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Connect to live data from ConstantContact with the API Driver

Connect to ConstantContact

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Connect to ConstantContact Data in JRuby


Create a simple JRuby app with access to live ConstantContact data.

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to ConstantContact 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 ConstantContact\lib).

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

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

ConstantContact API Profile Settings

ConstantContact uses OAuth-based authentication.

First, you will need to register an OAuth application with ConstantContact. You can do so from the ConstantContact API Guide (https://v3.developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/index.html), under "MyApplications" > "New Application". Your Oauth application will be assigned a client id (API Key) and you can generate a client secret (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 you app settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in you app settings.
  • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for ConstantContact:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to ConstantContact Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: APISelect.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 ConstantContact 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar' url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;" conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url) stmt = conn.createStatement rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, EmailAddress FROM Contacts") while (rs.next) do puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2) end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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