Connecting to REST APIs using the Composer user interface

Download and install the Autonomous REST Connector for Windows

Create an ODBC Data Source

Connect from Tableau

Result: You have successfully accessed your data and are now ready to create reports with Tableau. For more information, refer to the Tableau product documentation at: http://www.tableau.com/support/help.

Connect to multiple endpoints

To connect to multiple endpoints using Autonomous REST Connector:

1. Open the Autonomous REST Composer by using one of the following methods:
   • Select the Autonomous REST Composer (ODBC) icon from your desktop or the Windows Start menu.
   • From a command line, navigate to the directory containing the autorest.jar file and execute the following command:

     java -jar autorest.jar --odbcdesign

     By default, the autorest.jar file is stored in the following directory: install_dir\Progress\DataDirect\ODBC\java\lib\.

   
   

   

   
   
2. Select Create Model. The Create a Model window appears.

   
   

   

   
   

   Complete the following fields to create a new project; then, click OK:

   • Model Name: The name of your Model file to be created. For example: Space X.
   • Model Description: An optional description of your Model. Note that this description will be stored in clear text in the Model file.
   • Base URL: The host name portion of your REST endpoints. For example: https://api.spacexdata.com
     Note: The Base URL field is optional. You can also specify the base URL in the Host Name field on the Connection tab. Specifying a value in either location pre-populates the base URL in the Endpoints field(s) of the Configure Endpoints tab. Alternatively, you can also enter the entire URL for your endpoint into the Endpoints field.

   The Composer opens to the Connection tab.

   
   

   

   
   

   Note: Typically, the Connection tab is used to configure your authentication settings; however, for the data source used in this tutorial, no authentication settings are required.
3. Select the Configure Endpoints tab on the side menu.

   
   

   

   
   

   Provide the minimum required information for an endpoint to which you want to issue requests:

   • From the Endpoint drop-down menu, select the type of request to issue against your endpoint. For example: GET.
   • In the Endpoint field, type your endpoint. Note that the value must be URL-encoded using valid syntax. For example, spaces in an endpoint are replaced with %20.
     Note: If you provided a base URL using the Base URL field or Host Name option, specify only the path portion of your endpoint.
   • In the Table Name field, type the name of the relational table to which you want the endpoint to map. For example: LAUNCHES.
   • Optionally, in the JSON Root fields, type or edit the path to an embedded object that contains the results you want mapped to a dedicated relational table. You can use this option to expose only data starting at a nested field within a JSON response.
     Note: During sampling, the driver specifies a default value for this field when it detects an embedded object that meets the criteria for a JSON root. Depending on the structure of your data model, you might want to add, edit, or remove values for this field.

     For example, for the following JSON response, if you want to expose only the resultsArray data in a table named RESULTS, specify a JSON Root value of /resultsArray and a Table Name of RESULTS.

     {
      "rootLevelField1": "exampleValue1", 
      "rootLevelField2": "exampleValue2", 
      "rootLevelField3": "exampleValue3", 
      "resultsArray": [ 
          {
                             "id": 1, 
                             "data": "exampleResults1" 
          }, 
          { 
                             "id": 2, "data": 
                             "exampleResults2" 
         } 
       ] 
     } 
     

     Results: The data is displayed in a tabular format in the SQL View. The Raw View tab displays the JSON response body that was received from making the REST API call to the endpoint.
     Note: Multiple tables might be mapped from a single endpoint. As a result of normalizing JSON data into a relational view, the driver exposes embedded array data as child tables. Conversely, parent tables are comprised of fields defined at the root level of the JSON response. A foreign key relationship to the parent table is provided by exposing the primary key of the parent in the child. You can use SQL JOIN syntax to rejoin the data of the parent and child tables into a single result set.
4. Click Send. The driver sends the REST request and generates a relational view of the data based on the response. To add additional endpoints, click in the + button the request list on the left.
   For testing purposes, add the following endpoints:

   Table 1. SpaceX Endpoints

   Table Name	Endpoint
   CAPSULES	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/capsules
   COMPANY	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/company
   CORES	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/cores
   CREW	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/crew
   DRAGONS	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/dragons
   HISTORY	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/history
   LANDPADS	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/landpads
   LAUNCHES	https://api.spacexdata.com/v5/launches
   LAUNCHPADS	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/launchpads
   PAYLOADS	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/payloads
   ROADSTER	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/roadster
   ROCKETS	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/rockets
   SHIPS	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/ships
   STARLINK	https://api.spacexdata.com/v4/starlink

5. Click Download to generate and download your Model file. After downloading, move your Model file from the downloads folder to a directory that you have access to on your machine.
6. Open the ODBC Administrator and then double-click the data source you have created. The Configuration Manager appears.
7. On the Connection tab of the Configuration Manager:
   1. Clear the REST Sample Path field’s value.
   2. In the REST Config File field, specify the fully qualified path and file name for the Model file you downloaded.
8. Click Update.
9. Open Tableau and reconnect to the data source.

Result: An updated list of tables is available based on the JSON responses from the endpoints defined in the Model file.