Connect to JotForm Data in RapidMiner

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

Connect to JotForm in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

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

1. Add a new database driver for JotForm: 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:api:
4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.api.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class: cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
6. Create a new JotForm connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the JotForm driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the JotForm Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\JotForm.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for JotForm (see below).

   JotForm API Profile Settings

   You will need to find your JotForm API Key in order to authenticate. To obtain an API Key, go to 'My Account' > 'API Section' > 'Create a New API Key'. Once you've created your new API Key, you can set it in the ProfileSettings connection property.

   Custom Enterprise API Domains

   Enterprise customers of JotForm are given custom API domains to connect to, rather than the default 'api.jotform.com' domain. If you are an enterprise JotForm customer, then set Domain to you custom API hostname, such as 'your-domain.com' or 'subdomain.jotform.com', inside the ProfileSettings connection property. Conversely, if you do not have a custom domain and still need to connect to 'api.jotform.com', then leave Domain undefined and set only APIKey.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the JotForm 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.

   A typical connection string is below:

   Profile=C:\profiles\JotForm.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=my_api_key;Domain=my_custom_domain';
10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your JotForm connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve JotForm data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. 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 JotForm data.