Mature and stable

Almost all practical commercial deployments of Java involve hooking to a back end database. Of the latter, relational databases are the dominant form. The first version of JDBC arose soon after Java was released, because of this compelling need. Since then, Sun has extended the functionality while still striving to keep its learning curve shallow, as compared to Microsoft's ODBC. Indeed, the latest Java 1.4 Standard Edition includes JDBC 3.0 in its entirety.

To document JDBC 3.0, Sun has put out the third edition of this book. The maturity of JDBC is reflected in its heft. The reference portion is voluminous. The tutorial section is like aged whisky; it goes down smoothly. Sun has had plenty of time to sandpaper rough edges and, based on user feedback, to add popularly requested capabilities.

The attraction of this book is that it describes a mature and stable product. In corporate terms, it is safe and conservative. In other words, you can develop with JDBC according to the book and be highly confident of success. At least insofar as your Java GUI conversing with the database. (The design of a GUI or a database is outside the purview of the book.)

Other Reviews

• No choice - a must
• A Must For Your Bookshelf!
• an exceptionally comprehensive volume
• Mature and stable
• The only JDBC book you will need