Connect to MessageBird Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to MessageBird 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 MessageBird\lib).

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

MessageBird API Profile Settings

Retrieve your private API Key from the MessageBird dashboard under Developers > API Access.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\MessageBird.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';

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

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

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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