Connect to Salesforce Data 360 Data in Ruby

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Connect to Salesforce Data 360 data in Ruby with ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc.

The CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data 360 makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Salesforce Data 360 data in Ruby. This article shows how to create a simple Ruby app that connects to Salesforce Data 360 data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Create an ODBC Connection to Salesforce Data 360 Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Salesforce Data 360 supports authentication via the OAuth standard.

OAuth

Set AuthScheme to OAuth.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data 360 console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.

Before you connect, set these properties:

  • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data 360's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:

  • Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
  • Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
  • Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation so that they persist across connections.
  • For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.

    Installing Ruby and Necessary Gems

    If you do not have Ruby installed, refer to the Ruby installation page. With Ruby installed, you will need to install the ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc gems:

    
    gem install dbi
    gem install dbd-odbc
    gem install ruby-odbc
    

    Create a Ruby App with Connectivity to Salesforce Data 360 Data

    Create a new Ruby file (for example: SalesforceDataCloudSelect.rb) and open it in a text editor. Copy the following code into your file:

    
    #connect to the DSN
    require 'dbi'
    cnxn = DBI.connect('DBI:ODBC:CData SalesforceDataCloud Source','','')
    
    #execute a SELECT query and store the result set
    resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT [Account ID], [Account Name] FROM Account WHERE EmployeeCount > 250")
    
    #display the names of the columns
    resultSet.column_names.each do |name|
      print name, "\t"
    end
    puts
    
    #display the results
    while row = resultSet.fetch do
      (0..resultSet.column_names.size - 1).each do |n|
        print row[n], "\t"
      end
      puts
    end
    resultSet.finish
    
    #close the connection
    cnxn.disconnect if cnxn
    

    With the file completed, you are ready to display your Salesforce Data 360 data with Ruby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

    
    ruby SalesforceDataCloudSelect.rb
    
    Writing SQL-92 queries to Salesforce Data 360 allows you to quickly and easily incorporate Salesforce Data 360 data into your own Ruby applications. Download a free trial today!

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Salesforce Data Cloud ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

Salesforce Data Cloud Icon Salesforce Data 360 ODBC Driver

The Salesforce Data 360 ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Salesforce Data 360, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Salesforce Data 360 data like you would a database - read Salesforce Data 360 DataGraph, DataLakeObject, DataModelObjects, CalculatedInsights, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.