Connect to Hugging Face Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData API Driver for JDBC, Denodo users can work with live Hugging Face data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article explains how to create a virtual data source for Hugging Face in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Hugging Face data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Hugging Face, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Hugging Face and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze Hugging Face data using native data types.

Create the Hugging Face Virtual Port

To connect to live Hugging Face data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData API Driver for JDBC installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData API Driver for JDBC\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-api-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC.
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: api
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-api-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\HuggingFace.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=hf_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx';

     

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Hugging Face 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.

     HuggingFace Hub uses token-based authentication to enable access to its API. The API provides access to machine learning models, datasets, spaces, papers, and other resources on the HuggingFace Hub platform.

     Using API Key Authentication

     To authenticate to HuggingFace Hub, you will need to provide an API Key (Access Token). To obtain your access token:

     1. Log in to your HuggingFace account at https://huggingface.co
     2. Navigate to Settings > Access Tokens
     3. Click "New token" to create a new access token
     4. Select the appropriate permissions (read or write)
     5. Copy the token value

     After obtaining your access token, set the following connection properties:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
     • APIKey: Set this to your HuggingFace access token.

     Example connection string

     Profile=C:\profiles\HuggingFace.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=hf_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx';
     

     
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View Hugging Face Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of Hugging Face data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.API).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import.
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the Hugging Face data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_api_collections) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_api_collections CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

   
7. Click Execute to view the data.

With the base view created, you can now work with live Hugging Face data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying Hugging Face in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live Hugging Face data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.