Connect to SurveyMonkey Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey\lib).

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

SurveyMonkey uses the OAuth 2 authentication standard. See the Getting Started section in the help documentation for a guide.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.surveymonkey.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for SurveyMonkey:

jdbc:surveymonkey:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:portNumber;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to SurveyMonkey Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: SurveyMonkeySelect.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 SurveyMonkey 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.surveymonkey.jar'

url = "jdbc:surveymonkey:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:portNumber;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT RespondentId, ChoiceId FROM MySurvey_Responses")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S SurveyMonkeySelect.rb

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