The JDBCTM API provides universal data
access from the JavaTM programming language.
Using the JDBC 3.0 API, you can access virtually any data source, from
relational databases to spreadsheets and flat files.
JDBC technology also provides a common base on which tools and alternate
interfaces can be built.
The JDBC 3.0 API is comprised of two packages:
the java.sql package
the javax.sql package, which adds server-side capabilities
You automatically get both packages when you download the
JavaTM 2 Platform Standard Edition
5.0 (J2SETM).
JDBC Technology Drivers
To use the JDBC API with a particular database management system,
you need a JDBC technology-based driver to mediate between JDBC
technology and the database.
Depending on various factors, a driver might be written purely
in the Java programming language or
in a mixture of the Java programming language and
JavaTM Native Interface (JNI)
native methods.
The JDBC web site maintains a list of
vendors
with drivers currently available or under
development.
The latest JDK includes a JDBC-ODBC Bridge
driver that makes most Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC) drivers available to programmers using the JDBC API.
JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver
describes the current status of this software.
Note that the bridge driver included in the JavaTM
2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 (J2SETM)
is appropriate only for experimental use or when no other driver is available.