Connect to SharePoint Excel Services Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for SharePoint Excel Services into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services to transfer SharePoint Excel Services data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to SharePoint Excel Services in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to SharePoint Excel Services:

1. Add a new database driver for SharePoint Excel Services: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL:

   jdbc:excelservices:
   

4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.excelservices.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class:

   cdata.jdbc.excelservices.ExcelServicesDriver
   

   👁 The JDBC driver configuration. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
6. Create a new SharePoint Excel Services connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the SharePoint Excel Services driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   The URL, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid credentials for SharePoint Online, SharePoint 2010, or SharePoint 2013. Additionally, the Library property must be set to a valid SharePoint Document Library and the File property must be set to a valid .xlsx file in the indicated Library.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.excelservices.jar
   

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

   👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
   

   A typical connection string is below:

   URL=https://myorg.sharepoint.com;[email protected];Password=password;File=Book1.xlsx;
   

10. Enter your username and password if necessary. 👁 The connection to the JDBC data source. (Salesforce is shown.)
    

You can now use your SharePoint Excel Services connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve SharePoint Excel Services data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. 👁 A Retrieve operation to select data. (Salesforce is shown.)
With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the SharePoint Excel Services data.