Build a PostgreSQL Interface for Spotify Data using the CData JDBC Driver

There are a vast number of PostgreSQL clients available on the Internet. From standard Drivers to BI and Analytics tools, PostgreSQL is a popular interface for data access. Using our JDBC Drivers, you can now create PostgreSQL entry-points that you can connect to from any standard client.

To access Spotify data as a PostgreSQL database, use the CData JDBC Driver for Spotify and a JDBC foreign data wrapper (FDW). In this article, we compile the FDW, install it, and query Spotify data from PostgreSQL Server.

Connect to Spotify Data as a JDBC Data Source

To connect to Spotify as a JDBC data source, you will need the following:

• Driver JAR path: The JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

• Driver class:

  cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
  

• JDBC URL: The URL must start with "jdbc:api:" and can include any of the connection properties in name-value pairs separated with semicolons.

  Using OAuth Authentication

  Spotify uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You will need to create an application in the Spotify Developer Dashboard to obtain your client credentials.

  Setting Up Your Spotify Application

  1. Visit the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
  2. Log in with your Spotify account and click Create app.
  3. Provide an app name, description, and set a Redirect URI (e.g.,

     http://localhost:33333

     for desktop applications).
  4. Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the app settings.

  Connection Properties

  After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Spotify application's Client ID.
  • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Spotify application's Client Secret.
  • Scope: Set this to the required OAuth scopes (space-separated). The default includes all read scopes needed for the tables in this profile.
  • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI configured in your Spotify application (e.g., http://localhost:33333).

  Example Connection String

  Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;
  

  Available OAuth Scopes

  • user-read-private: Read access to user's subscription details and explicit content settings.
  • user-read-email: Read access to user's email address.
  • user-library-read: Read access to a user's saved tracks, albums, episodes, shows, and audiobooks.
  • playlist-read-private: Read access to user's private playlists.
  • playlist-read-collaborative: Read access to collaborative playlists the user follows.
  • user-follow-read: Read access to the list of artists the current user follows.
  • user-read-playback-state: Read access to a user's player state (device, current track, progress).
  • user-read-currently-playing: Read access to a user's currently playing content.
  • user-read-playback-history: Read access to a user's recently played tracks.
  • user-top-read: Read access to a user's top artists and tracks.

  Built-in Connection String Designer

  For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Spotify 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\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;
  

Build the JDBC Foreign Data Wrapper

The Foreign Data Wrapper can be installed as an extension to PostgreSQL, without recompiling PostgreSQL. The jdbc2_fdw extension is used as an example (downloadable here).

1. Add a symlink from the shared object for your version of the JRE to /usr/lib/libjvm.so. For example:

   ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64/server/libjvm.so /usr/lib/libjvm.so
   

2. Start the build:

   make install USE_PGXS=1
   

Query Spotify Data as a PostgreSQL Database

After you have installed the extension, follow the steps below to start executing queries to Spotify data:

1. Log into your database.
2. Load the extension for the database:

   CREATE EXTENSION jdbc2_fdw;
   

3. Create a server object for Spotify:

   CREATE SERVER API 
   FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER jdbc2_fdw OPTIONS (
   drivername 'cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver',
   url 'jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;',
   querytimeout '15',
   jarfile '/home/MyUser/CData/CData\ JDBC\ Driver\ for\ Salesforce MyDriverEdition/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'); 
   

4. Create a user mapping for the username and password of a user known to the MySQL daemon.

   CREATE USER MAPPING for postgres SERVER API OPTIONS (
   username 'admin', 
   password 'test');
   

5. Create a foreign table in your local database:

   postgres=# CREATE FOREIGN TABLE albums (
   albums_id text,
   albums_ text,
   albums_ numeric) 
   SERVER API OPTIONS (
   table_name 'albums');
   

postgres=# SELECT * FROM albums;