Connect to Salesforce Data in JRuby

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

Getting Started

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Configure a JDBC Connection to Salesforce 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 Salesforce\lib).

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

There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Salesforce: OAuth, Login (or basic), and SSO. The Login method requires you to have the username, password, and security token of the user.

OAuth Authentication (default)

The default authentication mechanism (and the one preferred by Salesforce) is OAuth. To use OAuth with CData's embedded OAuth application, leave the connection properties blank. If you have configured your own custom OAuth application with Salesforce (see the Help documentation for more information), set OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL to the properties for you application. Set InitiateOAuth to the desired OAuth flow ("GETANDREFRESH" will have the connector manage the entire OAuth flow).

Login (or Basic) Authentication

If you do not wish do not wish to use OAuth authentication, you can use Login (or basic) authentication. Set AuthScheme to Basic, and set the User, Password, and SecurityToken properties. You can configure your security token in Salesforce.

SSO (single sign-on) Authentication

SSO (single sign-on) can be used by setting the SSOProperties, SSOLoginUrl, and SSOExchangeURL connection properties, which allow you to authenticate to an identity provider. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the Help documentation for more information.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

If your Salesforce org has MFA enforcement enabled, set MFACode to the time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) generated by your authenticator app (such as Salesforce Authenticator or Google Authenticator). MFACode applies to both OAuth and Login authentication flows.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Salesforce:

jdbc:salesforce:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;MFACode=YourMFACode

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Salesforce Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: SalesforceSelect.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 Salesforce 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar'

url = "jdbc:salesforce:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;MFACode=YourMFACode"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Industry, AnnualRevenue FROM Account")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S SalesforceSelect.rb

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