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Get the Report →Connect to Raisers Edge NXT Data in Ruby
Connect to Raisers Edge NXT data in Ruby with ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc.
The CData ODBC Driver for Raisers Edge NXT makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Raisers Edge NXT data in Ruby. This article shows how to create a simple Ruby app that connects to Raisers Edge NXT data, executes a query, and displays the results.
Create an ODBC Connection to Raisers Edge NXT 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.
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.
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 Raisers Edge NXT Data
Create a new Ruby file (for example: RaiserEdgeNXTSelect.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 RaiserEdgeNXT Source','','')
#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT Id, AddressLines FROM Constituents WHERE Type = 'Home'")
#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 Raisers Edge NXT data with Ruby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:
ruby RaiserEdgeNXTSelect.rb
Writing SQL-92 queries to Raisers Edge NXT allows you to quickly and easily incorporate Raisers Edge NXT data into your own Ruby applications. Download a free trial today!