Jira Connector for Informatica

In this article you will learn how to integrate Jira data in Informatica without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to Jira). Jira Connector can be used to integrate Jira and your defined data source, e.g. Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Excel, Power BI, etc. Get, write, delete Issues, Users, Worklogs, Comments just in a few clicks!.

Using Jira Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within Informatica. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that.

Download Documentation

NOTE: If you need to consume API which is not listed on connector library page then please refer to the below article links. It talks about how to read / write pretty much any API and not just Jira API. It explains various API tips / tricks using our other Universal Drivers not mentioned in this article (i.e. ZappySys JSON / XML and CSV Drivers).
How to read API data in Informatica (Call JSON / XML SOAP Service)
How to write data to API (POST) in Informatica (Call JSON / XML SOAP Service)

Introduction

Informatica PowerCenter LogoJSON / REST API is becoming more and more popular each day as everyone embrace cloud-centric services. This article is primarily focused on Informatica users who want to access Jira data or may be other API Integration in Informatica. However many tips and techniques described in this article will help you to understand how to integrate Jira / XML SOAP / JSON / REST API in other ETL / Reporting apps such as Tableau, Power BI, SSRS, Talend, Excel and many more.

After going through this article you will learn how to Read Jira / JSON / REST API data in Informatica and understand the concept of JSON / REST API. We will go through many screenshots and step-by-step examples to demonstrate  Jira or REST API integration in Informatica PowerCenter.

XML / JSON can come from a local file or REST API service (internal or public) so we will include both examples in this article (i.e. Read JSON files in Informatica,  Import REST API in Informatica). So let’s get started. Next article will focus on how to write data to API in Informatica (POST / PUT data)

Requirements

This article assumes that you have full filled following basic requirements.

  1. Download Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack (API Driver for Jira included)
  2. Install Informatica PowerCenter Client Tools (e.g. Workflow and Mapping Designers)
  3. Access to a Relational database such as SQL Server (or use any of your choice e.g. Oracle, MySQL, DB2 ). If nothing available then you can use flat file target.

High level Steps for Import Jira data using Informatica (Read Jira API data)

Before we dive deep to learn how to load Jira data in Informatica (i.e. Jira to SQL Table), Here the summary of high-level steps you need to perform to import Jira in Informatica (same steps for Import JSON / XML / REST API).

  1. Download and Install ZappySys API Driver (for connecting to Jira)
  2. Create ODBC DSN using ZappySys API driver and choose Jira Connector during Wizard
  3. Create Relational > ODBC Connection in Informatica Workflow designer (Point to DSN we created in the previous step)
  4. Import Jira Source Definition in the Informatica Mapping Designer > Sources Tab
  5. Import Target Table Definition in the Informatica Mapping Designer > Targets Tab
  6. Create source to target mapping in Mappings tab
  7. Save mapping (name m_API_to_SQL_Load )
  8. Create Session using the mapping we created in the previous step
  9. Save Workflow and execute to load Jira data into SQL Table. Verify your data and log.
    Loading JSON data to SQL Table in Informatica (Import Jira / REST API / JSON Files)

    Loading Jira data to SQL Table in Informatica (Import REST API or JSON Files)

Video Tutorial – Read any API / JSON data in Informatica (Load Jira to SQL Table)

Below video is not about Jira API but its showing API access in general (for any API). By watching following ~5 min video can learn steps listed in this article to load JSON API data into SQL Server Table using ZappySys JSON Driver. You can go though full article to learn many useful details not covered in this video.

Getting Started – Import Jira to SQL Server in Informatica

Now let’s get started. For example purpose, we will read data from Jira and load data into SQL Server Table using Informatica Workflow.

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Jira using Informatica we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Jira. We will later be able to read data using Informatica. Perform these steps:

  1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
    Open ODBC Data Source

  3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

    ZappySys API Driver
    Create new User DSN for ZappySys API Driver
    You should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version.
  4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Jira" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Jira" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    ODBC DSN Template Selection

  5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    Steps how to get and use Jira credentials
    Firstly, login into your Atlassian account and then go to your Jira profile:

    1. Go to Profile > Security.
    2. Click Create and manage API tokens.
    3. Then click Create API token button and give your token a label.
    4. When window appears with new API token, copy and use it in this connection manager.
    5. That's it!

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    API Key based Authentication [Http]
    https://[$Subdomain$].atlassian.net/rest/api/3
    Required Parameters
    Subdomain Fill-in the parameter...
    Atlassian User Name (email) Fill-in the parameter...
    API Key Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    CustomColumnsRegex
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration
    Steps how to get and use Jira credentials
    Follow official Atlassian instructions on how to create a PAT (Personal Access Token) for JIRA

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication [Http]
    https://[$Subdomain$].atlassian.net/rest/api/3
    Required Parameters
    Subdomain Fill-in the parameter...
    Token (PAT Bearer Token) Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    CustomColumnsRegex
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    OAuth App must be created in Atlassian Developer Console. It is found at https://developer.atlassian.com/console/myapps/ [API reference]

    Steps how to get and use Jira credentials
    Firstly, login into your Atlassian account and then create Jira application:

    1. Go to Atlassian Developer area.
    2. Click Create and select OAuth 2.0 integration item to create an OAuth app: Create OAuth integration app in Atlassian
    3. Give your app a name, accept the terms and hit Create: Name OAuth app in Atlassian
    4. To enable permissions/scopes for your application, click Permissions tab, then hit Add button, and click Configure button, once it appears: Enable scopes in OAuth app in Atlassian
    5. Continue by hitting Edit Scopes button to assign scopes for the application: Edit scopes in OAuth app in Atlassian
    6. Select these scopes or all of them: Add Jira scopes in OAuth app in Atlassian
    7. Then click Authorization option on the left and click Add button: Add authorization in OAuth app in Atlassian
    8. Enter your own Callback URL (Redirect URL) or simply enter https://zappysys.com/oauth, if you don't have one:
    9. Set callback URL for OAuth app in Atlassian
    10. Then hit Settings option and copy Client ID and Secret into your favorite text editor (we will need them in the next step): Get Jira data via REST API and OAuth
    11. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and in OAuth authentication set these parameters:
    • For ClientId parameter use Client ID value from the previous steps.
    • For ClientSecret parameter use Secret value from the previous steps.
    • For Scope parameter use the Scopes you set previously (specify them all here):
      • offline_access (a must)
      • read:jira-user
      • read:jira-work
      • write:jira-work
      • manage:jira-project
      • manage:jira-configuration
      NOTE: A full list of available scopes is available in Atlassian documentation.
    • For Subdomain parameter use your Atlassian subdomain value (e.g. mycompany, if full host name is mycompany.atlassian.net).
  6. Click Generate Token to generate tokens.
  7. Finally, select Organization Id from the drop down.
  8. That's it! You can now use Jira Connector!

Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

JiraDSN
Jira
OAuth (**Must change API Base URL to V3 OAuth**) [OAuth]
https://[$Subdomain$].atlassian.net/rest/api/3
Required Parameters
ClientId Fill-in the parameter...
ClientSecret Fill-in the parameter...
Scope Fill-in the parameter...
ReturnUrl Fill-in the parameter...
Organization Id (Select after clicking [Generate Token]) Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Custom Columns for output (Select after clicking [Generate Token])
ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

  • Once the data source has been configured, you can preview data. Select the Preview tab and use settings similar to the following to preview data:
    ODBC ZappySys Data Source Preview

  • Click OK to finish creating the data source.

  • Video instructions

    Create Connection in Informatica Workflow Designer

    Once you create DSN using API Driver our next step is to define a connection for Jira source in Informatica PowerCenter Workflow designer.

    1. Open Workflow designer [W] icon
    2. Goto Connections > Relational
      Create new connection for JSON in Informatica

      Create a new connection for Jira in Informatica

    3. Click New and select ODBC
      Select ODBC connection type in Informatica (Using ZappySys JSON ODBC DSN)

      Select ODBC connection type in Informatica (Using ZappySys API ODBC DSN)

    4. Now on the ODBC connection setup enter connection name, some fake userid / password (this is a required field but its ignored by JSON Driver)
    5. In the Connection String field enter the exact same name of DSN (Open ODBC Data Sources UI to confirm)
      Configure Jira connection in Informatica for REST API – Using ZappySys API ODBC Driver

      Configure Jira connection in Informatica for REST API – Using ZappySys API Driver

    6. Click OK to close the connection properties.

    That’s it. Now we ready to move to next step (define source and target in Mapping Designer).

    Import Jira Source Definition in Informatica Mapping Designer

    Now let’s look at steps to import Jira table definition.

    1. Open Informatica Mapping Designer (Click [D] icon)
    2. Click on Source Icon to switch to Sources designer
    3. From the top menu > Click on Sources > Import from Database
      Import JSON Source definition in Informatica Mapping Designer (JSON file or REST API)

      Import Jira Source definition in Informatica Mapping Designer (JSON file or REST API)

    4. Select ODBC data source from the dropdown (Find out DSN we created earlier to use as JSON Source)
    5. Click Connect button to get a list of tables. Any array node is listed as a table. Also, you will see array node with parent columns (e.g. value_with_parent). You may get some warning like below but they are harmless so just ignore by clicking OK.
      DLL name entry missing from C:\Informatica\PowerCenter8.6.1\client\bin\powrmart.ini Section = ODBCDLL Entry = ZappySys JSON Driver
      —————————————————-
      Using EXTODBC.DLL to support ZappySys JSON Driver. For native support of ZappySys JSON Driver make an entry in the .ini file.
      Select JSON Source Table in Informatica Mapping Designer (JSON file or REST API)

      Select Jira Source Table in Informatica Mapping Designer (JSON file or REST API)

    6. Select Table you wish to get (You can filter rows by custom SQL query. We will see later in this article how to do)
    7. Optionally once table structure is imported you can rename it
      Rename imported table definition in Informatica Source Designer

      Rename imported table definition in Informatica Source Designer

    8. That’s it, we are now ready to perform similar steps to import Target table structure in the next section.

    Import SQL Server Target Definition in Informatica Mapping Designer

    Now let’s look at steps to import Target table definition (very similar to the previous section, the only difference is this time we will select DSN which points to SQL Server or any other Target Server).