Connect to Yelp Data in JRuby

JRuby is a high-performance, stable, fully threaded Java implementation of the Ruby programming language. The CData JDBC Driver for Yelp makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Yelp data in JRuby. This article shows how to create a simple JRuby app that connects to Yelp data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Configure a JDBC Connection to Yelp Data

Before creating the app, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Yelp\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to Yelp and execute SQL queries. Initialize the JDBC connection with the getConnection function of the java.sql.DriverManager class.

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.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Yelp 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.

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Yelp:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Yelp.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Yelp Data

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

require 'java'
require 'rubygems'
require 'C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for Yelp 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Yelp.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, Name FROM AutocompleteBusinesses")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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