Connect to Scrapfly Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData API Driver for JDBC, Denodo users can work with live Scrapfly data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article explains how to create a virtual data source for Scrapfly in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Scrapfly data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Scrapfly, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Scrapfly and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze Scrapfly data using native data types.

Create the Scrapfly Virtual Port

To connect to live Scrapfly data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData API Driver for JDBC installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData API Driver for JDBC\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-api-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC. 👁 Creating a new JDBC data source.
   
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: api
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-api-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Scrapfly.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';

     👁 Configuring the JDBC connection (NetSuite is shown).
     

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

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

     	java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
     	

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

     The Scrapfly API uses API Key authentication. The API key is passed as the key query parameter on every request.

     Using API Key Authentication

     Your Scrapfly API key is required to create a connection. To obtain your API key:

     1. Log into your Scrapfly account at scrapfly.io.
     2. Navigate to Dashboard and select API Keys.
     3. Copy your API key (begins with scp-live- for production or scp-test- for the test environment).

     After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
     • APIKey: Set this to your Scrapfly API key.

     Example connection string:

     Profile=C:\profiles\Scrapfly.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';
     

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View Scrapfly Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of Scrapfly data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.API).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import. 👁 Selecting objects to import (NetSuite is shown).
   
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the Scrapfly data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_api_account) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_api_account CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

   👁 Configuring the query to view the data.
   
7. Click Execute to view the data. 👁 Viewing the data.
   

With the base view created, you can now work with live Scrapfly data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying Scrapfly in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live Scrapfly data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.