Connect to Smartsheet Data in JRuby

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

Getting Started

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Configure a JDBC Connection to Smartsheet 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 Smartsheet\lib).

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

Smartsheet uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, register an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

However, for testing purposes you can instead use the Personal Access Token you get when you create an application; set this to the OAuthAccessToken connection property.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.smartsheet.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Smartsheet:

jdbc:smartsheet:OAuthClientId=MyOauthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Smartsheet Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: SmartsheetSelect.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 Smartsheet 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.smartsheet.jar'

url = "jdbc:smartsheet:OAuthClientId=MyOauthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT TaskName, Progress FROM Sheet_Event_Plan_Budget")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S SmartsheetSelect.rb

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