Connect to iContact Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to iContact 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 iContact\lib).

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

iContact API Profile Settings

In your iContact account, navigate to Settings & Billing > Integrations and create a Custom API Integration. Your AppId, Username, Password, and AccountId are all available on the Getting Connected page of that integration.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the iContact 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 iContact:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\IContact.apip;ProfileSettings='AppId=your_app_id;Username=your_username;Password=your_password;AccountId=your_account_id';

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

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\IContact.apip;ProfileSettings='AppId=your_app_id;Username=your_username;Password=your_password;AccountId=your_account_id';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT ClientFolderId, CampaignId FROM Campaigns")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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