Connect to Parallel Data in Ruby

The CData API Driver for ODBC makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Parallel data in Ruby. This article shows how to create a simple Ruby app that connects to Parallel data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Create an ODBC Connection to Parallel Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The Parallel API uses API Key authentication via the x-api-key request header.

Using API Key Authentication

Your Parallel API key is required to create a connection. To obtain your API key:

1. Log into your Parallel account at app.parallel.ai.
2. Navigate to Settings or API Keys in your account dashboard.
3. Generate or copy your API key.

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

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your Parallel API key.

Example connection string:

Profile=C:\profiles\Parallel.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';

Installing Ruby and Necessary Gems

If you do not have Ruby installed, refer to the Ruby installation page. With Ruby installed, you will need to install the ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc gems:

gem install dbi
gem install dbd-odbc
gem install ruby-odbc

Create a Ruby App with Connectivity to Parallel Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: APISelect.rb) and open it in a text editor. Copy the following code into your file:

#connect to the DSN
require 'dbi'
cnxn = DBI.connect('DBI:ODBC:CData API Source','','')

#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT ,  FROM MonitorEvents WHERE MonitorId = 'mon_abc123'")

#display the names of the columns
resultSet.column_names.each do |name|
  print name, "\t"
end
puts

#display the results
while row = resultSet.fetch do
  (0..resultSet.column_names.size - 1).each do |n|
    print row[n], "\t"
  end
  puts
end
resultSet.finish

#close the connection
cnxn.disconnect if cnxn

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

ruby APISelect.rb

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