The JDBC API
Previously, we’ve assumed that you have a general working knowledge of the various Java APIs. Because even experienced Java programmers may have had relatively little experience with databases, this section provides a general introduction to JDBC. If this is your first foray into the world of databases, we strongly recommend that you take a breather and find a book on general database and JDBC concepts. You may want to read Database Programming with JDBC and Java, by George Reese (O’Reilly), or JDBC Database Access with Java , by Graham Hamilton, Rick Cattell, and Maydene Fisher (Addison-Wesley). The official JDBC specification is also available online at http://java.sun.com/products/jdbc .
JDBC is a SQL-level API—one that allows you to execute SQL statements and retrieve the results, if any. The API itself is a set of interfaces and classes designed to perform actions against any database. Figure 9.2 shows how JDBC programs interact with databases.
Figure 9-2. Java and the database
JDBC Drivers
The JDBC API, found in the java.sql package,
contains only a few concrete classes. Much of the API is distributed
as database-neutral interface classes that specify behavior without
providing any implementation. The actual implementations are provided
by third-party vendors.
An individual database system is accessed via a specific JDBC driver
that implements the java.sql.Driver ...
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