How to connect to LinkedIn Data from IntelliJ

The CData JDBC Driver for LinkedIn enables you to access LinkedIn as a JDBC data source, providing integration with rapid development tools in IDEs. This article shows how to use the data source configuration wizard to connect to LinkedIn data in IntelliJ.

Create a JBDC Data Source for LinkedIn

Follow the steps below to add the driver JAR and define connection properties required to connect to LinkedIn data.

1. In the Data Sources window, right-click and then click Add Data Source -> DB Data Source.

2. In the Data Source Properties dialog that appears, the following properties are required:

   • JDBC Driver Files: Click the button next to this menu to add the JDBC Driver file cdata.jdbc.linkedin.jar, located in the installation directory.
   • JDBC Driver Class: In this menu, select cdata.jdbc.linkedin.LinkedInDriver from the list.

   • Database URL: Enter the connection URL in the JDBC URL property. The URL must start with jdbc:linkedin: and includes connection properties separated with semicolons.

     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.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the LinkedIn JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.linkedin.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     A typical JDBC URL is the following:

     jdbc:linkedin:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:portNumber;CompanyId=XXXXXXXInitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

Edit and Save LinkedIn Data

To discover schema information, right-click the data source you just created and click Refresh Tables. To query a table, right-click it and then click Open Tables Editor. You can also modify records in the Table Editor.