Query LinkedIn Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js



Execute SQL Server queries against LinkedIn data from Node.js.

You can use CData Connect Cloud to query LinkedIn data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for LinkedIn in Connect Cloud and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for LinkedIn, allowing you to easily query live LinkedIn data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to LinkedIn, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return LinkedIn data.

Configure LinkedIn Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to LinkedIn from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with LinkedIn data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a LinkedIn connection.

  1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
  2. Select "LinkedIn" from the Add Connection panel
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to LinkedIn. LinkedIn uses the OAuth 2 authentication standard. You will need to obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret by registering an app with LinkedIn. For more information refer to our authentication guide.
  4. Click Create & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add LinkedIn Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

  1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
  2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
  3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
  4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to LinkedIn data from Node.js.

Query LinkedIn from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to LinkedIn with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

  • server: tds.cdata.com
  • port: 14333
  • user: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
  • password: the PAT for the above user
  • database: The connection you configured for LinkedIn (LinkedIn1)

Connect to LinkedIn data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'LinkedIn1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM CompanyStatusUpdates', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})

Ready to get started?

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