Connect to BigCommerce Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to BigCommerce 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 BigCommerce\lib).

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

BigCommerce authentication is based on the standard OAuth flow. To authenticate, you must initially create an app via the Big Commerce developer platform where you can obtain an OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL. These three parameters will be set as connection properties to your driver.

Additionally, in order to connect to your BigCommerce Store, you will need your StoreId. To find your Store Id please follow these steps:

1. Log in to your BigCommerce account.
2. From the Home Page, select Advanced Settings > API Accounts.
3. Click Create API Account.
4. A text box named API Path will appear on your screen.
5. Inside you can see a URL of the following structure: https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{Store Id}/v3.
6. As demonstrated above, your Store Id will be between the 'stores/' and '/v3' path paramters.
7. Once you have retrieved your Store Id you can either click Cancel or proceed in creating an API Account in case you do not have one already.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the BigCommerce JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.bigcommerce.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for BigCommerce:

jdbc:bigcommerce:OAuthClientId=YourClientId; OAuthClientSecret=YourClientSecret; StoreId='YourStoreID'; CallbackURL='http://localhost:33333';InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to BigCommerce Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: BigCommerceSelect.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 BigCommerce 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.bigcommerce.jar'

url = "jdbc:bigcommerce:OAuthClientId=YourClientId; OAuthClientSecret=YourClientSecret; StoreId='YourStoreID'; CallbackURL='http://localhost:33333';InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Customers")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S BigCommerceSelect.rb

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