Connect to Xero Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for Xero into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for Xero to transfer Xero data to a process in RapidMiner.

Getting Started

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Connect to Xero in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to Xero:

1. Add a new database driver for Xero: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL:

   jdbc:xero:
   

4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.xero.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class:

   cdata.jdbc.xero.XeroDriver
   

   👁 The JDBC driver configuration. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
6. Create a new Xero connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the Xero driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   To connect, set the Schema connection property in addition to any authentication values. Xero offers authentication for private applications, public applications, and partner applications. Set the XeroAppAuthentication property to PUBLIC, PRIVATE, or PARTNER, depending on the type of application configured. To connect from a private application, you will additionally need to set the OAuthAccessToken, OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, CertificateStoreType, CertificateStore, and CertificateStorePassword.

   To connect from a public or partner application, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL, or you can register an app to obtain your own OAuth values.

   See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to authenticating to Xero.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.xero.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 connection string is below:

   InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
   

10. Enter your username and password if necessary. 👁 The connection to the JDBC data source. (Salesforce is shown.)
    

You can now use your Xero connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve Xero data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. 👁 A Retrieve operation to select data. (Salesforce is shown.)
With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the Xero data.