Connect to ScrapingBee Data from PowerBuilder via JDBC

The CData JDBC driver for ScrapingBee is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for ScrapingBee in PowerBuilder.

This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for ScrapingBee to retrieve data.

Connect to ScrapingBee Data from PowerBuilder

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for ScrapingBee. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.

1. Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.

2. Click Tools -> Database Painter.
3. Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
4. In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
   • Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
   • Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
   • URL: Enter the JDBC URL.

     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.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in 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. A typical JDBC URL is below:

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

   
5. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using ScrapingBee Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to JDBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve ScrapingBee data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC"
SQLCA.AutoCommit = False
SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver',URL='jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ScrapingBee.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key";";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_googlesearchresults.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_googlesearchresults.Retrieve();