What is the best way to interact with a JDBC database

Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact to
this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the database.
Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

Regards,

-Venks

Which database is it?

Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote: Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact to
this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the database.
Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

Regards,

-Venks

Just out of interest, what was your problem with JRuby?

I had a similar issue with an Oracle RDB database running on VMS that only
has .NET (beta) and JDBC drivers. So I went with JRuby using
activerecord-jdbc and it has been working rather well for me. A few minor
issues here and there, but nothing major.

···

On Dec 4, 2007 9:21 AM, Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
to
this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the database.
Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

Regards,

-Venks

Well, if you're going to have Ruby call a Java program and you can't port
the whole thing over to JRuby, you should consider running a DRb server
in JRuby to access the database, and access that from a native ruby DRb
client. I think (hope) you should be able to expose the JDBC objects you
need having to code any special wrappers for them.

--Ken
(I have never programmed this kind of arrangement before, so I don't know
what JRuby can or can't do. This is just speculation.)

···

On Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:51:59 -0500, Venks wrote:

Note: parts of this message were removed by the gateway to make it a
legal Usenet post.

Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
to this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the
database. Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call
this Java program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

--
Ken (Chanoch) Bloom. PhD candidate. Linguistic Cognition Laboratory.
Department of Computer Science. Illinois Institute of Technology.
http://www.iit.edu/~kbloom1/

It's a science/research project called "MonetDB".

···

On Dec 3, 2007 6:37 PM, Deepak Vohra <dvohra09@yahoo.com> wrote:

Which database is it?

Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote: Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
to
this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the database.
Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

Regards,

-Venks

Actually, I haven't tried Jruby except reading about it. I am using Ruby as
a glue to put together all the tasks I need including Database access, File
I/O and all the stuff that comes with a heavy duty batch programming. It's
my understanding that JRuby doesn't provide all the classes and I would like
to avoid using JRuby just for this requirement of accessing a JDBC database.

···

On Dec 3, 2007 6:43 PM, Dan <dan.macdaddy+ruby@gmail.com> wrote:

Just out of interest, what was your problem with JRuby?

I had a similar issue with an Oracle RDB database running on VMS that only
has .NET (beta) and JDBC drivers. So I went with JRuby using
activerecord-jdbc and it has been working rather well for me. A few minor
issues here and there, but nothing major.

On Dec 4, 2007 9:21 AM, Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
> to
> this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
> suggestions are welcome.
>
> My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
> information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the
database.
> Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
> program from Ruby?
>
> I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.
>
> Regards,
>
> -Venks
>

Use JRuby with JDBC driver.
  

  It's a science/research project called "MonetDB".

···

Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote:

On Dec 3, 2007 6:37 PM, Deepak Vohra wrote:

Which database is it?

Venks wrote: Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
to
this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the database.
Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

Regards,

-Venks

Venks wrote:

It's a science/research project called "MonetDB".

Which database is it?

Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote: Hi,

I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
to
this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
suggestions are welcome.

My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the database.
Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
program from Ruby?

I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.

Regards,

-Venks

from the website...There are application bindings for MonetDB/SQL using JDBC, ODBC, PHP, Python, Perl and C,... so you could probably work the C binding into Ruby in some fashion.

···

On Dec 3, 2007 6:37 PM, Deepak Vohra <dvohra09@yahoo.com> wrote:

Instead of the MySQL JDBC driver use the MonetDB JDBC driver.
  MonetDB
Learn How to Blog and Build Websites for Profit!
  
  Actually, I haven't tried Jruby except reading about it. I am using Ruby as
a glue to put together all the tasks I need including Database access, File
I/O and all the stuff that comes with a heavy duty batch programming. It's
my understanding that JRuby doesn't provide all the classes and I would like
to avoid using JRuby just for this requirement of accessing a JDBC database.

···

Venks <venkatesh.mantha@gmail.com> wrote:

On Dec 3, 2007 6:43 PM, Dan wrote:

Just out of interest, what was your problem with JRuby?

I had a similar issue with an Oracle RDB database running on VMS that only
has .NET (beta) and JDBC drivers. So I went with JRuby using
activerecord-jdbc and it has been working rather well for me. A few minor
issues here and there, but nothing major.

On Dec 4, 2007 9:21 AM, Venks wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have a database that has only JDBC connectivity but I need to interact
> to
> this database from Ruby. What's the best way to do so? All ideas and
> suggestions are welcome.
>
> My initial thought is to create a Java program that accepts connection
> information and a SQL statement and execute the SQL against the
database.
> Assuming that I have this program, what's the best way to call this Java
> program from Ruby?
>
> I looked at JRuby and didn't feel that's the right answer.
>
> Regards,
>
> -Venks
>

Venks wrote:

Actually, I haven't tried Jruby except reading about it. I am using Ruby as
a glue to put together all the tasks I need including Database access, File
I/O and all the stuff that comes with a heavy duty batch programming. It's
my understanding that JRuby doesn't provide all the classes and I would like
to avoid using JRuby just for this requirement of accessing a JDBC database.

Out of personal interest...Which classes are missing for you in JRuby? We have an interest in filling in gaps in our implementation.

-Tom

···

On Dec 3, 2007 6:43 PM, Dan <dan.macdaddy+ruby@gmail.com> wrote:

Just out of interest, what was your problem with JRuby?

I had a similar issue with an Oracle RDB database running on VMS that only
has .NET (beta) and JDBC drivers. So I went with JRuby using
activerecord-jdbc and it has been working rather well for me. A few minor
issues here and there, but nothing major.

--
Thomas E Enebo <thomas.enebo@sun.com>
JRuby Core Developer, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo

I don't know if any classes are missing. I was just reading the
documentation that suggested that all the classes may not be
available. Also, I have not used JRuby yet (As a matter of fact I am new to
Ruby let alone developing in a OO language environment)

Thanks for all the feedback. I was thinking whether SOAP may be an option,
but could be over kill just for bridging the gap between Ruby and Java.

I will try to use Jruby to access the JDBC database. Please allow me to
specify in few steps to describe the overall picture of my batch job:

- I have a bunch of Ruby modules that access many MySQL databases across
several machines.
- I also have lot of System calls to create data into files which I then I
transfer between different databases (not just MySQL).
- Somewhere in this process I need to invoke a method from a module that's
developed using JRuby.
- When I invoke the JRuby module, I except the Java environment to be
active, otherwise I don't need JVM.
- Once I am done with the Jruby module, I will continue further processing
using regular Ruby modules.

Does this makes sense?

Thanks,

···

On Dec 4, 2007 11:07 AM, Thomas Enebo <Thomas.Enebo@sun.com> wrote:

Venks wrote:
> Actually, I haven't tried Jruby except reading about it. I am using Ruby
as
> a glue to put together all the tasks I need including Database access,
File
> I/O and all the stuff that comes with a heavy duty batch programming.
It's
> my understanding that JRuby doesn't provide all the classes and I would
like
> to avoid using JRuby just for this requirement of accessing a JDBC
database.
>
>
Out of personal interest...Which classes are missing for you in JRuby?
We have an interest in filling in gaps in our implementation.

-Tom

> On Dec 3, 2007 6:43 PM, Dan <dan.macdaddy+ruby@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>> Just out of interest, what was your problem with JRuby?
>>
>> I had a similar issue with an Oracle RDB database running on VMS that
only
>> has .NET (beta) and JDBC drivers. So I went with JRuby using
>> activerecord-jdbc and it has been working rather well for me. A few
minor
>> issues here and there, but nothing major.
>>
>>
>>
--
Thomas E Enebo <thomas.enebo@sun.com>
JRuby Core Developer, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo

Venks wrote:

I don't know if any classes are missing. I was just reading the
documentation that suggested that all the classes may not be
available. Also, I have not used JRuby yet (As a matter of fact I am new to
Ruby let alone developing in a OO language environment)

Thanks for all the feedback. I was thinking whether SOAP may be an option,
but could be over kill just for bridging the gap between Ruby and Java.
  

My main comment is that JRuby "is" Ruby in the sense that you can write as much Ruby as you want and JRuby is capable of running it. So write your app in Ruby and execute/run it in JRuby. We are meant to be a drop-in alternative to Ruby.

  So I would not think so much as things being a JRuby module or a Ruby Module. The caveat to that last sentence is that in addition to being able to run Ruby in JRuby you can also access/use Java classes from within JRuby. So code in Ruby and bring in the Java classes you need into your app (in this case JDBC) to do what you need in all your databases. OR....

Install activerecord-JDBC gem and then use activerecord APIs to interact with your databases. This does have one limitation that we only support the more popular databases at this point. Less known ones will not work (though we are looking for help in adding support to more databases). The main benefit is that this will end up making your code Java-free (behind the scenes our gem is using Java code, but it is transparent to you).

I will try to use Jruby to access the JDBC database. Please allow me to
specify in few steps to describe the overall picture of my batch job:

- I have a bunch of Ruby modules that access many MySQL databases across
several machines.
- I also have lot of System calls to create data into files which I then I
transfer between different databases (not just MySQL).
  
A question? When you say system calls to create data into files, do you just mean using things like Ruby's File class? That is no problem if so.
- Somewhere in this process I need to invoke a method from a module that's
developed using JRuby.
- When I invoke the JRuby module, I except the Java environment to be
active, otherwise I don't need JVM.
  

I recommend just running your whole Ruby application in JRuby.

- Once I am done with the Jruby module, I will continue further processing
using regular Ruby modules.

Does this makes sense?

Thanks,
  

-Tom

···

--
Thomas E Enebo <thomas.enebo@sun.com>
JRuby Core Developer, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo

Hi,

- I am using the MySQL Driver which has one-to-one correspondence to "C"
API. I may need to have more control on how I access MySQL. It's my
understanding that Active record is based on DBI interface and has an
additional layer.
- The system calls I mentioned below are not File I/O. I am using the File
I/O class too. But the system calls I am referring is directly calling OS
commands as I use "sed, "gpg", "zip" and some other UNIX utilities.

Now here is question which I am sure you are not reading/listening for the
first time.

Are there any performance issues between Ruby and JRuby (I know this has
been asked many times but couldn't find any definitive answer/article)

Thanks,

···

On Dec 4, 2007 4:57 PM, Thomas Enebo <Thomas.Enebo@sun.com> wrote:

Venks wrote:
> I don't know if any classes are missing. I was just reading the
> documentation that suggested that all the classes may not be
> available. Also, I have not used JRuby yet (As a matter of fact I am new
to
> Ruby let alone developing in a OO language environment)
>
> Thanks for all the feedback. I was thinking whether SOAP may be an
option,
> but could be over kill just for bridging the gap between Ruby and Java.
>
My main comment is that JRuby "is" Ruby in the sense that you can write
as much Ruby as you want and JRuby is capable of running it. So write
your app in Ruby and execute/run it in JRuby. We are meant to be a
drop-in alternative to Ruby.

So I would not think so much as things being a JRuby module or a Ruby
Module. The caveat to that last sentence is that in addition to being
able to run Ruby in JRuby you can also access/use Java classes from
within JRuby. So code in Ruby and bring in the Java classes you need
into your app (in this case JDBC) to do what you need in all your
databases. OR....

Install activerecord-JDBC gem and then use activerecord APIs to interact
with your databases. This does have one limitation that we only
support the more popular databases at this point. Less known ones will
not work (though we are looking for help in adding support to more
databases). The main benefit is that this will end up making your code
Java-free (behind the scenes our gem is using Java code, but it is
transparent to you).
> I will try to use Jruby to access the JDBC database. Please allow me to
> specify in few steps to describe the overall picture of my batch job:
>
> - I have a bunch of Ruby modules that access many MySQL databases across
> several machines.
> - I also have lot of System calls to create data into files which I then
I
> transfer between different databases (not just MySQL).
>

A question? When you say system calls to create data into files, do you
just mean using things like Ruby's File class? That is no problem if so.
> - Somewhere in this process I need to invoke a method from a module
that's
> developed using JRuby.
> - When I invoke the JRuby module, I except the Java environment to be
> active, otherwise I don't need JVM.
>
I recommend just running your whole Ruby application in JRuby.
> - Once I am done with the Jruby module, I will continue further
processing
> using regular Ruby modules.
>
> Does this makes sense?
>
> Thanks,
>
-Tom

--
Thomas E Enebo <thomas.enebo@sun.com>
JRuby Core Developer, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo

Venks wrote:

Hi,

- I am using the MySQL Driver which has one-to-one correspondence to "C"
API. I may need to have more control on how I access MySQL. It's my
understanding that Active record is based on DBI interface and has an
additional layer.
  

Well the issue with using the MySQL Driver is that it requires a native C extension to work. Currently, JRuby does not support C extensions. Your code will either have to use the pure Ruby MySQL driver (not very fast) or start using JDBC directly. So this unfortunately will require extra work.

- The system calls I mentioned below are not File I/O. I am using the File
I/O class too. But the system calls I am referring is directly calling OS
commands as I use "sed, "gpg", "zip" and some other UNIX utilities.
  

We can call out using system and friends. I think there is a couple of bugs with bi-directional communication using popen, but I suspect things will work for you here.

Now here is question which I am sure you are not reading/listening for the
first time.

Are there any performance issues between Ruby and JRuby (I know this has
been asked many times but couldn't find any definitive answer/article)
  

No real performance issues. We have a few bottlenecks which could surface, but we are faster in many areas and slower in some others. All in all our performance is looking really good.

-Tom

···

Thanks,

On Dec 4, 2007 4:57 PM, Thomas Enebo <Thomas.Enebo@sun.com> wrote:

Venks wrote:
    

I don't know if any classes are missing. I was just reading the
documentation that suggested that all the classes may not be
available. Also, I have not used JRuby yet (As a matter of fact I am new
      

to
    

Ruby let alone developing in a OO language environment)

Thanks for all the feedback. I was thinking whether SOAP may be an
      

option,
    

but could be over kill just for bridging the gap between Ruby and Java.

My main comment is that JRuby "is" Ruby in the sense that you can write
as much Ruby as you want and JRuby is capable of running it. So write
your app in Ruby and execute/run it in JRuby. We are meant to be a
drop-in alternative to Ruby.

So I would not think so much as things being a JRuby module or a Ruby
Module. The caveat to that last sentence is that in addition to being
able to run Ruby in JRuby you can also access/use Java classes from
within JRuby. So code in Ruby and bring in the Java classes you need
into your app (in this case JDBC) to do what you need in all your
databases. OR....

Install activerecord-JDBC gem and then use activerecord APIs to interact
with your databases. This does have one limitation that we only
support the more popular databases at this point. Less known ones will
not work (though we are looking for help in adding support to more
databases). The main benefit is that this will end up making your code
Java-free (behind the scenes our gem is using Java code, but it is
transparent to you).
    

I will try to use Jruby to access the JDBC database. Please allow me to
specify in few steps to describe the overall picture of my batch job:

- I have a bunch of Ruby modules that access many MySQL databases across
several machines.
- I also have lot of System calls to create data into files which I then
      

I
    

transfer between different databases (not just MySQL).

A question? When you say system calls to create data into files, do you
just mean using things like Ruby's File class? That is no problem if so.
    

- Somewhere in this process I need to invoke a method from a module
      

that's
    

developed using JRuby.
- When I invoke the JRuby module, I except the Java environment to be
active, otherwise I don't need JVM.

I recommend just running your whole Ruby application in JRuby.
    

- Once I am done with the Jruby module, I will continue further
      

processing
    

using regular Ruby modules.

Does this makes sense?

Thanks,

-Tom

--
Thomas E Enebo <thomas.enebo@sun.com>
JRuby Core Developer, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo

--
--
Thomas E Enebo <thomas.enebo@sun.com>
JRuby Core Developer, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo