Access MySQL Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver

The CData JDBC Driver for MySQL connects MySQL data to Mule applications enabling read , write, update, and delete functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze MySQL data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for MySQL inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for MySQL data. The application created allows you to request MySQL data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.

1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
   • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
   • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.mysql.jar).
   • Set the URL to the connection string for MySQL

     The Server and Port properties must be set to a MySQL server. If IntegratedSecurity is set to false, then User and Password must be set to valid user credentials. Optionally, Database can be set to connect to a specific database. If not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.mysql.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   • Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.mysql.MySQLDriver.
   • Click Test Connection.
6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request MySQL data. For example: SELECT ShipName, Freight FROM Orders
7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:

   %dw 2.0
   output application/json
   ---
   payload
           

9. To view your MySQL data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The MySQL data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with MySQL data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for MySQL and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.