Since the invention of the computer, companies have adopted it more and more into their business models. They were majorly used to store a large volume of data in the flat file structure. There has been a drastic evolution since then. Nowadays, you have Database Management Systems to help you handle data and perform tasks such as creating tables, updating data, deleting data, etc. One of the leading Database Management Systems available in the market is Oracle.
Oracle is a Relational Database Management System. It works best with REST API. Oracle REST API ensures smooth interaction between servers and clients. When you surf the internet, you interact with REST APIs all the time. Oracle REST API securely displays the necessary data to your client (as per the request made by him).
This article will introduce you to Oracle and its key features. It will also introduce you to Oracle REST API and will provide you with a thorough guide that you can use while integrating Oracle REST API. The article will also provide you with the advantages of Oracle REST API Integration for your business.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
Listed below are the prerequisites for Oracle REST API Integration:
- An Oracle Database account along with administrator access.
- The Service URL of your Oracle Integration instance.
What is Oracle?
Oracle is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) from Oracle Corporation. A Database, in simple terms, is a collection of data in a single location. Oracle is one of the oldest and leading Relational Database Management Systems out in the market. A Relational Database, as the name suggests, is a type of database that stores data points that are related to each other. It is based on Relational Model, where each record in the table has a unique ID called the Key.
Key Features of Oracle
Listed below are some of the most popular key features of Oracle:
- Cross-Platform Integration: Oracle easily works on all the available Operating Systems (OS) including Windows, Linux, etc.
- Compliant to ACID Properties: An ideal database must follow ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability) properties for maintaining the integrity of the database during the transaction processes.
- Easy communication with applications across different platforms: Oracle has its very own networking stack. This helps you seamlessly integrate your Oracle with applications across different platforms. For example, you can integrate and communicate with an application (running on Unix) to your Oracle (running on Windows).
- Logical Data Structure: Oracle uses Logical Data Structure to store your data at a specific location. This provides you the ability to smoothly interact with your database. Moreover, you do not need to know where your data is stored physically while interacting with your database.
For more information on Oracle, click here.
What is REST API?
A REST API is also known popularly known as RESTful API. REST in REST API stands for Representational State Transfer which is a standardized software architectural style that allows you to seamlessly interact with RESTful Web Services.
An API (Application Program Interface), in simple terms is like a common language understood by 2 software programs. It uses an agreed-upon data format to send requests and responses back and forth between the programs. Now, in the case of REST API, API communicates between the software programs while complying with the rules of Representational State Transfer. A REST API must fulfill the following 6 architectural criteria:
- It must use a Uniform Interface (which defines the interface between clients and servers) and underlying methods of the network protocol such as standard HTTP requests, etc.
- Every interaction between software programs should be based on the client-server relationship.
- It should limit any state management operations to the client instead of the server.
- It should have the ability to cache copies of frequently accessed resources along with the request-response path.
- A layered system of servers should be there and the client should only be aware of the immediate layer it is interacting with.
- The server should have the ability to extend the functionality of a client during run-time. This is an optional criterion and can be avoided if not necessary.
For more information on REST API and its 6 architectural criteria, click here.
Hevo Data, a No-code Data Pipeline helps to Load Data from any data source such as Databases, SaaS applications, Cloud Storage, SDKs, and Streaming Services and simplifies the ETL process. It supports 100+ data sources and is a 3-step process by just selecting the data source, providing valid credentials, and choosing the destination. Hevo loads the data onto the desired Data Warehouse, enriches the data, and transforms it into an analysis-ready form without writing a single line of code.
Its completely automated pipeline offers data to be delivered in real-time without any loss from source to destination. Its fault-tolerant and scalable architecture ensure that the data is handled in a secure, consistent manner with zero data loss and supports different forms of data. The solutions provided are consistent and work with different Business Intelligence (BI) tools as well.
Get Started with Hevo for free
Check out why Hevo is the Best:
- Secure: Hevo has a fault-tolerant architecture that ensures that the data is handled in a secure, consistent manner with zero data loss.
- Schema Management: Hevo takes away the tedious task of schema management & automatically detects the schema of incoming data and maps it to the destination schema.
- Minimal Learning: Hevo, with its simple and interactive UI, is extremely simple for new customers to work on and perform operations.
- Hevo Is Built To Scale: As the number of sources and the volume of your data grows, Hevo scales horizontally, handling millions of records per minute with very little latency.
- Incremental Data Load: Hevo allows the transfer of data that has been modified in real-time. This ensures efficient utilization of bandwidth on both ends.
- Live Support: The Hevo team is available round the clock to extend exceptional support to its customers through chat, email, and support calls.
- Live Monitoring: Hevo allows you to monitor the data flow and check where your data is at a particular point in time.
Sign up here for a 14-day Free Trial!
What are the Steps to Oracle REST API Integration?
Now that you have a basic understanding of Oracle Database and REST APIs, let’s set up an environment for Oracle REST API Integration. In this section, you will first set up an environment to integrate Oracle REST API. Once the environment has been created, you will retrieve your task list using Oracle REST API Integration. Follow the steps below to integrate Oracle REST API:
Step 1: Check your Prerequisites
Before setting up the environment, you need to ensure that you have all the necessary permissions to start. Check if you have administrator access to your Oracle Database account.
Also, look for the Service URL of your Oracle Integration instance. In case you do not remember or have not saved it somewhere, check the welcome E-Mail you receive with your Oracle Database subscription. The Service URL is generally listed in that E-Mail. If you don’t find it there, contact the Oracle Service Center.
Step 2: Install cURL Command Line Tool
You will use the cURL command-line tool for Oracle REST API Integration. cURL, also known as Client URL, is a command-line tool that helps you interact with websites. In simpler terms, you can use cURL to make web requests i.e. fetch information from APIs, download webpages or submit data to an API. Follow the steps below to install the cURL command-line tool on your local device:
- Click on this link and then click on the “Download” button located in the left navigation menu.
- Choose the software that corresponds to your operating system specifications.
NOTE: Download the latest version of cURL that provides an SSL Certificate Authority (CA) certificate file. This is used to authenticate against the Verisign CA certificate. For more information on this, click here. - Click on this link and navigate to the cURL CA Certs page. Download the “ca-bundle.crt” SSL CA Certificate bundle.
NOTE: Download the SSL CA Certificate bundle in the same folder where you just installed cURL. - Once done, open cmd and navigate to the directory where you installed cURL. Set the cURL environment variable i.e. “CURL_CA_BUNDLE” to the location of the SSL CA Certificate bundle that you downloaded in Step 3. You can also use the following command for the same:
C:curl> set CURL_CA_BUNDLE=ca-bundle.crt
That’s it! You have successfully integrated Oracle REST API. Now you can easily retrieve your first task list using Oracle REST API Integration. You can use the code given below for the same:
curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJiO.eyJzdZ.tQ8_-9Jor5'
-H "Content-Type:application/json"
-H "Accept:application/json"
-X GET
https://example.com/ic/api/process/<version>/tasks
NOTE: Change example.com that is there in the last line of the code with the host in your Service URL.
What are the Advantages of Oracle REST API Integration?
Listed below are some of the major advantages of Oracle REST API Integration:
- With Oracle REST API Integration, it becomes easier for you to upload or retrieve files to and from your tables.
- Oracle REST API automatically converts your results and responses to JSON format.
- It supports the most important HTTP Methods viz. POST, GET, PUT, and DELETE that correspond to Create, Read, Update, and Delete (or CRUD) operations respectively.
Conclusion
The article introduced you to Oracle and REST API. It also provided a comprehensive step-by-step guide that you can follow to integrate Oracle REST API. This would help you integrate with your Oracle more easily and efficiently. The article concluded with the advantages of Oracle REST API Integration.
Although this article focused on integrating Oracle REST API manually, businesses these days are slowly leaning towards Automated and Continuous Integration. They want to minimize their time, effort, and money in Manual Integration. If this is the case with you, then you can explore Hevo Data.
Visit our Website to Explore Hevo
Want to take Hevo for a spin? Sign Up for a 14-day free trial and experience the feature-rich Hevo suite first hand.
Share your experience of integrating Oracle REST API in the comments section below!