Connect to Workday Data in JRuby

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

Getting Started

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Configure a JDBC Connection to Workday 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 Workday\lib).

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

To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.

Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant

To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.

The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:

• https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
• mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.

For example, in the REST API endpoint https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com/ccx/api/v1/mycompany, the BaseURL is https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com and the Tenant is mycompany.

Using ConnectionType to Select the API

The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.

Authentication

Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.

• WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
• SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.

See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.workday.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.)

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Workday:

jdbc:workday:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Tenant=mycompany_gm1;BaseURL=https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com;ConnectionType=WQL;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Workday Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: WorkdaySelect.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 Workday 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.workday.jar'

url = "jdbc:workday:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Tenant=mycompany_gm1;BaseURL=https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com;ConnectionType=WQL;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Worker_Reference_WID, Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM Workers")
while (rs.next) do
 puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S WorkdaySelect.rb

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