Integrate ScrapingBee with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including ScrapingBee, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live ScrapingBee data. When platforms 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 lets you work with ScrapingBee data using native data types.

Connect to ScrapingBee in SnapLogic

To connect to ScrapingBee data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData ScrapingBee JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData API Driver for JDBC/lib by default).

Upload the ScrapingBee JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to ScrapingBee.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the ScrapingBee JDBC Driver, for example:

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

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     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.

     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.

     
5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read ScrapingBee Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "API"
• Set Table name to a table for ScrapingBee using the schema name, for example: "API"."GoogleSearchResults" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your ScrapingBee data to another endpoint.

Piping ScrapingBee Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your ScrapingBee data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from ScrapingBee and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData API Driver for JDBC you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating ScrapingBee data with external services. For more information about connecting to ScrapingBee, check at our CData API Driver for JDBC page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and get started today.