Connect to SpaceX Data in JRuby

JRuby is a high-performance, stable, fully threaded Java implementation of the Ruby programming language. The CData JDBC Driver for SpaceX makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live SpaceX data in JRuby. This article shows how to create a simple JRuby app that connects to SpaceX data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Configure a JDBC Connection to SpaceX Data

Before creating the app, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for SpaceX\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to SpaceX and execute SQL queries. Initialize the JDBC connection with the getConnection function of the java.sql.DriverManager class.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the SpaceX Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for SpaceX (see below).

SpaceX API Profile Settings

No authentication is required to access SpaceX data — the SpaceX API is publicly available. Simply set the Profile connection property to the path of the SpaceX profile file.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for SpaceX:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to SpaceX Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: APISelect.rb) and open it in a text editor. Copy the following code into your file:

require 'java'
require 'rubygems'
require 'C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for SpaceX 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT CapsuleSerial, CapsuleId FROM Capsules")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

With the file completed, you are ready to display your SpaceX data with JRuby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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