Bridge TaxJar Connectivity with Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi supports powerful and scalable directed graphs of data routing, transformation, and system mediation logic. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for TaxJar, NiFi can work with live TaxJar data. This article describes how to connect to and query TaxJar data from an Apache NiFi Flow.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live TaxJar data. When you issue complex SQL queries to TaxJar, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to TaxJar and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze TaxJar data using native data types.

Connecting to TaxJar Data in Apache NiFi

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for TaxJar installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.

2. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.taxjar.jar (and cdata.jdbc.taxjar.lic), to the Apache NiFi lib subfolder, for example, C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\lib.

   On Windows, the default location for the CData JDBC Driver is C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for TaxJar.

3. Start Apache NiFi. For example:

   cd C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\bin
   run-nifi.bat
   

4. Navigate to the Apache NiFi UI in your web browser: typically http://localhost:8080/nifi
5. Click the (Configuration) button from the Operate sidebar.
6. In the NiFi Flow Configuration page, navigate to the Controller Services tab.
7. Click the button to create a new controller service.
8. In the Add Controller Service page, select DBCPConnection Pool, and then click Add.
9. Click the gear button to configure the new DBCPConnection Pool.

10. In the Configure Controller Service page, navigate to the Properties tab. Fill in the properties:

    Property	Value
    Database Connection URL	jdbc:taxjar:APIKey=3bb04218ef8t80efdf1739abf7257144;
    Database Driver Class Name	cdata.jdbc.taxjar.TaxJarDriver

    Built-in Connection String Designer

    For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the TaxJar JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

    java -jar cdata.jdbc.taxjar.jar

    Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

    To authenticate to the TaxJar API, you will need to first obtain the API Key from the TaxJar UI.

    NOTE: the API is available only for Professional and Premium TaxJar plans.

    If you already have a Professional or Premium plan you can find the API Key by logging in the TaxJar UI and navigating to Account -> TaxJar API. After obtaining the API Key, you can set it in the APIKey connection property.

    Additional Notes

    • By default, the CData connector will retrieve data of the last 3 months in cases where the entity support date range filtering. You can set StartDate to specify the minimum creation date of the data retrieved.
    • If the API Key has been created for a sandbox API account please set UseSandbox to true, but not all endpoints will work as expected. For more information, refer to the TaxJar developer documentation.
11. Click the button to enable the new DBCPConnection Pool.

Your TaxJar data is now available for use in Apache NiFi. For example, you can use the DBCPConnection Pool as the source for a QueryDatabaseTable processor.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for TaxJar and start working with your live TaxJar data in Apache NiFi. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.