Google Tasks and execute SQL queries. Initialize the JDBC connection with the getConnection function of the java.sql.DriverManager class.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Google Tasks Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\GoogleTasks.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Google Tasks (see below).

Google Tasks API Profile Settings

In the Google Cloud Console, enable the Google Tasks API and create OAuth 2.0 credentials to obtain your Client ID and Client Secret.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Google Tasks JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Google Tasks:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\GoogleTasks.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Google Tasks Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: APISelect.rb) and open it in a text editor. Copy the following code into your file:

require 'java'
require 'rubygems'
require 'C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for Google Tasks 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\GoogleTasks.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, Kind FROM TaskLists")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

With the file completed, you are ready to display your Google Tasks data with JRuby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

jruby -S APISelect.rb

Writing SQL-92 queries to Google Tasks allows you to quickly and easily incorporate Google Tasks data into your own JRuby applications. Download a free trial today!