Microsoft Driver for JDBC

JDBC, short for Java Database Connectivity, is similar to ODBC but is designed specifically for Java programs. Java programming has blossomed with the advent of the Internet, so Microsoft has released a new driver for JDBC that allows Java applications to access SQL Server 2000. This driver is a Type 4 JDBC driver that has been optimized for the Java environment.

All versions of SQL Server 2000 are supported for use with the SQL Server 2000 driver for JDBC, but only a limited number of operating systems are supported. The following list shows those operating systems that are supported:

• Microsoft Windows XP

• Microsoft Windows 2000 with service pack 2 or higher

• AIX

• HP-UX

• Solaris

• Linux

The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 driver for JDBC can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site; see www.microsoft.com/sql/downloads/default.asp for details. The driver is available for download to all licensed SQL Server 2000 customers at no charge and is fully supported by Microsoft. The installation is fast and provides an HTML Help document and a JDBC Installation guide that is in PDF format.

Once you have Microsoft's JDBC driver installed, refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q313100 for information on how to get started using the driver. This article explains how to register the JDBC driver and provides some simple JAVA coding examples that indicate how the driver can be used.

NOTE

There are other third-party JDBC drivers that are available, but the Microsoft driver is free and is fully supported by Microsoft.