Connect to QuickBooks Time Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to QuickBooks Time 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 QuickBooks Time\lib).

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

TSheets uses the OAuth2 standard for authentication and authorization. To construct your own OAuth app and connect to data, refer to OAuth section in the Help.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.tsheets.jar

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for QuickBooks Time:

jdbc:tsheets:OAuthClientId=myclientid;OAuthClientSecret=myclientsecret;CallbackUrl=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to QuickBooks Time Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: TSheetsSelect.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 QuickBooks Time 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.tsheets.jar'

url = "jdbc:tsheets:OAuthClientId=myclientid;OAuthClientSecret=myclientsecret;CallbackUrl=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, JobcodeId FROM Timesheets")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S TSheetsSelect.rb

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