Kaizen #18 - Ruby SDK

Kaizen #18 - Ruby SDK

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
This week, we will discuss the Ruby SDK.

What is the Ruby SDK for Zoho CRM?

Ruby SDK allows you to create client Ruby applications that you can integrate with Zoho CRM, effortlessly. It serves as a wrapper for the REST APIs, thus making it easier to use the services of Zoho CRM.

Here is a sample of how the SDK acts as a middle ware between Zoho CRM and a client Ruby Application.


What can you do with the Ruby SDK?
  • Exchange data between Zoho CRM and the client application where the CRM entities are modeled as classes.
  • Authenticate your application easily every time you sync data between Zoho CRM and your application, as the SDK takes care of generating the access/refresh tokens automatically.
Environment Setup
The client app must have the Ruby version 2.3.7 or above installed. Refer to Ruby Installation for the steps to install Ruby.

How to Start using the Ruby SDK?
Follow the below steps:
  • Step-1: Register your application (Self Client or Web-based client)
  • Step-2: Install the SDK
  • Step-3: Initialize the SDK
    3.a. Choose the token persistence method
    3.b. Set up the configuration dictionary
    3.c. Generate the tokens
  • Step-4: Connect to Zoho CRM through the available methods
Let us now discuss these steps in detail.

Step-1: Register your application

All the Zoho CRM APIs are authenticated by the OAuth2.0 standards. It is mandatory to authenticate your application with Zoho.
You can register your application either as a Self Client (single user app) or a web-based app (multiple users app).
1.a. Self Client
  1. Go to https://api-console.zoho.com.
  2. Click ADD CLIENT.
  3. Choose the Client Type as Self Client, and click CREATE.
  4. You will receive a client ID and a client secret upon successful registration.
1.b. Web-based Client
  1. Go to https://api-console.zoho.com.
  2. Click ADD CLIENT.
  3. Choose the client as Web based and click CREATE NOW.
  4. Specify the client name, homepage URL of your application's UI, and a redirect URI to which you want to redirect the users after they grant consent to your application.
  5. Click CREATE.

  6. Your Client ID and Client Secret will be displayed.
Step-2: Install the SDK

The Ruby SDK is available as a gem. 
Run the below command to install the Ruby SDK for Zoho CRM.

gem install ZCRMSDK

Step-3: Initialize the SDK 

Initializing the SDK involves the following steps.

  • Step 3.a - Choosing the token persistence method
  • Step 3.b - Setting up the configuration dictionary
  • Step 3.c - Generating the tokens

3.a. Token Persistence
Your application should retain tokens (grant, access, and refresh tokens) to automate the process of data transfer between your Ruby application and Zoho CRM.

You can persist (store) the tokens in three ways.
a. MySQL Persistence (default)
b. File Persistence
c. Custom DB Persistence

a. MySQL Persistence
When you want to store the tokens in the MySQL DB, ensure that MySQL2 is installed.
Run the below command to install MySQL2.

gem install mysql2 -v 0.5.2

For this type of persistence, you must include the following keys in the configuration dictionary (discussed in the next section), along with other mandatory keys.

"mysql_username":"root",
"mysql_password":"*****",
"mysql_port":"port_number"

Note
When you use MySQL persistence, ensure that
  • MySQL runs in the same machine serving at the mentioned port. (by default 3306).
  • There is a database named zohooauth.
  • There is a table name oauthtokens with the columns useridentifier (varchar(100)), accesstoken (varchar(100)), refreshtoken (varchar(100)) and expirytime (bigint).

b. File Persistence
If you want to store the tokens in a file, you can create a file named zcrm_oauthtokens.txt and provide the absolute path of the folder containing this file in the below key of the configuration array.

"token_persistence_path":"path_to_the_folder_containing_the_txt_file"

If you do not create this file, the SDK itself creates this file in the path you have specified, and persists the token there.
Note: This method is recommended only for self client apps.

c. Custom DB Persistence
To use this method, you need to provide the following keys in the configuration dictionary.

"persistence_handler_class_path":"absolute path to the custom DB implementation"
"persistence_handler_class":"class name of the custom implementation".

You can use the inbuilt ZohoPersistenceHandler interface and include the following custom functions.

  • saveOAuthData(ZohoOAuthTokens tokens)
  • deleteOAuthTokens($userEmailId)
  • getOAuthTokens($userEmailId)
Note
The order of precedence for token persistence is custom, file, and DB persistence. That is, if you provide the details for custom persistence (in persistence_handler_class_path) and file persistence details (in token_persistence_path), then custom persistence is given priority over file.

3.b. Configuration dictionary
The below tables contains the list of keys you must include in the configuration dictionary based on the type of persistence.

Mandatory Keys

File Persistence
MySQL Persistence
Custom DB Persistence
client_id
client_id
client_id
client_secret
client_secret
client_secret
redirect_uri
redirect_uri
redirect_uri
token_persistence_path
db_username
persistence_handler_class
-
db_password
persistence_handler_class_path
-
db_port
-
current_user_email
current_user_email
current_user_email

Optional Keys

File Persistence
MySQL Persistence
Custom DB Persistence
application_log_file_path
application_log_file_path
application_log_file_path
log_in_console
log_in_console
log_in_console
sandbox
sandbox
sandbox
access_type
access_type
access_type
accounts_url
accounts_url
accounts_url
api_base_url
api_base_url
api_base_url
api_version
api_version
api_version

Where,
  • client_id, client_secret, and redirect_uri - Client details you received after registering your application. For self client apps, you can pass a dummy value for the redirect uri.
  • token_persistence_path - The relative path to store the OAuth tokens in the zcrm_oauthtokens.txt file. This key is mandatory if you want to use file persistence.
  • db_username, db_password, db_port - The MySQL username, password, and the port, respectively.
  • persistence_handler_class - Name of the class of the custom implementation for persistence. This key is mandatory if you want to use custom persistence.
  • persistence_handler_class_path - The absolute path to the custom DB implementation (.rb file).
  • application_log_file_path - The absolute path to log the exceptions during the usage of the SDK.
  • log_in_console - To print the exceptions on the console screen, when set as "true".
  • sandbox - Boolean key to make API calls to the sandbox environment. The value true makes API calls to the sandbox. Default value is false.
  • access_type - Must be set as offline as the SDK does not support online OAuth client, now.
  • accounts_url - The domain-specific accounts URL from which you generate the tokens.
    This key is mandatory when the user is not in the "com" domain.
    For US:
    https://accounts.zoho.com
    For EU:
    https://accounts.zoho.eu
    For CN:
    https://accounts.zoho.com.cn
    For IN:
    https://accounts.zoho.in
  • api_base_url - The domain-specific API URL from which you make API calls. For users from domains other than the US, this key is mandatory.
    For US:
    https://www.zohoapis.com
    For EU:
    https://www.zohoapis.eu
    For CN:
    https://www.zohoapis.com.cn
    For IN:
    https://www.zohoapis.in
  • api_version - Represents the version of the CRM APIs. The value is v2.
  • current_user_email - The email ID of the current user. You must set this either in the configuration array or ZCRMSDK::RestClient::ZCRMRestClient.current_user_email = "current user email id".

Below is a configuration dictionary with all the keys. 

config_details = { 'client_id' => 'xxxxx', #mandatory
'client_secret' => 'xxxxxx', #mandatory
'redirect_uri' => 'https://www.zoho.com', #mandatory
'api_base_url' => 'https://www.zohoapis.com', #optional, default is https://www.zohoapis.com
'accounts_url' => 'https://accounts.zoho.com', #optional, default is https://accounts.zoho.com
'current_user_email' => 'abc@xyz.com', #mandatory (should be either set in config array or ZCRMSDK::RestClient::ZCRMRestClient.current_user_email = "current user email id" )
'api_version' => 'v2', #optional,default is v2
'sandbox' => 'false', #optional default is sandbox
'application_log_file_path' => "/Users/xxxx/Desktop/log.log", #optional, absolute path of log file
'log_in_console' => 'true', #optional default is false, to log on the console
'persistence_handler_class_path' => 'absolute/path/to/customClass.ruby', #absolute path to the custom db implementation
'persistence_handler_class' =>'classname', #name of the class
'token_persistence_path'=>'relativepath/to/zcrm_oauthtokens.txt', #for file persistence
'db_username' => 'username', #optional, default root
'db_password' => 'password', #optional, default ''
'db_port' => 'port_number', #optional, default 3306
}

Now that you have created and registered your app with Zoho, you must authenticate it. 
Pass the configuration dictionary in the method ZCRMRestClient.init(config) and authenticate your app.

3.c. Generating the tokens

As the V2 Zoho CRM APIs follow the OAuth2.0 protocol, it is mandatory to authorize the OAuth2.0 app before using the SDK functions.
You can generate an access token from a grant token.
You can generate the grant token in two ways based on the type of client.

For Self Client Applications
  • Go to Zoho Developer Console.
  • Select your Self Client.
  • Provide the necessary scopes separated by commas, along with the scope aaaserver.profile.READ.
  • Select the Time Duration from the drop-down. This is the time the grant token is valid for.
  • Provide a description for the scopes. Click GENERATE.
  • Copy the grant token.

For Web-based Applications

It is the responsibility of your client app to generate the grant token for the users trying to login.
Your Application's UI must have the Login with Zoho option to open the grant token URL of Zoho, which would prompt for the user's OAuth2.0 authorization.
Upon the successful login of the user, the grant token will be sent as a parameter to your registered redirect URL.

Generating an access token from the grant token
Use the below code snippet in your main class.

client = ZCRMSDK::OAuthClient::ZohoOAuth.get_client_instance
grant_token = 'grant_token'
client.generate_access_token(grant_token)
Note
  • The code snippet to generate the access token from the grant token is valid only once per grant token. If the grant token expires before you generate the access token, you must generate a new grant token only.
  • Generating access and refresh tokens is a one-time process. After the tokens are generated the first time, the SDK persists them based on the keys defined in the configuration dictionary, and refreshes the access token as and when required.

Step-4: Connect to Zoho CRM through the available methods
Here is a sample to get a specific user's details. You can find the code for this sample in the attachment.


The isTokenGenerated Method

def self.is_token_generate(user)
    tokens = ZCRMSDK::OAuthClient::ZohoOauth.get_persistence_instance.get_oauth_tokens(user)
    unless tokens.nil?
        return true
    end
    rescue Exception => e
        return false 
  end
You need to add this method to check if the access token has already been generated or not. It returns a Boolean value.
  • true - The access token has already been generated. 
  • false - The access token has not been generated previously, thus, it shifts the control to the code snippet that leads to access token generation.
For more sample codes, refer to our SDK guide.
We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more!

Cheers!




    Access your files securely from anywhere









                          Zoho Developer Community




                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts





                                                          Manage your brands on social media



                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                    Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                      Zoho Books Resources


                                                                        Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                          Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                            Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                              Qntrl Resources


                                                                                Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                    Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                    • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                      CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                    • Kaizen

                                                                                      Kaizen

                                                                                    • Functions

                                                                                      Functions

                                                                                    • Meetups

                                                                                      Meetups

                                                                                    • Kbase

                                                                                      Kbase

                                                                                    • Resources

                                                                                      Resources

                                                                                    • Digest

                                                                                      Digest

                                                                                    • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      CRM Marketplace

                                                                                    • MVP Corner

                                                                                      MVP Corner







                                                                                        Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                        Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                        Get Started Now


                                                                                          Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                            Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                            Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                                Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                    ご検討中の方




                                                                                                          • Recent Topics

                                                                                                          • Auto-sync field of lookup value

                                                                                                            This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.
                                                                                                          • Last activity time is acting like last modified time

                                                                                                            When i edit the description or any field in the potential, account, contact and lead, the Last Activity Time is being updated like the Modified Time. This is messing all workflows and reports and we are unable to track real last time of activities like
                                                                                                          • Enhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas

                                                                                                            Dear Customers, We hope you're well! By their nature, modern businesses rely every day on computations, whether it's to calculate the price of a product, assess ROI, evaluate the lifetime value of a customer, or even determine the age of a record. With
                                                                                                          • HEX/RGB Color Input in Visual Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to improve the color selection options in the Pagesense popup editor. Current Limitation: Currently, to set text colors, users must move the color slider manually.
                                                                                                          • Add Comprehensive Accessibility Features to Zoho Writer

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Writer Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Writer with a full set of accessibility tools, similar to the accessibility options already available in the Zoho Desk agent interface. 🚧 Current
                                                                                                          • CRM and Campaigns- tags not integrating?

                                                                                                            Hi! I am setting up an automation in zoho campaigns and it says the crm is integrated...but when I want to use a trigger of a certain tag I created for people in the crm to denote those who purchased, it doesnt have that tag available as an option in
                                                                                                          • Maximum limit of rows exceeded

                                                                                                            I am trying to add a row to a spreadsheets that has fewer than 60 rows. I keep getting an error message that says I have exceeded the maximum limit of 65,536 rows. Any ideas out there?
                                                                                                          • Can't change form's original name in URL

                                                                                                            Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new
                                                                                                          • 【参加無料】今年最後のZoho ユーザー交流会|東京・大阪・名古屋で開催! 活用事例&ユーザー同士の情報交換

                                                                                                            ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 11月に東京、大阪、名古屋の3都市でZoho ユーザー交流会を開催します! 毎回ご好評いただいている本イベントでは、実際の Zohoユーザーによるリアルな活用事例の共有や 参加者同士でノウハウを交換し合うグループワークを予定しています。 「他社の活用を参考にしたい」「Zoho をもっと使いこなしたい」方にぴったりの場です。 初参加の方もぜひお気軽にご参加ください! ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
                                                                                                          • Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child
                                                                                                          • Tip #7: 5 formas de mantener tus listas de correo electrónico

                                                                                                            Tips and Tricks #7, adaptado de Susmit Sen ¡Hola, comunidad! Esta semana volvemos con nuestros Tips and Tricks para Zoho Campaigns. En esta ocasión, voy a darte algunos consejos para mantener limpias tus listas de correo electrónico, y empezar el 2021
                                                                                                          • Mail Merge related Lists

                                                                                                            When I try to merge an associated list the fields do not have a checkbox to choose them as it does in the tutorials. Am I missing something? Any ideas would be appreciated.
                                                                                                          • create-a-purchase-receive API issues

                                                                                                            Hello all, I'm trying to use the create a purchase receive inventory API documented here (https://www.zoho.com/inventory/api/v1/purchasereceives/#create-a-purchase-receive) however when I do am getting the following error {"code":9,"message":"The purchase
                                                                                                          • Zoho Pagesense really this slow??? 5s delay...

                                                                                                            I put the pagesense on my website (hosted by webflow and fast) and it caused a 5s delay to load. do other people face similar delays?
                                                                                                          • Heatmap: Missing Content Elements - Zoho Page Sense

                                                                                                            Hi there, I'm trying out Zoho Page Sense to generate heatmaps for my Wix pages. My problem: Some parts of my Wix pages don't show on my heatmap, the heatmap is just empty there. Maybe Wix default lazy loading setting causes this error? Is there a way
                                                                                                          • Marketing Tip #3: Use social proof to build trust

                                                                                                            People trust people. Showcasing reviews, testimonials, or “bestseller” badges on your product pages can nudge hesitant buyers toward purchase. Try this today: Add one customer testimonial or highlight your top-selling product on your homepage. Or, do
                                                                                                          • Client scripts for Zoho Books ?

                                                                                                            Good day everyone, I am looking for a way to be able to interact with the Quotes and Invoices as they are being created. Think of it like Zoho client script in Zoho CRM. But for the life of me I dont see a way to do this. The issue with having function
                                                                                                          • Make CAMPAIGNS email look as simple as possible

                                                                                                            Hi there I'm trying to make my Campaigns email look as much like a normal email as possible. I'm a bit stuck with the "justification" of the email email block. Can I LEFT JUSTIFY the "whole email" to make it look "normal"? (Please see screenshot attached)
                                                                                                          • Has anyone integrated SMS well for Zoho Desk?

                                                                                                            Our company does property management and needs to be able to handle inbound sms messages which create a ticket for Zoho Desk. We then need to be able to reply back from Zoho desk which sends the user an sms message. This seems like a fairly common thing
                                                                                                          • Zoho Sign Reminder email template

                                                                                                            Is there a template we can edit for the reminder emails? I don't see it in Settings / Choose a template
                                                                                                          • Object required error

                                                                                                            Hi, I am getting an 'Object required' error on the line Call HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws, startOfWeek, endOfWeek) when I run the ShowCurrentWeek macro but not when I run the ShowCurrentMonth macro. Any ideas? Regards, GW Option Explicit Sub HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws
                                                                                                          • Preview an upload PDF or File

                                                                                                            I have a form where the customer has to upload a file (normally PDF - never jpeg)  When in report view I want to be able to preview the uploaded file without having to download it.  If I click on the upload it downloads to my computer, I want to be able
                                                                                                          • How to filter emails by Reply-to field?

                                                                                                            I receive a very particular newsletter from an association A registered on a website W (that is used by many associations), and the emails fields are not great: the From just contains the generic website's W's email, while A is only mentioned in the Reply-to
                                                                                                          • How to invite friends on other social media platforms to one of my group chats in arattai?

                                                                                                            Hello, I have formed chat groups in arattai. I want to invite my friends on other social media platforms like WhatsApp/ FB to one of my groups. Different friends would be invited to different groups. How to share an invite link of one of my groups to
                                                                                                          • Line spacing

                                                                                                            I coudn't decrease the line spacing to space smaller then a single line. There is too much space between the lines that make the document look ugly. Please fix that. Liran. fonar
                                                                                                          • Google Fonts Integration in Pagesense Popup Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Pagesense’s popup editor with Google Fonts support. Current Limitation: Currently, Pagesense offers a limited set of default fonts. Google Fonts
                                                                                                          • Control Position of “X” (Close) Button in Popup Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request a customization improvement in the PageSense popup editor. Current Limitation: Currently, the position of the “X” (close) button is fixed and cannot be customized in the popup
                                                                                                          • Add Standalone “Save” Button in Pagesense Popup Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an important usability improvement in the Pagesense popup editor. Current Limitation: There is currently no dedicated Save button while building a popup. The only way to save
                                                                                                          • Text Direction Control in Pagesense Popup Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to add text direction control in the Pagesense popup editor. Current Limitation: Currently, the popup editor does not provide native support for RTL (Right-to-Left)
                                                                                                          • Autosave in Pagesense Popup Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance the Pagesense editor with an autosave functionality. Current Limitation: Currently, changes made in the Pagesense editor must be manually saved. In
                                                                                                          • Billing frequency is not displayed correctly.

                                                                                                            Hello There is an issue while displaying the billing frequency on a subscription quote. I am able to activate the subscription details and get this lovely overview: If I am adding a Plan which I charge quarterly, first of all it should be possible to
                                                                                                          • Creating Secret via Vault API

                                                                                                            Hi I am trying to create a secret through vault api.  This is the response I get. One thing I am not sure is how to decrypt the secretdata, how to get the secrettypeid? {     "operation": {         "result": {             "error_code": "",             "message": "Sorry, we are unable to process your request.",
                                                                                                          • Zoho CRM custom fields not showing in zoho creator

                                                                                                            Hi Team, I have created a Products form with Zoho CRM integration and connected it to Products module of CRM. But when I see the reports of Products in Zoho creator then I am not able to see custom fields of Products module. Only standard fields of Products
                                                                                                          • Is It Possible to Hide Menu Option from Main Navigation?

                                                                                                            Is it possible to hide a menu option, e.g. Admin, from the Main Navigation based on some criteria, e.g. login = zoho.adminuser
                                                                                                          • Unleash the power of detail, with Table View.

                                                                                                            What use is context that's not available where you need it? With this in mind, we bring you the Table View. This feature will add more power to the way you organize and work through your ticket load. Table View comes in handy when you want more control over the ticket information you see. This is a nifty tool for users who find themselves limited in terms of the level of information that is being offered in the Classic View and Compact View. With an upper limit of 15 columns, agents can glean most
                                                                                                          • Kaizen #126 - Circuits in Zoho CRM - Part 1

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Today, we will discuss an exciting topic—Circuits in Zoho CRM. For starters, we will discuss what Circuits are, how beneficial they are for businesses, different views of a Circuit, and the different
                                                                                                          • 'Statement of Accounts does not exist' error received, when creating PO using api in Zoho Inventory

                                                                                                            Here is request json -- JSONString = { "date": "2019-09-24", "purchaseorder_number": "PO-6-1", "delivery_date": null, "delivery_org_address_id": 36221200000056XXX, "vendor_id": 362212000000564XXX, "attention": "Testing", "line_items": [{ "unit": "Pieces", "account_id": 36221200000003XXX, "quantity": 1, "item_id": 362212000000049XXX, "tax_type": "", "tax_name": "", "name": "One HD", "purchase_rate": 85, "tax_percentage": 0, "item_total": 85.00, "tax_id": "", "warehouse_id": 362212000000564XXX }] }
                                                                                                          • Multiple clients in one project

                                                                                                            Hi team, What is the possibility to have more than one client to be linked for one project in the Zoho Books? Our business model is to have a project, and this project have expenses/bills, as well, we issue invoices for this same project to several customers.
                                                                                                          • Support Bots and Automations in External Channels

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Cliq Team, How are you? We actively use Zoho Cliq for collaboration, including with our external developers. For this purpose, external channels are a key tool since they work seamlessly within the same interface as all of our other channels
                                                                                                          • Workdrive on Android - Gallery Photo Backups

                                                                                                            Hello, Is there any way of backing up the photos on my android phone directly to a specific folder on Workdrive? Assuming i have the workdrive app installed on the phone in question. Emma
                                                                                                          • Next Page