Build a PostgreSQL Interface for JobNimbus Data using the CData JDBC Driver

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Use the Remoting features of the JobNimbus JDBC Driver to create a PostgreSQL entry-point for data access.

There are a vast number of PostgreSQL clients available on the Internet. From standard Drivers to BI and Analytics tools, PostgreSQL is a popular interface for data access. Using our JDBC Drivers, you can now create PostgreSQL entry-points that you can connect to from any standard client.

To access JobNimbus data as a PostgreSQL database, use the CData JDBC Driver for JobNimbus and a JDBC foreign data wrapper (FDW). In this article, we compile the FDW, install it, and query JobNimbus data from PostgreSQL Server.

Connect to JobNimbus Data as a JDBC Data Source

To connect to JobNimbus as a JDBC data source, you will need the following:

  • Driver JAR path: The JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
  • Driver class:

    cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
    

  • JDBC URL: The URL must start with "jdbc:api:" and can include any of the connection properties in name-value pairs separated with semicolons.

    Using API Key Authentication

    JobNimbus uses API key authentication to control access to the API. To obtain a JobNimbus API key:

    1. Log in to your JobNimbus account.
    2. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > API.
    3. Generate or copy your existing API key from this page.

    After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
    Set the following in the ProfileSettings connection property:
    • APIKey: Set this to your JobNimbus API key.

    Example Connection String

    Profile=C:\profiles\JobNimbus.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=my_api_key';
    

    Built-in Connection String Designer

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

    A typical JDBC URL is below:

    jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\JobNimbus.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=my_api_key';
    

Build the JDBC Foreign Data Wrapper

The Foreign Data Wrapper can be installed as an extension to PostgreSQL, without recompiling PostgreSQL. The jdbc2_fdw extension is used as an example (downloadable here).

  1. Add a symlink from the shared object for your version of the JRE to /usr/lib/libjvm.so. For example:
    ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64/server/libjvm.so /usr/lib/libjvm.so
    
  2. Start the build:
    make install USE_PGXS=1
    

Query JobNimbus Data as a PostgreSQL Database

After you have installed the extension, follow the steps below to start executing queries to JobNimbus data:

  1. Log into your database.
  2. Load the extension for the database:
    CREATE EXTENSION jdbc2_fdw;
    
  3. Create a server object for JobNimbus:
    CREATE SERVER API 
    FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER jdbc2_fdw OPTIONS (
    drivername 'cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver',
    url 'jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\JobNimbus.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=my_api_key';',
    querytimeout '15',
    jarfile '/home/MyUser/CData/CData\ JDBC\ Driver\ for\ Salesforce MyDriverEdition/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'); 
    
  4. Create a user mapping for the username and password of a user known to the MySQL daemon.
    CREATE USER MAPPING for postgres SERVER API OPTIONS (
    username 'admin', 
    password 'test');
    
  5. Create a foreign table in your local database:
    postgres=# CREATE FOREIGN TABLE accountusers (
    accountusers_id text,
    accountusers_ text,
    accountusers_ numeric) 
    SERVER API OPTIONS (
    table_name 'accountusers');
    
You can now execute SELECT commands to JobNimbus:
postgres=# SELECT * FROM accountusers;

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from JobNimbus with the API Driver

Connect to JobNimbus