Bridge Twitter 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 Twitter, NiFi can work with live Twitter data. This article describes how to connect to and query Twitter data from an Apache NiFi Flow.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Twitter data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Twitter, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Twitter 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 Twitter data using native data types.

Connecting to Twitter Data in Apache NiFi

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for Twitter 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.twitter.jar (and cdata.jdbc.twitter.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 Twitter.

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:twitter:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
    Database Driver Class Name	cdata.jdbc.twitter.TwitterDriver

    Built-in Connection String Designer

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

    java -jar cdata.jdbc.twitter.jar

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

    All tables require authentication. You can connect using your User and Password or OAuth. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can register an app to obtain your own.

    If you intend to communicate with Twitter only as the currently authenticated user, then you can obtain the OAuthAccessToken and OAuthAccessTokenSecret directly by registering an app.

    See the Getting Started chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

11. Click the button to enable the new DBCPConnection Pool.

Your Twitter 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 Twitter and start working with your live Twitter data in Apache NiFi. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.