How to connect Java to REST API (JSON / SOAP XML)

In this new article, we will see how to connect Java to REST API using a simple connector. This ODBC driver allows connecting to REST API or a local file in Java using SQL queries. If you are familiar with SQL, you can easily access to REST API or JSON using simple SQL queries. This article mainly focus on JSON based REST API but techniques listed in this article is almost same for XML based API (e.g. SOAP Web Services).

Requirements

First of all, we will require the JDBC Driver for SQL Server.
Secondly, we will require ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.
Also, we will require a Java IDE. We will use Java NetBeans for this.

Getting started

First of all, we will create an ODBC connection with a Gateway to the SQL Server connector and then we will connect with Java code.

Add ZappySys ODBC Driver to connect to REST API

The ZappySys JSON Driver allows connecting to different resources like JSON files, REST API, OData, etc.

First of all, in the ODBC Data Source Administrator, press add to add a new System Data Source:
Add new ODBC driver
Secondly, select the ZappySys JSON Driver:
Select JSON driver in ODBC DS Administrator
Also, add this URL to the ZappySys JSON Driver:

https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json

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https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json

REST API ODBC URL

ZappySys Gateway to connect Java to REST API

In order to connect Java to REST API, we will use a Gateway that is installed with the ZappySys ODBC PowerPack. This gateway uses a SQL Server connection. Let’s take a look at the steps.

First of all, open the ZappysSys Data Gateway Configuration.
Secondly, press the add button and create a new data source named customer:
Add new Data Source in ZappySys Gateway
Also, enable the custom data source and make sure to check the public option.
In addition, press the Edit and add the ODBC Data Source created in the Add ZappySys ODBC Driver to connect to REST API section:

<strong>NOTE:</strong> Whenever possible use native driver option for better performance / security and ease of use.

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<strong>NOTE:</strong> Whenever possible use native driver option for better performance / security and ease of use.

Zappysys ODBC driver
Additionally, we will add a new user:
Add the user to the data source gateway
Also, add the user to the data source:
Add user to the data source
Finally, check the default port in the general tab. By default this value is 5000:
Default gateway with port 5000

Connect Java to REST API

First of all, we will first try to connect to the following URL:

https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json

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https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json

Secondly, we will get the countries and the sum or quantity orders using the following code:

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=customer;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) {}
		}
	}
}

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=customer;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) {}

}

In addition, in the project, go to libraries, right click and select the option to add JAR or folder and select the sqljdbc42.jar. This jar file is used to connect to SQL Server. The ZappySys ODBC PowerPack uses the SQL Server JDBC connector with a gateway to connect to REST API or JSON files:
Add SQL Server jar file
Also, we will need to add the sqljdb4.2.jar and the sqljdbc_auth.dll in the C:/Windows/System32 and the path where the JDK is installed (in this example C:/Program Files/Java/jdk1.8.0_171/bin).
Finally, run the code and you will visualize the query results of the REST API:
REST API results in Java

Explanation of the code to Connect Java to REST API

Previously, we run the code to query REST API data in Java. Now we will explain the code.

First of all, we will import the java.sql to connect to SQL Server using Java:

Java

import java.sql.*;

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import java.sql.*;
Secondly, we will create a connection to the ZappySys Gateway. Using the port 5000 and we are using the data source and user created in the Add ZappySys ODBC Driver to connect to REST API:

Java

String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=customer; user=test;password=test";

1
2

String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=customer;
user=test;password=test";
Also, we will set the variables to null to initialize them:

Java

Connection con = null; Statement stmt = null; ResultSet rs = null;

1
2
3

Connection con = null;
Statement stmt = null;
ResultSet rs = null;
In addition, we will connect to the JDBC SQL driver:

Java

Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver"); con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);

1
2

Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver");
con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);

Additionally, we will send a query to the URL and get the country and the sum of price multiplied by quantity, group by country:

    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);

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);

Next, we will print the results of the query:

Java

while (rs.next()) { System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2)); }

1
2
3

while (rs.next()) {
System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
}

Finally, we will close all the connections:

		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) {}
		}

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) {}

}

How to connect to multiple JSON files

The ZappySys ODBC PowerPack can be used to easily read local JSON files in Java and query using SQL with SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING and other SQL clauses. For more information, refer to this link.

The following code will list the files and the content of the JSON files:

package padaone;

import java.io.File;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.Statement;

public class localfile {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        File directory = new File ("C:\\temp");
        File[] list = directory.listFiles();
        
        printNames(list);	
    }

    private static void printNames(File[] list) {
        for(int i =0;i<list.length;i++){
            if(list[i].isFile()){
                System.out.println(list[i].getName());

                
                showContent(list[i]);
                
            }
        }
    }

    private static void showContent(File file) {
      
        // Create a variable for the connection string.
        String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=customer;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 * FROM $ WITH (SRC='C:\\temp\\"+file.getName()+"')";
                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));//+ " " + rs.getString(3)+ " " + rs.getString(4)+ " " + rs.getString(5)+ " " + rs.getString(6));
                }
        }

        // 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) {}
        }
	
    }

}

package padaone;

import java.io.File;

import java.sql.Connection;

import java.sql.DriverManager;

import java.sql.ResultSet;

import java.sql.Statement;

public class localfile {

public static void main(String[] args) {

File directory = new File ("C:\\temp");

File[] list = directory.listFiles();

printNames(list);

}

private static void printNames(File[] list) {

for(int i =0;i<list.length;i++){

if(list[i].isFile()){

System.out.println(list[i].getName());

showContent(list[i]);

}

private static void showContent(File file) {

// Create a variable for the connection string.

String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=customer;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 * FROM $ WITH (SRC='C:\\temp\\"+file.getName()+"')";

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));//+ " " + rs.getString(3)+ " " + rs.getString(4)+ " " + rs.getString(5)+ " " + rs.getString(6));

}

// 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) {}

}

The JSON files are the following:

example_1.json

[{
  "id": 1,
  "first_name": "Jeanette",
  "last_name": "Penddreth",
  "email": "jpenddreth0@census.gov",
  "gender": "Female",
  "ip_address": "26.58.193.2"
}, {
  "id": 2,
  "first_name": "Giavani",
  "last_name": "Frediani",
  "email": "gfrediani1@senate.gov",
  "gender": "Male",
  "ip_address": "229.179.4.212"
}, {
  "id": 3,
  "first_name": "Noell",
  "last_name": "Bea",
  "email": "nbea2@imageshack.us",
  "gender": "Female",
  "ip_address": "180.66.162.255"
}, {
  "id": 4,
  "first_name": "Willard",
  "last_name": "Valek",
  "email": "wvalek3@vk.com",
  "gender": "Male",
  "ip_address": "67.76.188.26"
}]

example_2.json

{
    "quiz": {
        "sport": {
            "q1": {
                "question": "Which one is correct team name in NBA?",
                "options": [
                    "New York Bulls",
                    "Los Angeles Kings",
                    "Golden State Warriros",
                    "Huston Rocket"
                ],
                "answer": "Huston Rocket"
            }
        },
        "maths": {
            "q1": {
                "question": "5 + 7 = ?",
                "options": [
                    "10",
                    "11",
                    "12",
                    "13"
                ],
                "answer": "12"
            },
            "q2": {
                "question": "12 - 8 = ?",
                "options": [
                    "1",
                    "2",
                    "3",
                    "4"
                ],
                "answer": "4"
            }
        }
    }
}

example_1.json

[{

"id": 1,

"first_name": "Jeanette",

"last_name": "Penddreth",

"email": "jpenddreth0@census.gov",

"gender": "Female",

"ip_address": "26.58.193.2"

}, {

"id": 2,

"first_name": "Giavani",

"last_name": "Frediani",

"email": "gfrediani1@senate.gov",

"gender": "Male",

"ip_address": "229.179.4.212"

}, {

"id": 3,

"first_name": "Noell",

"last_name": "Bea",

"email": "nbea2@imageshack.us",

"gender": "Female",

"ip_address": "180.66.162.255"

}, {

"id": 4,

"first_name": "Willard",

"last_name": "Valek",

"email": "wvalek3@vk.com",

"gender": "Male",

"ip_address": "67.76.188.26"

}]

example_2.json

{

"quiz": {

"sport": {

"q1": {

"question": "Which one is correct team name in NBA?",

"options": [

"New York Bulls",

"Los Angeles Kings",

"Golden State Warriros",

"Huston Rocket"

"answer": "Huston Rocket"

}

"maths": {

"q1": {

"question": "5 + 7 = ?",

"options": [

"10",

"11",

"12",

"13"

"answer": "12"

"q2": {

"question": "12 - 8 = ?",

"options": [

"1",

"2",

"3",

"4"

"answer": "4"

}

Finally, if everything is fine, you will be able to see the file names
and the content:
Read JSON files in Java

How to connect Java to REST API Gmail

Connect Java to Google, Facebook, OneDrive or other REST API tools is a straightforward process using the ZappySys ODBC Driver. You just need to create the Data Source in ODBC and then create a ZappySys Gateway, the rest is simple in Java. Let’s take a look at an example.

First of all, we will create a new Data source in the Windows ODBC Data
Source Administrator. We will create a new ZappySys JSON Driver and add the following link:

https://www.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/me/messages/

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https://www.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/me/messages/
Secondly, select the OAuth connection type and $.messages[*] in the
filter and press the Click to Configure link:
Setup ODBC configuration to URL
Also, in the OAuth parameters link, select the Google OAuth Provider.
In addition in scopes write the scope https://mail.google.com:
Rest API connect to Gmail
Additionally, in the preview tab, you can generate your queries and save
your Data Source:
Connect Java to REST API
Next, open your ZappySys Data Gateway. We will create a new Data Source
named gm:
Add Gmail Data Source
Also, we will associate the ODBC Data Source with the Gateway Data Source. Make sure to add the test user to the Gateway data source:
Include the data source for the ODBC

Finally, you can run this code. The code in Java will connect to the Gateway data source using the port 5000 and the Gateway user and password. The query will show the Gmail message ids:

package padaone;

import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.Statement;


public class gmail {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
		
		// Create a variable for the connection string.
		String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=gm;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 id FROM [_root_]";
            		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));
            		}
        	}
        
		// 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) {}
		}
	}
}

package padaone;

import java.sql.Connection;

import java.sql.DriverManager;

import java.sql.ResultSet;

import java.sql.Statement;

public class gmail {

public static void main(String[] args) {

// Create a variable for the connection string.

String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=gm;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 id FROM [_root_]";

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));

}

// 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) {}

}

You can find your message id in Google by clicking your messages:
Display Gmail information in Java

ZappySys JSON /REST API Driver Query Examples

Reading from XML files or API can be done using the same way as previous sections except you have to use ZappySys XML Driver. Read help file here to see json query examples.

ZappySys XML / SOAP Driver Query Examples

Reading from XML files or API can be done using the same way as previous sections except you have to use ZappySys XML Driver. Read help file here to see xml query examples.

Calling XML SOAP Web Service in JAVA

So far we have looked at examples to consume data using JSON driver. Now lets look at an example, to call XML SOAP Web Service in JAVA.

To call SOAP API you need to know Request XML Body Structure. If you are not sure how to create SOAP Request body then no worries. Check this article to learn how to generate SOAP Request body using the Free tool SoapUI. Basically, you have to use SoapUI to generate Request XML and after that, you can replace parameters as needed in the generated body.

What is SOAP Web Service?

If you are new to SOAP Web Service sometimes referred as XML Web Service then please read some concept about SOAP Web service standard from this link There are two important aspects in SOAP Web service.

Getting WSDL file or URL
Knowing exact Web Service URL

What is WSDL

In very simple term WSDL (often pronounced as whiz-dull) is nothing but a document which describes Service metadata (e.g. Functions you can call, Request parameters, response structure etc). Some service simply give you WSDL as xml file you can download on local machine and then analyze or sometimes you may get direct URL (e.g. http://api.mycompany.com/hr-soap-service/?wsdl )

Example SQL Query for SOAP API call using ZappySys XML Driver

Here is an example SQL query you can write to call SOAP API. If you not sure about many details then check next few sections on how to use XML Driver User Interface to build desired SQL query to POST data to XML SOAP Web Service without any coding.

SELECT * FROM $
WITH(
	 Src='http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/HolidayService2.asmx'
	,DataConnectionType='HTTP'
	,CredentialType='Basic' --OR SoapWss
	,SoapWssPasswordType='PasswordText'
	,UserName='myuser'
	,Password='pass$$w123'
	,Filter='$.soap:Envelope.soap:Body.GetHolidaysAvailableResponse.GetHolidaysAvailableResult.HolidayCode[*]'
	,ElementsToTreatAsArray='HolidayCode'	
	,RequestMethod='POST'	
	,Header='Content-Type: text/xml;charset=UTF-8 || SOAPAction: "http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/GetHolidaysAvailable"'
	,RequestData='
<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:hol="http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <hol:GetHolidaysAvailable>
         <!--type: Country - enumeration: [Canada,GreatBritain,IrelandNorthern,IrelandRepublicOf,Scotland,UnitedStates]-->
         <hol:countryCode>UnitedStates</hol:countryCode>
      </hol:GetHolidaysAvailable>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>'
)

Now let's look at steps to create SQL query to call SOAP API. Later we will see how to generate code for your desired programming language (e.g. C# or SQL Server)

Video Tutorial - Introduction to SOAP Web Service and SoapUI tool

Before we dive into details about calling SOAP API using ZappySys XML Driver, lets first understand what is SOAP API and how to create SOAP requests using SoapUI tool. You will learn more about this process in the later section. The video contains some fragment about using SOAP API in SSIS but just ignore that part because we will be calling Soap API using ZappySys ODBC Driver rather than SSIS Components.

Using SoapUI to test SOAP API call / Create Request Body XML

Assuming you have downloaded and installed SoapUI from here, now we are ready to use WSDL for your SOAP Web Service Calls. If you do not have WSDL file or URL handy then contact your API provider (sometimes you just have to add ?wsdl at the end of your Service URL to get WSDL so try that. Example: http://mycompany/myservice?wsdl ). If you don't know what is WSDL then in short, WSDL is Web service Description Language (i.e. XML file which describes your SOAP Service). WSDL helps to craft SOAP API request Body for ZappySys XML Driver. So Let's get started.

Open SoapUI and click SOAP button to create new SOAP Project
Enter WSDL URL or File Path of WSDLFor example WSDL for our sample service can be accessed via this URL
```
http://www.dneonline.com/calculator.asmx?wsdl
```
Create new SOAP API Project in SoapUI tool for SOAP API Testing
Once WSDL is loaded you will see possible operations you can call for your SOAP Web Service.
If your web service requires credentials then you have to configure it. There are two common credential types for public services (SOAP WSS or BASIC )
1. To use SOAP WSS Credentials select request node and enter UserId, Password, and WSS-PasswordType (PasswordText or PasswordHash)
  
  Configure SOAP WSS Credentials for SoapUI (SOAP API Testing Tool)
2. To use BASIC Auth Credentials select request node and double-click it. At the bottom click on Auth (Basic) and From Authorization dropdown click Add New and Select Basic.
  Configure Basic Authorization for SoapUI (SOAP API Testing Tool)
Now you can test your request first Double-click on the request node to open request editor.
Change necessary parameters, remove optional or unwanted parameters. If you want to regenerate request you can click on Recreate default request toolbar icon.
Create SOAP Request XML (With Optional Parameters)
Once your SOAP Request XML is ready, Click the Play button in the toolbar to execute SOAP API Request and Response will appear in Right side panel. Test SOAP API using SoapUI Tool (Change Default XML Body / Parameters, Execute and See Response)

Create DSN using ZappySys XML Driver to call SOAP API

Once you have tested your SOAP API in SoapUI tool, we are ready to use ZappySys XML driver to call SOAP API in your preferred BI tool or Programming language.

First open ODBC Data Sources (search ODBC in your start menu or go under ZappySys > ODBC PowerPack > ODBC 64 bit)
Goto System DSN Tab (or User DSN which is not used by Service account)
Click Add and Select ZappySys XML Driver ZappySys ODBC Driver for XML / SOAP API
Configure API URL, Request Method and Request Body as below ZappySys XML Driver - Calling SOAP API - Configure URL, Method, Body
(This step is Optional) If your SOAP API requires credentials then Select Connection Type to HTTP and configure as below.
ZappySys XML Driver - Configure SOAP WSS Credentials or Basic Authorization (Userid, Password)
Configure-Request Headers as below (You can get it from Request > Raw tab from SoapUI after you test the request by clicking the Play button) Configure SOAP API Request Headers - ZappySys XML Driver
Once credentials entered you can select Filter to extract data from the desired node. Make sure to select array node (see special icon) or select the node which contains all necessary columns if you don't have array node. Select Filter - Extract data from nested XML / SOAP API Response (Denormalize Hierarchy)
If prompted select yes to treat selected node as Array (This is helpful when you expect one or more record for selected node) Treat selected node as XML Array Option for SOAP API Response XML

Preview SOAP API Response / Generate SQL Code for SOAP API Call

Once you configure settings for XML Driver now you can preview data or generate example code for desired language (e.g. C#, Python, Java, SQL Server). Go to Preview tab and you will see default query generated based on settings you entered in previous sections. Attributes listed in WITH clause are optional. If you omit attribute in WITH clause it will use it from Properties tab.

Preview Data

Preview SOAP API Response in ZappySys XML Driver

Generate Code Option

Generate Example Code for ZappySys Driver

POST data to REST API URL from file in JAVA

Above example was POST data to API URL but what if your Request Body is large and you have saved that to file? Well here is the way to get your request body from a file (Use @ symbol before path).

SELECT * FROM $
WITH 
(METHOD='POST' 
,HEADER='Content-Type:text/plain || x-hdr1:AAA'
,SRC='http://httpbin.org/post'
,BODY='@c:\files\dump.xml'
,IsMultiPart='True'
)

SELECT * FROM $

WITH

(METHOD='POST'

,HEADER='Content-Type:text/plain || x-hdr1:AAA'

,SRC='http://httpbin.org/post'

,BODY='@c:\files\dump.xml'

,IsMultiPart='True'

)

REST API Pagination in JAVA

Even we set up ODBC Data Source to get the data, it may not be enough. Usually, if you are getting a huge data set from API provider, it won't give it to you in one HTTP response. Instead, it gives back only a subset of data and provides a mechanism for data pagination. The good news is that ZappySys ODBC Driver includes many options to cover virtually any pagination method.

Below you will find a few examples of API pagination. If you need something more sophisticated check the below link (the article was written for SSIS PowerPack but UI options and concepts apply to ODBC Driver too):

https://zappysys.com/blog/ssis-rest-api-looping-until-no-more-pages-found/

Paginate by Response Attribute

This example shows how to paginate API calls where you need to paginate until the last page detected. In this example, next page is indicated by some attribute called nextlink (found in response). If this attribute is missing or null then it stops fetching the next page.

SELECT * FROM $
WITH(
SRC=@'https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/pagination_nextlink_inarray_1.json'
,NextUrlAttributeOrExpr = '$.nextlink'  --keep reading until this attribute is missing. If attribute name contains dot then use brackets like this $.['my.attr.name']
)

Paginate by URL Parameter (Loop until certain StatusCode)

This example shows how to paginate API calls where you need to pass page number via URL. The driver keeps incrementing page number and calls next URL until the last page detected (401 error). There are few ways to indicate the last page (e.g. By status code, By row count, By response size). If you don't specify end detection then it will use the default (i.e. No records found).

SELECT * FROM $
WITH (
SRC=@'https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/page-xml.aspx?page=1&mode=DetectBasedOnResponseStatusCode'
,PagingMode='ByUrlParameter'
,PagingByUrlAttributeName='page'
,PagingByUrlEndStrategy='DetectBasedOnResponseStatusCode'
,PagingByUrlCheckResponseStatusCode=401
,IncrementBy=1
)

Paginate by URL Path (Loop until no record)

This example shows how to paginate API calls where you need to pass page number via URL Path. The driver keeps incrementing page number and calls next URL until the last page is detected. There are few ways to indicate the last page (e.g. By status code, By row count, By response size). If you don't specify end detection then it will use the default (i.e. No records found).

SELECT * FROM $
WITH (
SRC=@'https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/cust-<%page%>.xml'
,PagingMode='ByUrlPath'
,PagingByUrlAttributeName='<%page%>'
,PagingByUrlEndStrategy='DetectBasedOnRecordCount'
,IncrementBy=1
)

Paginate by Header Link (RFC 5988)

API like GitHub / Wordpress use Next link in Headers (RFC 5988)

SELECT * FROM $
LIMIT 25
WITH(
	 Src='https://wordpress.org/news/wp-json/wp/v2/categories?per_page=10'
	,PagingMode='ByResponseHeaderRfc5988'
	,WaitTimeMs='200' --//wait 200 ms after each request
)

Error Handling in REST API / SOAP

Sometimes errors occur... they just do and there is nothing you can do! Or can you? Actually, in ODBC PowerPack you can handle them in two ways.

METHOD 1 - Using Error Handling Options

When to use?

You may want to use them when your source is a resource located on the Internet; e.g. a file on a website, a file on an FTP server or just a plain API HTTP response. By default, when a remote server returns an error, data retrieval is stopped, an error is raised and no data is given back to you. This might not be always desirable.

Scenario 1

Imagine a scenario, that there is a web server which each day at 12 AM releases a new JSON file with that day's date as filename, e.g. http://www.some-server.com/data/2018-06-20.json. And, of course, you want to download it and use it daily in your Power BI report. But you have a problem: Power BI report data sources are refreshed each hour and you may get HTTP 404 status code (no file was found) when a file is not released yet. Which consequentially means other data sources won't be updated as well and you will see old and cached data on the report. That's where you could use Continue on any error or Continue when Url is invalid or missing (404 Errors) to avoid an error being raised and let other data sources to be updated.

Scenario 2

Another scenario is when you expect a web server to raise some kind of HTTP error when accessing a URL. You don't want ODBC Data Source to raise an error but instead, you want to get response data. That's where you can use Continue on any error or alike together with Get response data on error to continue on an error and get the data:

METHOD 2 - Using Connection [Retry Settings]

Another scenario you may run into is a buggy web server. You ask it to give you some file or data and it, like a snotty kid, just doesn't give it to you! You have to ask twice or thrice before it does its job. If that's the case, you have to retry HTTP requests using Connection:

REST API / SOAP Connection Types in JAVA (OAuth / HTTP)

If you need to authenticate or authorize your user to access a web resource, you will need to use one of the Connections:

HTTP
OAuth

ZappySys XML Driver - HTTP and OAuth Connection Types

HTTP Connection

Use HTTP Connection for simple Windows, Basic, NTLM or Kerberos authentication. Just fill in a username and a password and you are good to go!

You can also use HTTP Connection for more sophisticated authentication like:

SOAP WSS (when accessing a SOAP WebService)
Static Token / API Key (when need to pass an API key in HTTP header)
Dynamic Token (same as Static Token method except that each time you need to log in and retrieve a fresh API key)
JWT Token (As per RFC 7519)

OAuth

If you are trying to access REST API resource, it is a huge chance, you will need to use OAuth Connection. Read this article to understand how OAuth authentication and authorization works and how to use it (article originally was written for SSIS PowerPack, but the concepts and UI stay the same): https://zappysys.com/blog/rest-api-authentication-with-oauth-2-0-using-ssis

Performance consideration for Web API Calls

While calling APIs you may face some performance issues. There are a few tips you can consider to speed up things.

Use Server-side filtering if possible in URL or Body Parameters

Many API supports filtering your data by URL parameters or via Body. Whenever possible try to use such features. Here is an example of odata API, In the below query the first query is faster than the second query because in the first query we filter at the server.

SELECT * FROM value
WITH(
	 Src='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json&$filter=Country eq ''USA'''
	,DataFormat='Odata'
)

-- Slow query - Client-side filtering
SELECT * FROM value
WHERE Country ='USA'
WITH(
	 Src='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json'
	,DataFormat='Odata'
)

Avoid Special features in SQL Query (e.g. WHERE, Group By, Order By)

ZappySys API engine triggers client-side processing if special features are used in Query. Following SQL Features will trigger Client-Side processing which is several times slower than server-side processing. So always try to use simple query (Select col1, col2 .... from mytable )

WHERE Clause
GROUP BY Clause
HAVING Clause
ORDER BY
FUNCTIONS (e.g. Math, String, DateTime, Regex... )

LIMIT clause does not trigger client-side processing.

Consider using pre-generated Metadata / Cache File

Use META option in WITH Clause to use static metadata (Pre-Generated)There are two more options to speedup query processing time. Check this article for details.

select * from value WITH( meta='c:\temp\meta.txt' )
--OR--
select * from value WITH( meta='my-meta-name' )
--OR--
select * from value WITH( meta='[ {"Name": "col1",&nbsp;"Type": "String", Length: 100},&nbsp;{"Name": "col2",&nbsp;"Type": "Int32"} ...... ]' )

Enable Data Caching Options (Found on Property Grid > Advanced Mode Only )

Consider using Metadata / Data Caching Option

ZappySys API drivers support Caching Metadata and Data rows to speed up query processing. If your data doesn't change often then you can enable this option to speed up processing significantly. Check this article for details how to enable Data cache / metadata cache feature for datasource level or query level. To define cache option at query level you can use like below.

SELECT * FROM $
WITH 
(  SRC='https://myhost.com/some-api'
  ,CachingMode='All'  --cache metadata and data rows both
  ,CacheStorage='File' --or Memory
  ,CacheFileLocation='c:\temp\myquery.cache'
  ,CacheEntryTtl=300 --cache for 300 seconds
)

Use --FAST Option to enable Stream Mode

ZappySys JSON / XML drivers support --FAST suffix for Filter. By using this suffix after Filter driver enables Stream Mode, Read this article to understand how this works.

SELECT * FROM $ 
LIMIT 10 --//add this just to test how fast you can get 10 rows
WITH(
  Filter='$.LargeArray[*]--FAST' --//Adding --FAST option turn on STREAM mode (large files)
 ,SRC='https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/large_file_100k_largearray_prop.json.gz'
 --,SRC='c:\data\large_file.json.gz'
 ,IncludeParentColumns='False'  --//This Must be OFF for STREAM mode (read very large files)
 ,FileCompressionType='GZip' --Zip or None (Zip format only available for Local files)
)

Other considerations for Web API calls in JAVA

There are few settings you can coder while calling Web API

API Limit / Throttling

While calling public API or other external web services one important aspect you have to check, how many requests are allowed by your API. Especially when you use API pagination options to pull many records you have to slow down based on API limits. For example, your API may allow you only 5 requests per second. Use Throttling Tab on Driver UI to set delay after each request.

2D Array Transformation

If you are using JSON or XML API Driver then possible you may have to transform your data using 2D array transformation feature. Check this link for more information.

Conclusion

To conclude, in this tutorial, we learned how to access the REST API using Java. We created a ZappySys ODBC connection and then used a ZappySys Gateway to connect to it.