Navigating This Book

If you’re completely new to JDBC, start at the beginning and work your way through to the end. Each chapter assumes that you’re familiar with the contents of the chapters before it. Intermediate-to-advanced developers should read the chapters and sections that appeal to them based on the table of contents and introductory text in all the chapters. Keep in mind, however, that some topics just don’t stand well on their own, so the book includes a lot of information within the overall text. I suggest that you look through the index to reference the appropriate bits of information that you’re interested in. Finally, the reference section is here to help you find minimal information about classes, interfaces, and their attributes and methods.

Icons appear in the text to indicate important or especially helpful items. Here’s a list of the icons and their functions:

Note 

provide additional or critical information and technical data on the current topic.

Tip 

icons offer useful techniques and helpful hints.

Cross-Reference 

icons point you to someplace where you can find more information on a particular topic.

Caution 

icon is your warning of a potential problem or pitfall.

On the Web 

icon indicates that the companion Web site for the book contains a related file or additional information.