How to Connect DBeaver to Stack Exchange via a JDBC Driver

The CData API Driver for JDBC implements JDBC standards that enable third-party tools to interoperate, from wizards in IDEs to business intelligence tools. This article shows how to connect to Stack Exchange data with wizards in DBeaver and browse data in the DBeaver GUI.

Create a JDBC Data Source for Stack Exchange Data

Follow the steps below to load the driver JAR in DBeaver.

1. Open the DBeaver application and, in the "Database" menu, select the "Driver Manager" option. Click "New" to open the "Create new driver" form.
2. In the Settings tab:
   • Set Driver Name to a user-friendly name for the driver (e.g. CData API Driver for JDBC).
   • Set Class Name to the class name for the JDBC driver: cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver.
   • Set URL Template to jdbc:api:.
   
3. In the Libraries tab, click "Add File," navigate to the "lib" folder in the installation directory (C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] XXXX\) and select the JAR file (cdata.jdbc.API.jar).

Create a Connection to Stack Exchange Data

Follow the steps below to add credentials and other required connection properties.

1. In the "Database" menu, click "New Database Connection."
2. In the "Connect to a database" wizard that results, select the driver you just created (e.g. CData API Driver for JDBC) and click "Next >."
3. On the Main tab of the configuration wizard, set the JDBC URL, using the required connection properties:

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

   Stack Exchange API Profile Settings

   Register an application on StackApps to obtain an API Key. The Site property specifies which Stack Exchange site to query (e.g., stackoverflow).

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Stack Exchange 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 connection string:

   jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\StackExchange.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;Site=stackoverflow';
   

   
4. Click "Test Connection ..." to ensure you have configured the connection properly.
5. Click "Finish."

Query Stack Exchange Data

You can now query information from the tables exposed by the connection: Right-click a Table and then click View Table. The data is available on the Data tab.

More Information & Free Trial

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live Stack Exchange data in DBeaver. Join the CData Community or reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.