Connect to SAS xpt Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to SAS xpt 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 SAS xpt\lib).

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

Connecting to Local SASXpt Files

You can connect to local SASXpt file by setting the URI to a folder containing SASXpt files.

Connecting to S3 data source

You can connect to Amazon S3 source to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

• URI: Set this to the folder within your bucket that you would like to connect to.
• AWSAccessKey: Set this to your AWS account access key.
• AWSSecretKey: Set this to your AWS account secret key.
• TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).

Connecting to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

You can connect to ADLS Gen2 to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

• URI: Set this to the name of the file system and the name of the folder which contacts your SASXpt files.
• AzureAccount: Set this to the name of the Azure Data Lake storage account.
• AzureAccessKey: Set this to our Azure DataLakeStore Gen 2 storage account access key.
• TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.sasxpt.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for SAS xpt:

jdbc:sasxpt:URI=C:/folder;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to SAS xpt Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: SASXptSelect.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 SAS xpt 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.sasxpt.jar'

url = "jdbc:sasxpt:URI=C:/folder;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, Column1 FROM SampleTable_1")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S SASXptSelect.rb

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