Query Yelp Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect AI to query Yelp data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Yelp in Connect AI and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect AI provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Yelp, allowing you to easily query live Yelp data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Yelp, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Yelp data.

Configure Yelp Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Yelp from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Yelp data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Yelp connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Yelp" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Yelp.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Yelp Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Yelp.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Yelp (see below).

   Yelp API Profile Settings

   Create an app at yelp.com/developers/v3/manage_app to automatically generate a private API token.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Yelp Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Yelp data from Node.js.

Query Yelp from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Yelp with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Yelp (API1)

Connect to Yelp data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'API1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM AutocompleteBusinesses', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})