Create a Data Access Object for Webflow Data using JDBI

JDBI is a SQL convenience library for Java that exposes two different style APIs, a fluent style and a SQL object style. The CData JDBC Driver for Webflow integrates connectivity to live Webflow data in Java applications. By pairing these technologies, you gain simple, programmatic access to Webflow data. This article explains how to build a basic Data Access Object (DAO) and the accompanying code to read Webflow data.

Create a DAO for the Webflow Sites Entity

The interface below declares the desired behavior for the SQL object to create a single method for each SQL statement to be implemented.

public interface MySitesDAO {
  //request specific data from Webflow (String type is used for simplicity)
  @SqlQuery("SELECT  FROM Sites WHERE Id = :id")
  String findById(@Bind("id") String id);

  /*
   * close with no args is used to close the connection
   */
  void close();
}

Open a Connection to Webflow

Collect the necessary connection properties and construct the appropriate JDBC URL for connecting to Webflow.

Authentication

Webflow uses OAuth 2.0 authentication to ensure secure access to sites, CMS collections, e-commerce data, and other resources. This authentication method allows you to securely connect to your Webflow workspace and manage resources with proper authorization.

OAuth 2.0 Setup and Configuration

Step 1: Create a Webflow OAuth Application

To set up OAuth authentication:

1. Visit the Webflow Developer Portal
2. Navigate to "Apps & Integrations" in your Webflow account
3. Click "Register an App" to create a new OAuth application
4. Configure the application name, description, and redirect URI (CallbackURL)
5. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret for use in your connection

Required Connection Properties

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth (required)
• OAuthClientId: Client ID from your Webflow OAuth application (required)
• OAuthClientSecret: Client secret from your Webflow OAuth application (required)
• CallbackURL: Redirect URI specified in your OAuth application (required)
• InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH for automatic token management (recommended)

Required OAuth Scopes

The Webflow API Profile requires the following OAuth scopes:

• sites:read - Read access to site information and configuration
• pages:read - Read access to site pages
• cms:read - Read access to CMS collections and items
• forms:read - Read access to forms and form submissions
• assets:read - Read access to media assets and folders
• ecommerce:read - Read access to products, orders, and inventory
• authorized_user:read - Read access to the authorized user

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Webflow 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 connection string for Webflow will typically look like the following:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Webflow.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;

Use the configured JDBC URL to obtain an instance of the DAO interface. The particular method shown below will open a handle bound to the instance, so the instance needs to be closed explicitly to release the handle and the bound JDBC connection.

DBI dbi = new DBI("jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Webflow.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;");
MySitesDAO dao = dbi.open(MySitesDAO.class);

//do stuff with the DAO

dao.close();

Read Webflow Data

With the connection open to Webflow, simply call the previously defined method to retrieve data from the Sites entity in Webflow.

//disply the result of our 'find' method
String  = dao.findById("your_site_id");
System.out.println();

Since the JDBI library is able to work with JDBC connections, you can easily produce a SQL Object API for Webflow by integrating with the CData JDBC Driver for Webflow. Download a free trial and work with live Webflow data in custom Java applications today.