Connect to TaxJar Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to TaxJar 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 TaxJar\lib).

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

To authenticate to the TaxJar API, first obtain the API Key from the TaxJar UI.

NOTE: the API is available only for Professional and Premium TaxJar plans.

If you already have a Professional or Premium plan you can find the API Key by logging in the TaxJar UI and navigating to Account -> TaxJar API. After obtaining the API Key, you can set it in the APIKey connection property.

Additional Notes

• By default, the CData connector will retrieve data of the last 3 months in cases where the entity support date range filtering. You can set StartDate to specify the minimum creation date of the data retrieved.
• If the API Key has been created for a sandbox API account please set UseSandbox to true, but not all endpoints will work as expected. For more information, refer to the TaxJar developer documentation.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.taxjar.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for TaxJar:

jdbc:taxjar:APIKey=3bb04218ef8t80efdf1739abf7257144;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to TaxJar Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: TaxJarSelect.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 TaxJar 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.taxjar.jar'

url = "jdbc:taxjar:APIKey=3bb04218ef8t80efdf1739abf7257144;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT TransactionID, UserID FROM Orders")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S TaxJarSelect.rb

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