Connect to SAP SuccessFactors LMS Data in Ruby

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

Create an ODBC Connection to SAP SuccessFactors LMS 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.

SAP SuccessFactors LMS uses OAuth authentication. Before connecting, you must configure an OAuth application tied to your SAP SuccessFactors LMS account.

To establish a connection, set the following properties:

• User: Your SAP SuccessFactors LMS username.
• CompanyId: Your SAP SuccessFactors company identifier.
• Url: The SAP SuccessFactors API URL (e.g., https://api4.successfactors.com).
• OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

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 SAP SuccessFactors LMS Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: SAPSuccessFactorsLMSSelect.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 SAPSuccessFactorsLMS Source','','')

#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT ItemID, ItemTitle FROM [Admin].[Search_Service].[Items] WHERE Active = true")

#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 SAP SuccessFactors LMS data with Ruby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

ruby SAPSuccessFactorsLMSSelect.rb

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