Connect to Salesforce Data in RapidMiner

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

Connect to Salesforce in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

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

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

   There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Salesforce: Login, OAuth, and SSO. The Login method requires you to have the username, password, and security token of the user.

   If you do not have access to the username and password or do not wish to require them, you can use OAuth authentication.

   SSO (single sign-on) can be used by setting the SSOProperties, SSOLoginUrl, and TokenUrl connection properties, which allow you to authenticate to an identity provider. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for more information.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar

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

   A typical connection string is below:

   User=username;Password=password;SecurityToken=Your_Security_Token;
10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your Salesforce connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve Salesforce 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 Salesforce data.