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Complete read-write access to Xero accounting enables developers to search (Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts, etc.), update items, edit customers, and more, from any Java/J2EE application.

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Create a Data Access Object for Xero Data using JDBI


A brief overview of creating a SQL Object API for Xero data in JDBI.

JDBI is a SQL convenience library for Java that exposes two different style APIs, a fluent style and a SQL object style. The CData JDBC Driver for Xero integrates connectivity to live Xero data in Java applications. By pairing these technologies, you gain simple, programmatic access to Xero data. This article walks through building a basic Data Access Object (DAO) and the accompanying code to read and write Xero data.

Create a DAO for the Xero Items Entity

The interface below declares the desired behavior for the SQL object to create a single method for each SQL statement to be implemented.

public interface MyItemsDAO { //insert new data into Xero @SqlUpdate("INSERT INTO Items (Name, QuantityOnHand) values (:name, :quantityOnHand)") void insert(@Bind("name") String name, @Bind("quantityOnHand") String quantityOnHand); //request specific data from Xero (String type is used for simplicity) @SqlQuery("SELECT QuantityOnHand FROM Items WHERE Name = :name") String findQuantityOnHandByName(@Bind("name") String name); /* * close with no args is used to close the connection */ void close(); }

Open a Connection to Xero

Collect the necessary connection properties and construct the appropriate JDBC URL for connecting to Xero.

To connect, set the Schema connection property in addition to any authentication values. Xero offers authentication for private applications, public applications, and partner applications. You will need to set the XeroAppAuthentication property to PUBLIC, PRIVATE, or PARTNER, depending on the type of application configured. To connect from a private application, you will additionally need to set the OAuthAccessToken, OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, CertificateStoreType, CertificateStore, and CertificateStorePassword.

To connect from a public or partner application, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL, or you can register an app to obtain your own OAuth values.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to authenticating to Xero.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.xero.jar

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

A connection string for Xero will typically look like the following:

jdbc:xero:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

Use the configured JDBC URL to obtain an instance of the DAO interface. The particular method shown below will open a handle bound to the instance, so the instance needs to be closed explicitly to release the handle and the bound JDBC connection.

DBI dbi = new DBI("jdbc:xero:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH"); MyItemsDAO dao = dbi.open(MyItemsDAO.class); //do stuff with the DAO dao.close();

Read Xero Data

With the connection open to Xero, simply call the previously defined method to retrieve data from the Items entity in Xero.

//disply the result of our 'find' method String quantityOnHand = dao.findQuantityOnHandByName("Golf balls - white single"); System.out.println(quantityOnHand);

Write Xero Data

It is also simple to write data to Xero, using the previously defined method.

//add a new entry to the Items entity dao.insert(newName, newQuantityOnHand);

Since the JDBI library is able to work with JDBC connections, you can easily produce a SQL Object API for Xero by integrating with the CData JDBC Driver for Xero. Download a free trial and work with live Xero data in custom Java applications today.