Analyze Salesforce Data Cloud Data in R via JDBC

Access Salesforce Data Cloud data with pure R script and standard SQL on any machine where R and Java can be installed. You can use the CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce Data Cloud and the RJDBC package to work with remote Salesforce Data Cloud data in R. By using the CData Driver, you are leveraging a driver written for industry-proven standards to access your data in the popular, open-source R language. This article shows how to use the driver to execute SQL queries to Salesforce Data Cloud and visualize Salesforce Data Cloud data by calling standard R functions.

Install R

You can match the driver's performance gains from multi-threading and managed code by running the multithreaded Microsoft R Open or by running open R linked with the BLAS/LAPACK libraries. This article uses Microsoft R Open 3.2.3, which is preconfigured to install packages from the Jan. 1, 2016 snapshot of the CRAN repository. This snapshot ensures reproducibility.

Load the RJDBC Package

To use the driver, download the RJDBC package. After installing the RJDBC package, the following line loads the package:

library(RJDBC)

Connect to Salesforce Data Cloud as a JDBC Data Source

You will need the following information to connect to Salesforce Data Cloud as a JDBC data source:

• Driver Class: Set this to cdata.jdbc.salesforcedatacloud.SalesforceDataCloudDriver
• Classpath: Set this to the location of the driver JAR. By default this is the lib subfolder of the installation folder.

The DBI functions, such as dbConnect and dbSendQuery, provide a unified interface for writing data access code in R. Use the following line to initialize a DBI driver that can make JDBC requests to the CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce Data Cloud:

driver <- JDBC(driverClass = "cdata.jdbc.salesforcedatacloud.SalesforceDataCloudDriver", classPath = "MyInstallationDir\lib\cdata.jdbc.salesforcedatacloud.jar", identifier.quote = "'") 

You can now use DBI functions to connect to Salesforce Data Cloud and execute SQL queries. Initialize the JDBC connection with the dbConnect function.

Salesforce Data Cloud supports authentication via the OAuth standard.

OAuth

Set to OAuth.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data Cloud console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.

Before you connect, set these properties:

• : GETANDREFRESH. You can use to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the .
• (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data Cloud's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:

• Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
• Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
• Saves OAuth values in so that they persist across connections.

For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforcedatacloud.jar

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

👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)


Below is a sample dbConnect call, including a typical JDBC connection string:

conn <- dbConnect(driver,"jdbc:salesforcedatacloud:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;")

Schema Discovery

The driver models Salesforce Data Cloud APIs as relational tables, views, and stored procedures. Use the following line to retrieve the list of tables:

dbListTables(conn)

Execute SQL Queries

You can use the dbGetQuery function to execute any SQL query supported by the Salesforce Data Cloud API:

account <- dbGetQuery(conn,"SELECT [Account ID], [Account Name] FROM Account WHERE EmployeeCount > 250")

You can view the results in a data viewer window with the following command:

View(account)

Plot Salesforce Data Cloud Data

You can now analyze Salesforce Data Cloud data with any of the data visualization packages available in the CRAN repository. You can create simple bar plots with the built-in bar plot function:

par(las=2,ps=10,mar=c(5,15,4,2))
barplot(account$[Account Name], main="Salesforce Data Cloud Account", names.arg = account$[Account ID], horiz=TRUE)

👁 A basic bar plot. (Salesforce is shown.)