Connect to PDFMonkey Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to PDFMonkey 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 PDFMonkey\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to PDFMonkey and execute SQL queries. Initialize the JDBC connection with the getConnection function of the java.sql.DriverManager class.

Using API Key Authentication

PdfMonkey uses API key authentication. To obtain an API key:

1. Log in to your PdfMonkey account at https://app.pdfmonkey.io
2. Navigate to your account settings
3. Open the API Key page
4. Copy your API key

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

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.

• APIKey: Set this to your PdfMonkey API key.

Example Connection String

Profile=C:\profiles\PdfMonkey.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key"

Connecting to PdfMonkey

Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to PdfMonkey and query data from any of the available tables such as CurrentUser, DocumentCards, Documents, DocumentTemplateCards, and DocumentTemplates.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\PdfMonkey.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key"

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

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

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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