Connect to Intercom Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Intercom 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 Intercom\lib).

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

Intercom API Profile Settings

In the Intercom Developer Hub, go to Configure > Authentication and select your workspace to obtain an Access Token. For OAuth, register an app and retrieve the Client ID and Secret from the app's Basic Information page.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Intercom.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_access_token';

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

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Intercom.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_access_token';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, Type FROM Admins")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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