Connect to RSS Feeds in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to RSS Feeds

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 RSS\lib).

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

You can connect to RSS and Atom feeds, as well as feeds with custom extensions. To connect to a feed, set the URL property. You can also access secure feeds. A variety of authentication mechanisms are supported. See the help documentation for details.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.rss.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for RSS:

jdbc:rss:URI=http://broadcastCorp/rss/;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to RSS Feeds

Create a new Ruby file (for example: RSSSelect.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 RSS 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.rss.jar'

url = "jdbc:rss:URI=http://broadcastCorp/rss/;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Author, Pubdate FROM Latest News")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S RSSSelect.rb

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