Server-side Web applications often need to access backend databases. A set of well-designed and efficiently implemented database access methods can greatly reduce the maintenance overhead and improve your Web applications' flexibility. JDBC's (Java Database Connectivity) PreparedStatement interface and setObject() method help you implement fast, generic database access methods that can run on any database server. (1,200 words; April 5, 2002)
This month's tool saves you some work when dealing with common JDBC operations. You can use the Facade design pattern to encapsulate the most popular JDBC objects, thereby hiding all the tedium of initialization, exception handling, and cleanup. Before Thomas unveils the new tool, however, he considers reader feedback on last month's column and adds several improvements to the GlobalValues tool. (3,600 words)
3. Use JDBC for industrial-strength performance, Part 1
The JDBC API provides three principal methods for calling a database to extract information. System performance and ease of maintenance depend on the usage scenario you choose. Integrating a Java server application with a legacy database system is a nontrivial task; evaluating system-usage scenarios and server-side patterns is important for creating fast, robust application systems. By using better server-side Java patterns for data mining, you can lighten the burden on system data storage. In this first article in a series, Lennart Jorelid discusses server-side Java patterns with JDBC. The reader is assumed to be familiar with the JDBC API. (3,000 words)
Database programming often requires working with data from external data sources, such as plain text files. In this article, Sesh Venugopal presents an improved technique for converting plain text data to actual types in a database, using DatabaseMetaData, the JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) metadata interface, along with the execution of precompiled SQL. He gives you a tip on how to discover database-specific data types at runtime and translate external text data. (2,500 words)
Many Java programs' success depends on an optimized method of accessing a JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) database known as a PreparedStatement. Debugging such statements can prove troublesome because you cannot retrieve a PreparedStatement's command or any of its associated parameters. In this article, Bob Byron and Troy Thompson show how to save debugging time by using a few strategic classes. Most importantly, you need to change just three lines of code. (1,800 words; January 25, 2002)
How would you like to create your own type 3 JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) driver or convert an existing JDBC driver to type 3? Type 3 drivers, primarily useful for Internet/intranet applications with no required client-side setting, provide flexible system administration facilities. In this article, Nitin Nanda and Sunil Kumar explain JDBC's driver architecture, outline type 3 JDBC drivers' three-tier model, and show how to create your own type 3 JDBC driver. (2,300 words; May 17, 2002)
Most J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) and other types of Java applications interact in some way with information persisted in a database. Interfacing with that database involves several iterations of SQL statements, connection management, transaction lifecycles, result processing, and exception handling. The many parts of this ritualistic dance are common in all contexts; however, this replication doesn't have to exist. In this article, Ryan Daigle outlines a flexible framework that remedies the repetition of interacting with a JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)-compliant database. (2,200 words; May 24, 2002)
Type 3 JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) drivers, primarily useful for Internet/intranet applications with no required client-side setting, provide flexible system administration facilities. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Sunil Kumar and Nitin Nanda explored the architecture and design of a custom-built type 3 JDBC driver. Expanding on Part 1, in this article they explain how to compile, deploy, and use the custom driver. (2,000 words; June 14, 2002)
Just about every J2EE application accesses data from a relational database. For this reason, Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is probably one of the more popular APIs available for the Java platform. JDBC is conceptually simple and easy to use, but in production applications, numerous details can make even the most trivial create/read/update/delete (CRUD) application a chore. Although many frameworks, tools, and APIs can simplify development, they are often too complex. As an alternative, in this article, author Madhu Siddalingaiah presents a small set of classes that is easy use, maintain, and extend. (2,300 words; June 7, 2004)
JudoScript is an easy and powerful Java scripting language and has 4GL-like domain-specific functional support, allowing users to intuitively specify what they want to do and program algorithmically when necessary. Its multidomain functional support puts JudoScript in a new category of functional scripting languages. Like any 4GL (fourth-generation language), JudoScript emphasizes specifying intentions and providing solutions automatically, while other programming languages (3GLs) emphasize describing solutions (algorithms) that realize the intentions. JudoScript employs a JavaScript-like syntax and programming model and provides more computing power with rich datastructures and syntactic sugar. It is also fully potent in scripting Java, so that all the Java platform resources are readily available. The synergy of all these features renders great power, productivity, and elegance for practical computing needs. Data processing is one of JudoScript's most important applications. Today's enterprise applications deal with rich data formats such as relational databases, XML, SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), abstract data types like EJBs (Enterprise JavaBeans), Web services, as well as spreadsheets and flat files. JudoScript is ideal for multiformat, multisource data processing. This two-part series focuses on JudoScript's JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) scripting support, introduces JudoScript the language, and demonstrates its data processing power with a J2EE case study. Part 1 details JudoScript's JDBC scripting support. (2,400 words; June 21, 2004)
JudoScript is a rich functional scripting language, and an easy and powerful general programming and Java scripting language. In Part 1 of this series, I detailed JudoScript's JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) scripting support. JudoScript's power comes from its synergy of functional features such as JDBC scripting, and the strength of programming and Java scripting. It is ideal for modern data processing and other practical uses. JudoScript is designed for all IT professionals and computer programmers, not just Java developers. In Part 2, I concisely introduce JudoScript's programming and Java scripting features, which are all used in a real-world J2EE case study that involves SQL, XML, Enterprise JavaBeans, email, and Web services abstracted as a Java API. The resultant program is short, obvious, and rich in functionality. In the end, I use various criteria to compare JudoScript to other languages. (3,900 words; July 5, 2004)
12. JDBC usage for industrial-strength performance, Part 2
Although you can create complex applications using the simple and easy-to-use design patterns of the JDBC API, you may gain better performance by allowing a single statement to return multiple ResultSets. In this article, Lennart Jorelid explores the methods of using batch-oriented techniques to acquire multiple ResultSet objects. (2,000 words)
13. Reflections on Java, Beans, and relational databases
The 1.1 version of the Java Development Kit (JDK) contains new APIs for database access (JDBC) and components (JavaBeans). Together, these two APIs allow for the development of generic database code. A single class to access any JDBC database -- with the code specific to each individual application isolated in separate components. This means you won't have to update any database code with each minor change in a database's structure. (3,200 words) By Sandor Spruit
The new CachedRowSet, still in early access release, provides benefits that developers can begin to take advantage of right away. Taylor Cowan demonstrates how you can use a CachedRowSet as the data model for a JavaServer Pages (JSP) entry/edit form. Assuming that you have some experience with JSP development, he describes step by step how to implement navigation, updates, inserts, and deletes using a CachedRowSet JavaBean. In addition, he shows how the CachedRowSet helps to reduce database-update SQL statements and the use of valuable database connection resources. (2,100 words)
