JDBC includes four components:

  1. The JDBC API

    The JDBC API provides programmatic access to relational data from the Java programming language. Using the JDBC API, applications can execute SQL statements, retrieve results, and propagate changes back to an underlying data source. The JDBC API can also interact with multiple data sources in a distributed, heterogeneous environment.

    The JDBC API is part of the Java platform, which includes the Java Standard Edition (Java SE ) and the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE). The JDBC 4.0 API is divided into two packages: java.sql and javax.sql. Both packages are included in the Java SE and Java EE platforms.

  2. JDBC Driver Manager

    The JDBC DriverManager class defines objects which can connect Java applications to a JDBC driver. DriverManager has traditionally been the backbone of the JDBC architecture. It is quite small and simple.

    The Standard Extension packages javax.naming and javax.sql let you use a DataSource object registered with a Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) naming service to establish a connection with a data source. You can use either connecting mechanism, but using a DataSource object is recommended whenever possible.

  3. JDBC Test Suite 

    The JDBC driver test suite helps you to determine that JDBC drivers will run your program. These tests are not comprehensive or exhaustive, but they do exercise many of the important features in the JDBC API.

  4. JDBC-ODBC Bridge

    The Java Software bridge provides JDBC access via ODBC drivers. Note that you need to load ODBC binary code onto each client machine that uses this driver. As a result, the ODBC driver is most appropriate on a corporate network where client installations are not a major problem, or for application server code written in Java in a three-tier architecture.