Connect to SharePoint Excel Services Data in Ruby

The CData ODBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live SharePoint Excel Services data in Ruby. This article shows how to create a simple Ruby app that connects to SharePoint Excel Services data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Create an ODBC Connection to SharePoint Excel Services Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

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.

Installing Ruby and Necessary Gems

If you do not have Ruby installed, refer to the Ruby installation page. With Ruby installed, you will need to install the ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc gems:

gem install dbi
gem install dbd-odbc
gem install ruby-odbc

Create a Ruby App with Connectivity to SharePoint Excel Services Data

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

#connect to the DSN
require 'dbi'
cnxn = DBI.connect('DBI:ODBC:CData ExcelServices Source','','')

#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT Name, AnnualRevenue FROM Account")

#display the names of the columns
resultSet.column_names.each do |name|
 print name, "\t"
end
puts

#display the results
while row = resultSet.fetch do
 (0..resultSet.column_names.size - 1).each do |n|
 print row[n], "\t"
 end
 puts
end
resultSet.finish

#close the connection
cnxn.disconnect if cnxn

With the file completed, you are ready to display your SharePoint Excel Services data with Ruby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

ruby ExcelServicesSelect.rb

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