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Get the Report →Access Workday Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver
Create a simple Mule Application that uses HTTP and SQL with CData JDBC drivers to create a JSON endpoint for Workday data.
The CData JDBC Driver for Workday connects Workday data to Mule applications enabling read , write, update, and delete functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze Workday data.
This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Workday inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for Workday data. The application created allows you to request Workday data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.
About Workday Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
- Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
- Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.
Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.
For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.
Getting Started
- Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
- Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
- Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
- Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
- Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
- Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
- Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.workday.jar).
- Set the URL to the connection string for Workday
To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.
Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant
To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.
The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:
- https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
- mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
Using ConnectionType to Select the API
The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.
API ConnectionType Value WQL WQL Reports as a Service Reports REST REST SOAP SOAP
Authentication
Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.
- WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
- SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.
See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Workday JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.workday.jar
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.
- Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.workday.WorkdayDriver.
- Click Test Connection.
- Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request Workday data. For example:
SELECT Worker_Reference_WID, Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM Workers WHERE Legal_Name_Last_Name = 'Morgan'
- Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
- Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:
%dw 2.0 output application/json --- payload
- To view your Workday data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The Workday data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.
At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with Workday data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for Workday and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.