Connect to Google Search Results in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Google Search Results

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 Google Search\lib).

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

To search with a Google custom search engine, you need to set the CustomSearchId and ApiKey connection properties.

To obtain the CustomSearchId property, sign into Google Custom Search Engine and create a new search engine.

To obtain the ApiKey property, you must enable the Custom Search API in the Google API Console.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.googlesearch.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Google Search:

jdbc:googlesearch:CustomSearchId=def456;ApiKey=abc123;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Google Search Results

Create a new Ruby file (for example: GoogleSearchSelect.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 Google Search 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.googlesearch.jar'

url = "jdbc:googlesearch:CustomSearchId=def456;ApiKey=abc123;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Title, ViewCount FROM VideoSearch")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S GoogleSearchSelect.rb

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