ServiceNow Connector for JAVA

In this article you will learn how to integrate ServiceNow data in JAVA (live / bi-directional connection to ServiceNow). Allows the reading and writing of incidents, attachments, and more in ServiceNow without coding! The ZappySys ServiceNow API Connector provides easy-to-use, high-performance API access..

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

Download Documentation

Create Data Source in ZappySys Data Gateway based on API Driver

  1. Download and install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Search for gateway in start menu and Open ZappySys Data Gateway:
    Open ZappySys Data Gateway

  3. Go to Users Tab to add our first Gateway user. Click Add; we will give it a name tdsuser and enter password you like to give. Check Admin option and click OK to save. We will use these details later when we create linked server:
    ZappySys Data Gateway - Add User

  4. Now we are ready to add a data source. Click Add, give data source a name (Copy this name somewhere, we will need it later) and then select Native - ZappySys API Driver. Finally, click OK. And it will create the Data Set for it and open the ZS driver UI.

    ServiceNowDSN

    ZappySys Data Gateway - Add Data Source

  5. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "ServiceNow" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "ServiceNow" 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:

    ServiceNowDSN
    ServiceNow
    ODBC DSN Template Selection

  6. 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.

    Authenticate using ServiceNow instance username and password

    Steps to get ServiceNow Credentials

    To get your Instance name, Username and Password:

    1. Log in into your ServiceNow and go to https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do.
    2. Click on your profile icon.
    3. Select your instance.
    4. Click on "Manage instance password" or similar link.
    5. In the opened page you should see Instance name, Username and Password.

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

    ServiceNowDSN
    ServiceNow
    Basic Auth [Http]
    https://[$InstanceName$].service-now.com/api/now
    Required Parameters
    InstanceName Fill in the parameter...
    User name Fill in the parameter...
    Password Fill in the parameter...
    ApiVersion Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    Authenticate using ServiceNow instance username, password and clientid, clientsecret [API Help..]

    Steps to get ServiceNow Credentials

    To get your OAuth client ID / ClientSecret perform the below steps:

    1. Login to your instance https://{your-instance-id}.service-now.com/.
    2. Click on All > System OAuth > Application Registry (or just search for "Application Registry" under All menu)
    3. You can also Navigate to "Application Registry" using this link (Replace your instance-id in link) https://{your-instance-id}.service-now.com/now/nav/ui/classic/params/target/oauth_entity_list.do.
    4. Click on "New" button (see top-right corner for most user) and select "Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients".
    5. Fill out the form according to your requirement and click "Submit". If you are unsure then populating the "Name" field will suffice. Please note down the "Client ID" and "Client Secret" as they will be used later.
    6. Go back to Connection UI and enter your UserName, Password and ClientID, Secret.
    7. To create new User you can go to All > Organization > Users
    8. Click Test Connection.

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

    ServiceNowDSN
    ServiceNow
    OAuth [OAuth]
    https://[$InstanceName$].service-now.com/api/now
    Required Parameters
    InstanceName Fill in the parameter...
    User name Fill in the parameter...
    Password Fill in the parameter...
    Client ID Fill in the parameter...
    Client Secret Fill in the parameter...
    ApiVersion Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

  7. 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

  8. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Read data in Java from the DSN

  1. Java code to get the data:

    "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=ServiceNowDSN;user=tdsuser;password=test"
    Java code to Make ZappySys Driver Data Source Call

  2. When you run the code it will make the API call and read the data:
    Java code ZappySys Driver Data Source Results

  3. Here is Java program's code in text format:

    
    //Step-1: Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack and Configure Data Gateway
    
    //Step-2:Assuming the Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver is in below folder
    //C:\Program Files\Microsoft Jdbc Driver 6.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_6.0\enu\auth\x64
    package padaone;
    
    import java.sql.*;
    
    public class zappy {
    
        public static void main(String[] args) {
    
            // Create a variable for the connection string.
            String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=ServiceNowDSN;user=test;password=test";
    
            // Declare the JDBC objects.
            Connection con = null;
            Statement stmt = null;
            ResultSet rs = null;
    
                try {
                    // Establish the connection.
                    Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver");
                    con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);
    
                    // Create and execute an SQL statement that returns some data.
                    String SQL = "SELECT Country , SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity) Total " 
                               + "FROM value " 
                               + "GROUP BY Country "
                               + "WITH (SRC='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json')";
                    stmt = con.createStatement();
                    rs = stmt.executeQuery(SQL);
    
                    // Iterate through the data in the result set and display it.
                    while (rs.next()) {
                        System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
                    }
                }
    
            // Handle any errors that may have occurred.
            catch (Exception e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            } 
            
            finally {
                if (rs != null) try { rs.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
                if (stmt != null) try { stmt.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
                if (con != null) try { con.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            }
        }
    }

Advanced topics

Create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

  1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Stored Procedure

  2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Stored Procedure Name

  3. Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
    Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

    CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
        @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
     AS
        SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
    

    ZappySys Driver - Create Custom Stored Procedure

  4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:

    Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

    ZappySys Driver - Execute Custom Stored Procedure

  5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
    As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.

    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC usp_get_orders @fromdate=''1996-07-30''')

    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

  6. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

  1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Table

  2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Table Name

  3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

  4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
    Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here

    SELECT
      "ShipCountry",
      "OrderID",
      "CustomerID",
      "EmployeeID",
      "OrderDate",
      "RequiredDate",
      "ShippedDate",
      "ShipVia",
      "Freight",
      "ShipName",
      "ShipAddress",
      "ShipCity",
      "ShipRegion",
      "ShipPostalCode"
    FROM "Orders"
    Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

    ZappySys Driver - Create Custom Table

  5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:

    SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

    ZappySys Driver - Execute Custom Virtual Table Query

  6. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
    As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.

    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

  7. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Actions supported by ServiceNow Connector

ServiceNow Connector support following actions for REST API integration. If some actions are not listed below then you can easily edit Connector file and enhance out of the box functionality.
 Get List of Tables - Admin (Use sys_db_object)
Get a list of tables by quering sys_db_object. To read data from this object make sure user has read permission to this table.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
SysId
Query
Fields
 Get List of User Tables - Admin (Use sys_db_object)
Get a list of tables not created by 'system' user    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
SysId
 Get List of System Tables - Admin (Use sys_db_object)
Get a list of tables created by 'system' user    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
SysId
 Get Table Columns - Admin (Use sys_dictionary)
Get a list of columns by quering sys_dictionary. To read data from this table make sure user has read permission to sys_dictionary table.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName
 Get List of Tables
Get a list of tables.    [Read more...]
 Get Table Columns
Get a list of columns of a table    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Table name
 Get Table Rows
Get table rows    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Table name
SysId Row 'sys_id'
Fields Comma-separated field names you want to return in the response. E.g. sys_id,name,label,sys_name,sys_updated_on. Using this setting reduces the response size and speed up the processing.
Query Server side search condition
Option Value
Equal Example numberISINC0000060
AND Example category=software^category=hardware
OR Example category=software^ORcategory=hardware
IN Example categoryINsoftware,hardware
STARTSWITH Example categorySTARTSWITHsoftware
NOT EQUAL Example category!=software
 Delete a Table Row
Insert a row into the table.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Table name
 Update a Table Row
Insert a row into the table.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Table name
SysId Row 'sys_id'
 Delete table row
Delete the specified row in the table by row 'sys_id'.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Table name
SysId Row 'sys_id'
 Generic Request
This is generic endpoint. Use this endpoint when some actions are not implemented by connector. Just enter partial URL (Required), Body, Method, Header etc. Most parameters are optional except URL.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Url API URL goes here. You can enter full URL or Partial URL relative to Base URL. If it is full URL then domain name must be part of ServiceURL or part of TrustedDomains
Body Request Body content goes here
IsMultiPart Set this option if you want to upload file(s) (i.e. POST RAW file data) or send data using Multi-Part encoding method (i.e. Content-Type: multipart/form-data). Multi-Part request allows you to mix key/value and upload files in same request. On the other hand raw upload allows only single file upload (without any key/value) ==== Raw Upload (Content-Type: application/octet-stream) ===== To upload single file in raw mode check this option and specify full file path starting with @ sign in the Body (e.g. @c:\data\myfile.zip ) ==== Form-Data / Multipart Upload (Content-Type: multipart/form-data) ===== To treat your Request data as multi part fields you must specify key/value pairs separated by new lines into RequestData field (i.e. Body). Each key value pair is entered on new-line and key/value are separated using equal sign (=). Preceding and trailing spaces are ignored also blank lines are ignored. If field value has some any special character(s) then use escape sequence (e.g. For NewLine: \r\n, For Tab: \t, For at (@): \@). When value of any field starts with at sign (@) its automatically treated as File you want to upload. By default file content type is determined based on extension however you can supply content type manually for any field using this way [ YourFileFieldName.Content-Type=some-content-type ]. By default File Upload Field always includes Content-Type in the request (non file fields do not have content-type by default unless you supply manually). For some reason if you dont want to use Content-Type header in your request then supply blank Content-Type to exclude this header altogather [e.g. SomeFieldName.Content-Type= ]. In below example we have supplied Content-Type for file2 and SomeField1, all other fields are using default content-type. See below Example of uploading multiple files along with additional fields. If some API requires you to pass Content-Type: multipart/form-data rather than multipart/form-data then manually set Request Header => Content-Type: multipart/mixed (it must starts with multipart/ else will be ignored). file1=@c:\data\Myfile1.txt file2=@c:\data\Myfile2.json file2.Content-Type=application/json SomeField1=aaaaaaa SomeField1.Content-Type=text/plain SomeField2=12345 SomeFieldWithNewLineAndTab=This is line1\r\nThis is line2\r\nThis is \ttab \ttab \ttab SomeFieldStartingWithAtSign=\@MyTwitterHandle
Filter Enter filter to extract array from response. Example: $.rows[*] --OR-- $.customers[*].orders[*]. Check your response document and find out hierarchy you like to extract
Headers Headers for Request. To enter multiple headers use double pipe or new line after each {header-name}:{value} pair

ServiceNow Connector Examples for JAVA Connection

This page offers a collection of SQL examples designed for seamless integration with the ZappySys API ODBC Driver under ODBC Data Source (36/64) or ZappySys Data Gateway, enhancing your ability to connect and interact with Prebuilt Connectors effectively.

Get a list of incidents    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM incident 

--Using Primary Key				
--SELECT * FROM any_table_here WHERE sys_id='109562a3c611227500a7b7ff98cc0dc7' --Primary Key in WHERE clause

--Using Filter Expression
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number!=INC0000001') --Not equal condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberININC0000001,INC0000002,INC0000003') --IN condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7') --AND condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^ORnumber=INC0000002') --OR condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberLIKE0001') --LIKE condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberSTARTSWITHINC00') --StartWith condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberENDSWITH0001') --StartWith condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7^NQORnumber=INC0000002') --AND / OR MIXED using NQ (NewQuery Operator)  -- (number=INC0000001 and state=7) OR (number=INC0000002)

--more information about filter here https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-user-interface/page/use/common-ui-elements/reference/r_OpAvailableFiltersQueries.html


-- To read all available tables execute this query:
-- SELECT * FROM Tables

-- Other common tables:
-----------------------
-- SELECT * FROM sys_db_object
-- SELECT * FROM sys_dictionary
-- SELECT * FROM sys_user
-- SELECT * FROM sys_user_has_role
-- SELECT * FROM sys_user_grmember
-- SELECT * FROM task
-- SELECT * FROM task_sla
-- SELECT * FROM incident
-- SELECT * FROM incident_sla
-- SELECT * FROM change_request
-- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_computer
-- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_outage
-- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci
-- SELECT * FROM sn_customerservice_case
-- SELECT * FROM kb_knowledge
-- SELECT * FROM kb_use
-- SELECT * FROM sc_req_item
-- SELECT * FROM sc_request
-- SELECT * FROM sc_task

Get an incident by sys_id    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM incident
WHERE sys_id = 'SYS_ID_GOES_HERE'

Get only selected columns and speed up the query    [Read more...]

By default all column values are returned in the result set. However, you can instruct the ServiceNow API to send only specific columns you care about by setting 'Fields' parameter in the WITH clause. This will speed up the response significantly.

SELECT number,name FROM incident WITH (Fields='number,name') --Setting Fields parameter will speed up the query

Get the display value of a reference field    [Read more...]

This example shows how to get related record(s) from the reference field. Basically, you need to know referenced table name for that referenced field. Then you can query by sys_id (Primary Key)

--STEP#1 returns incident number and related company (sys_id)
SELECT number,company FROM incident

--STEP#2 find related table for company field
select name,reference from get_table_columns order by 1 WITH(TableName='incident')

--STEP#3 query related table with sys_id returned in step#1
select sys_id, name  from core_company where sys_id='31bea3d53790200044e0bfc8bcbe5dec'

Query table using serverside filter expression    [Read more...]

This example shows how to filter data from a table using server side filter expression. Its always faster to do this way rather than using in WHERE clause (Client Side Filter)

SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition

--syntax (single condition)
--sysparm_query=<col_name><operator><value>

--syntax (multiple conditions)
--sysparm_query=<col_name><operator><value>[<operator><col_name><operator><value>]

--more info check below links
--  https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/rome-application-development/page/integrate/inbound-rest/concept/c_TableAPI.html#title_table-GET
--  https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-user-interface/page/use/common-ui-elements/reference/r_OpAvailableFiltersQueries.html
  
--More examples				
--SELECT * FROM any_table_here WHERE sys_id='109562a3c611227500a7b7ff98cc0dc7' --Primary Key in WHERE clause
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number!=INC0000001') --Not equal condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberININC0000001,INC0000002,INC0000003') --IN condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7') --AND condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^ORnumber=INC0000002') --OR condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberLIKE0001') --LIKE condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberSTARTSWITHINC00') --StartWith condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberENDSWITH0001') --StartWith condition
--SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7^NQORnumber=INC0000002') --AND / OR MIXED using NQ (NewQuery Operator)  -- (number=INC0000001 and state=7) OR (number=INC0000002)

Create an incident    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO incident(incident_state, severity, category, cause)
VALUES (3, 1, 'software', 'Missing a software feature.')

Update an incident    [Read more...]

UPDATE incident
SET cause = 'A bug in the software'
   ,severity = 3
   ,incident_state = 2
WHERE sys_id = 'SYS_ID_GOES_HERE'

Delete an incident    [Read more...]

DELETE incident
WHERE sys_id = 'SYS_ID_GOES_HERE'

Get a list of tables    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Tables

Get a list of system tables    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM SystemTables

Get a list of user tables    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM UserTables

Get columns of a specific table    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM get_table_columns
where name = 'TableNameGoesHere'

Get all columns of all tables (can be slow)    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM get_table_columns_admin --requires readonly permissions on sys_dictionary and sys_db_object tables

Use 'generic_request' endpoint to get Accounts    [Read more...]

Use 'generic_request' endpoint to get Accounts (or access another ServiceNow API). Use ServiceNow API Reference and Query Builder to build custom requests.

SELECT *
FROM generic_request
WITH(
	Url='/v2/table/incident?sysparm_limit=10000&sysparm_query=numberLIKE0001^ORDERBYsys_created_on',
	Filter='$.result',
	Meta='sys_id:string;number:string;business_stc:int', --//comment this to see all columns (SLOW)
	PagingMode='ByResponseHeaderRfc5988',
  --Method='GET',
  --Body='{your POST body}'  
)

-- Request URL should be partial like this one:
-- /v2/some_table?some-parameter=somevalue1&some-parameter=somevalue2

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to ServiceNow in JAVA and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download ServiceNow Connector for JAVA and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).

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