Connect to ServiceNow Data in JRuby

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

Getting Started

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Configure a JDBC Connection to ServiceNow 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 ServiceNow\lib).

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

ServiceNow uses the OAuth 2.0 authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, register an OAuth app with ServiceNow to obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret connection properties. In addition to the OAuth values, specify the Instance, Username, and Password connection properties.

See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide on connecting to ServiceNow.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.servicenow.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for ServiceNow:

jdbc:servicenow:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;Username=MyUsername;Password=MyPassword;URL=https://myinstance12345.service-now-com;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to ServiceNow Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: ServiceNowSelect.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 ServiceNow 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.servicenow.jar'

url = "jdbc:servicenow:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;Username=MyUsername;Password=MyPassword;URL=https://myinstance12345.service-now-com;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT sys_id, priority FROM incident")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S ServiceNowSelect.rb

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