Access Raisers Edge NXT Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver

The CData JDBC Driver for Raisers Edge NXT connects Raisers Edge NXT data to Mule applications enabling read functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze Raisers Edge NXT data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Raisers Edge NXT inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for Raisers Edge NXT data. The application created allows you to request Raisers Edge NXT data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.

1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
   • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
   • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.raiseredgenxt.jar).
   • Set the URL to the connection string for Raisers Edge NXT

     Before establishing a connection, supply the SubscriptionKey, found in the Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Profile.

     Authenticating to Raiser's Edge NXT

     Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT uses the OAuth authentication standard. You can connect to without setting any connection properties using the embedded OAuth credentials.

     Alternatively, you can authenticate by creating a custom app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

     See the Help documentation for an authentication guide.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.raiseredgenxt.jar

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

   • Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.raiseredgenxt.RaiserEdgeNXTDriver.
   • Click Test Connection.
6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request Raisers Edge NXT data. For example: SELECT Id, AddressLines FROM Constituents WHERE Type = 'Home'
7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:

   %dw 2.0
   output application/json
   ---
   payload
           

9. To view your Raisers Edge NXT data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The Raisers Edge NXT data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with Raisers Edge NXT data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for Raisers Edge NXT and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.