Connect to Webex Data in Ruby

The CData API Driver for ODBC makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Webex data in Ruby. This article shows how to create a simple Ruby app that connects to Webex data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Create an ODBC Connection to Webex Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

To authenticate to Webex, and connect to your own data or to allow other users to connect to their data, you can use the OAuth standard.

Using OAuth Authentication

First, you will need to register an OAuth application with Webex. To do so, navigate to the Webex Developer Portal and create a new integration. Your OAuth application will be assigned a client id and a client secret.

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 the client_id that is specified in your app settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in your app settings.
• CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI that is specified in your app settings.
• Scope: Set this in ProfileSettings to specify the OAuth scopes requested during authorization. Multiple scopes can be space-separated (e.g. ProfileSettings='Scope=spark:all spark:kms').

Example connection string:

Profile=C:\profiles\Webex.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;ProfileSettings='Scope=your_scopes';

Installing Ruby and Necessary Gems

If you do not have Ruby installed, refer to the Ruby installation page. With Ruby installed, you will need to install the ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc gems:

gem install dbi
gem install dbd-odbc
gem install ruby-odbc

Create a Ruby App with Connectivity to Webex Data

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

#connect to the DSN
require 'dbi'
cnxn = DBI.connect('DBI:ODBC:CData API Source','','')

#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT ,  FROM AdminAuditEvents WHERE OrgId = 'org123'")

#display the names of the columns
resultSet.column_names.each do |name|
  print name, "\t"
end
puts

#display the results
while row = resultSet.fetch do
  (0..resultSet.column_names.size - 1).each do |n|
    print row[n], "\t"
  end
  puts
end
resultSet.finish

#close the connection
cnxn.disconnect if cnxn

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

ruby APISelect.rb

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