Connect to ScrapingBee Data in HULFT Integrate

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Connect to ScrapingBee as a JDBC data source in HULFT Integrate

HULFT Integrate is a modern data integration platform that provides a drag-and-drop user interface to create cooperation flows, data conversion, and processing so that complex data connections are easier than ever to execute. When paired with the CData API Driver for JDBC, HULFT Integrate can work with live ScrapingBee data. This article explains how to connect to ScrapingBee and move the data into a CSV file.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live ScrapingBee data. When you issue complex SQL queries to ScrapingBee, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to ScrapingBee 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 ScrapingBee data using native data types.

Enable Access to ScrapingBee

To enable access to ScrapingBee data from HULFT Integrate projects:

  1. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.api.jar (and cdata.jdbc.api.lic), to the jdbc_adapter subfolder for the Integrate Server
  2. Restart the HULFT Integrate Server and launch HULFT Integrate Studio

Build a Project with Access to ScrapingBee Data

Once you copy the JAR files, you can create a project with access to ScrapingBee data. Start by opening Integrate Studio and creating a new project.

  1. Name the project
  2. Ensure the "Create script" checkbox is checked
  3. Click Next
  4. Name the script (e.g.: APItoCSV)

Once you create the project, add components to the script to copy ScrapingBee data to a CSV file.

Configure an Execute Select SQL Component

Drag an "Execute Select SQL" component from the Tool Palette (Database -> JDBC) into the Script workspace.

  1. In the "Required settings" tab for the Destination, click "Add" to create a new connection for ScrapingBee. Set the following properties:
    • Name: ScrapingBee Connection Settings
    • Driver class name: cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
    • URL: jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ScrapingBee.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key";

      Built-in Connection String Designer

      For assistance constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the ScrapingBee 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.

      Using API Key Authentication

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

      1. Sign in to your ScrapingBee account at https://app.scrapingbee.com
      2. Navigate to the Dashboard and locate your API key in the top section.
      3. Copy the API key for use in the connection string.

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

      • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
      Set the following in the ProfileSettings connection property:
      • APIKey: Set this to your ScrapingBee API key.

      Example Connection String

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

      Connecting to ScrapingBee

      Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to ScrapingBee and query data from any of the available tables. All tables require at least one input parameter (such as a search query or product ID) to retrieve data.

  2. Write your SQL statement. For example:
    SELECT ,  FROM GoogleSearchResults
  3. Click "Extraction test" to ensure the connection and query are configured properly
  4. Click "Execute SQL statement and set output schema"
  5. Click "Finish"

Configure a Write CSV File Component

Drag a "Write CSV File" component from the Tool Palette (File -> CSV) onto the workspace.

  1. Set a file to write the query results to (e.g. GoogleSearchResults.csv)
  2. Set "Input data" to the "Select SQL" component
  3. Add columns for each field selected in the SQL query
  4. In the "Write settings" tab, check the checkbox to "Insert column names into first row"
  5. Click "Finish"

Map ScrapingBee Fields to the CSV Columns

Map each column from the "Select" component to the corresponding column for the "CSV" component.

Finish the Script

Drag the "Start" component onto the "Select" component and the "CSV" component onto the "End" component. Build the script and run the script to move ScrapingBee data into a CSV file.

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

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from ScrapingBee with the API Driver

Connect to ScrapingBee