Connect to Halo Service Desk Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Halo Service Desk 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 Halo Service Desk\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to Halo Service Desk 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 HaloServiceDesk Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\HaloServiceDesk.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for HaloServiceDesk (see below).

HaloServiceDesk API Profile Settings

HaloServiceDesk uses API key authentication. You can find or create API keys in HaloServiceDesk under Administration > Integrations > Halo API.

Set the following connection properties to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to the API key from your HaloServiceDesk account.
• Domain: Set this to the hostname of your HaloServiceDesk instance (e.g. yourcompany.haloservicedesk.com).

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Halo Service Desk 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 Halo Service Desk:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\HaloServiceDesk.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;Domain=yourcompany.haloservicedesk.com';

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Halo Service Desk 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 Halo Service Desk 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\HaloServiceDesk.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;Domain=yourcompany.haloservicedesk.com';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, InventoryNumber FROM Assets")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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