Validate REST Data with QuerySurge

QuerySurge is a smart data testing solution that automates data validation and testing. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for REST, QuerySurge can work with live REST data. This article walks through connecting to REST data from QuerySurge.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live REST data. When you issue complex SQL queries to REST, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to REST and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze REST data using native data types.

Connecting to REST Data in QuerySurge

To connect to live REST data from QuerySurge, you need to deploy the JDBC Driver JAR file to your QuerySurge Agent(s) and add a new connection from the QuerySurge Admin view.

Deploy the JDBC Driver

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for REST installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Once the driver is installed, stop the Agent Service.
3. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for REST\lib\) to your Agent(s) (QuerySurge_install_dir\agent\jdbc).
4. Restart the Agent Service.

For more information on deploying JDBC drivers for QuerySurge, refer to the QuerySurge Knowledge Base.

Configure a New Connection to REST

1. Log into QuerySurge and navigate to the Admin view.
2. Click Configuration -> Connections in the Administration Tree.
3. Click Add to create a new connection.
4. In the QuerySurge Connection Wizard, click Next.
5. Name the connection (e.g. CData JDBC Connection to REST).
6. Set the Data Source to "All Other JDBC Connections (Connection Extensibility)" and click Next.
7. Set the Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.rest.RESTDriver and click Next.

8. Set the Connection URL using the necessary connection properties to authenticate with REST. Your Connection URL will look something like the following:

   jdbc:rest:DataModel=Relational;URI=C:/people.xml;Format=XML;

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.rest.jar

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

   See the Getting Started chapter in the data provider documentation to authenticate to your data source: The data provider models REST APIs as bidirectional database tables and XML/JSON files as read-only views (local files, files stored on popular cloud services, and FTP servers). The major authentication schemes are supported, including HTTP Basic, Digest, NTLM, OAuth, and FTP. See the Getting Started chapter in the data provider documentation for authentication guides.

   After setting the URI and providing any authentication values, set Format to "XML" or "JSON" and set DataModel to more closely match the data representation to the structure of your data.

   The DataModel property is the controlling property over how your data is represented into tables and toggles the following basic configurations.

   • Document (default): Model a top-level, document view of your REST data. The data provider returns nested elements as aggregates of data.
   • FlattenedDocuments: Implicitly join nested documents and their parents into a single table.
   • Relational: Return individual, related tables from hierarchical data. The tables contain a primary key and a foreign key that links to the parent document.

   See the Modeling REST Data chapter for more information on configuring the relational representation. You will also find the sample data used in the following examples. The data includes entries for people, the cars they own, and various maintenance services performed on those cars.

9. Set the Test Query to enable the Test Connection button for the Connection (e.g. SELECT * FROM people LIMIT 1) and click Next.
10. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click Save to add the connection.

Once the connection is added, you can write SQL queries against your REST data in QuerySurge.

Compare REST Data Queries with a QueryPair

With the connection configured, you can follow the steps below to compare querying REST data with a QueryPair.

1. Select "Design Library" from the Design Menu
2. Click QueryPairs under QuerySurge Design
3. Click "Create New QueryPair"
4. Name the QueryPair and click Save
5. In either the Source or Target panes, select the connection created above (select the same connection to query REST twice or another connection to perform a comparison)
6. Write queries in the Editor for each pane, e.g. SELECT * FROM people
7. Click the "Design-Time Run" tab to execute the queries
8. When the query execution is finished, click "View Query Results" to see the REST data returned by the query

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for REST and start working with your live REST data in QuerySurge. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.