Connect to HarperDB Data in Ruby

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

Create an ODBC Connection to HarperDB 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.

Set the Server, User, and Password connection properties to connect to HarperDB. Set UseSSL to secure connections with TLS/SSL.

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 HarperDB Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: HarperDBSelect.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 HarperDB Source','','')

#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT City, CompanyName FROM Customers WHERE Country = 'US'")

#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 HarperDB data with Ruby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

ruby HarperDBSelect.rb

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