Connect to Pinterest Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Pinterest 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 Pinterest\lib).

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

Pinterest authentication is based on the standard OAuth flow. To authenticate, you must initially create an app via the Pinterest developer platform where you can obtain an OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL.

Set InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH and set OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL based on the property values for the app you created.

See the Help documentation for other OAuth authentication flows.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.pinterest.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Pinterest:

jdbc:pinterest:OAuthClientId=YourClientId;OAuthClientSecret=YourClientSecret;CallbackURL='https://localhost:33333';InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Pinterest Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: PinterestSelect.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 Pinterest 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.pinterest.jar'

url = "jdbc:pinterest:OAuthClientId=YourClientId;OAuthClientSecret=YourClientSecret;CallbackURL='https://localhost:33333';InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, Username FROM Users")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S PinterestSelect.rb

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