How to connect to Workday Data with Squirrel SQL client



Connect to Workday data and execute queries in the Squirrel SQL Client.

The CData JDBC Driver for Workday enables you to execute queries to Workday data in tools like Squirrel SQL Client. In this article, you will create a JDBC data source for Workday data and execute queries.

About Workday Data Integration

CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:

  • Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
  • Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
  • Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.

Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.

For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.


Getting Started


Add the JDBC Driver for Workday

Follow the steps below to add the driver JAR.

  1. In Squirrel SQL, click Windows -> View Drivers.
  2. Click the plus icon to open the Add Driver wizard.
  3. In the Name box, enter a user-friendly name for the driver; for example, CData JDBC Driver for Workday.
  4. In the Example URL box, enter jdbc:workday:
  5. In the Extra Class Path tab, click Add.
  6. In the file explorer dialog that opens, select the JAR file for the driver, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
  7. Click List Drivers to populate the Class Name menu with the class name for the driver, cdata.jdbc.workday.WorkdayDriver.

Define Connection Properties

Follow the steps below to save connection properties in the driver alias.

  1. Click Windows -> View Aliases.
  2. In the pane that lists the aliases, click the plus icon.
  3. In the Add Alias wizard that opens, the following fields are required for the JDBC driver:

    • Name: Enter a name for the alias; for example, CData Workday Source.
    • Driver: Select the CData JDBC Driver for Workday.
    • URL: Enter jdbc:workday:
    • User Name: Enter the username, which is added to the JDBC URL.
    • Password: Enter the password, which is added to the JDBC URL.
  4. If you want to define any additional properties, click Properties.
  5. In the Driver properties tab of the dialog that appears, select the Use driver properties checkbox.
  6. In the Specify column, select the checkboxes for the required connection properties.

    To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.

    Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant

    To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.

    The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:

    • https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
    • mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
    For example, in the REST API endpoint https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com/ccx/api/v1/mycompany, the BaseURL is https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com and the Tenant is mycompany.

    Using ConnectionType to Select the API

    The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.

    APIConnectionType Value
    WQLWQL
    Reports as a ServiceReports
    RESTREST
    SOAPSOAP

    Authentication

    Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.

    • WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
    • SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.

    See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.

    Below is a typical connection string:

    jdbc:workday:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Tenant=mycompany_gm1;BaseURL=https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com;ConnectionType=WQL;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
  7. In the dialog that appears after you click OK, click connect to test the connection.

Discover Schemas and Query Workday Data

After the metadata has loaded, a new tab for the Workday data source is displayed. On the Objects subtab, you can discover schema information, such as the available tables and views.

To view table data, select the table on the Objects tab. The table data is then loaded in a grid on the Content tab.

To execute an SQL query, enter the query on the SQL tab and then click Run SQL (the runner icon). For example:

SELECT Worker_Reference_WID, Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM Workers WHERE Legal_Name_Last_Name = 'Morgan'

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Workday Driver to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

Workday Icon Workday JDBC Driver

Rapidly create and deploy powerful Java applications that integrate with Workday.