Build a PostgreSQL Interface for Webex Data using the CData JDBC Driver

There are a vast number of PostgreSQL clients available on the Internet. From standard Drivers to BI and Analytics tools, PostgreSQL is a popular interface for data access. Using our JDBC Drivers, you can now create PostgreSQL entry-points that you can connect to from any standard client.

To access Webex data as a PostgreSQL database, use the CData JDBC Driver for Webex and a JDBC foreign data wrapper (FDW). In this article, we compile the FDW, install it, and query Webex data from PostgreSQL Server.

Connect to Webex Data as a JDBC Data Source

To connect to Webex as a JDBC data source, you will need the following:

• Driver JAR path: The JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

• Driver class:

  cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
  

• JDBC URL: The URL must start with "jdbc:api:" and can include any of the connection properties in name-value pairs separated with semicolons.

  To authenticate to Webex, and connect to your own data or to allow other users to connect to their data, you can use the OAuth standard.

  Using OAuth Authentication

  First, you will need to register an OAuth application with Webex. To do so, navigate to the Webex Developer Portal and create a new integration. Your OAuth application will be assigned a client id and a client secret.

  After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId: Set this to the client_id that is specified in your app settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in your app settings.
  • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI that is specified in your app settings.
  • Scope: Set this in ProfileSettings to specify the OAuth scopes requested during authorization. Multiple scopes can be space-separated (e.g. ProfileSettings='Scope=spark:all spark:kms').

  Example connection string:

  Profile=C:\profiles\Webex.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;ProfileSettings='Scope=your_scopes';
  

  Built-in Connection String Designer

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

  java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
  

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

  👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
  

  A typical JDBC URL is below:

  jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Webex.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;ProfileSettings='Scope=your_scopes';
  

Build the JDBC Foreign Data Wrapper

The Foreign Data Wrapper can be installed as an extension to PostgreSQL, without recompiling PostgreSQL. The jdbc2_fdw extension is used as an example (downloadable here).

1. Add a symlink from the shared object for your version of the JRE to /usr/lib/libjvm.so. For example:

   ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64/server/libjvm.so /usr/lib/libjvm.so
   

2. Start the build:

   make install USE_PGXS=1
   

Query Webex Data as a PostgreSQL Database

After you have installed the extension, follow the steps below to start executing queries to Webex data:

1. Log into your database.
2. Load the extension for the database:

   CREATE EXTENSION jdbc2_fdw;
   

3. Create a server object for Webex:

   CREATE SERVER API 
   FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER jdbc2_fdw OPTIONS (
   drivername 'cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver',
   url 'jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Webex.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;ProfileSettings='Scope=your_scopes';',
   querytimeout '15',
   jarfile '/home/MyUser/CData/CData\ JDBC\ Driver\ for\ Salesforce MyDriverEdition/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'); 
   

4. Create a user mapping for the username and password of a user known to the MySQL daemon.

   CREATE USER MAPPING for postgres SERVER API OPTIONS (
   username 'admin', 
   password 'test');
   

5. Create a foreign table in your local database:

   postgres=# CREATE FOREIGN TABLE adminauditevents (
   adminauditevents_id text,
   adminauditevents_ text,
   adminauditevents_ numeric) 
   SERVER API OPTIONS (
   table_name 'adminauditevents');
   

You can now execute SELECT commands to Webex:

postgres=# SELECT * FROM adminauditevents;