There are currently four versions of MySQL Connector/J available:
Connector/J 5.1 is the Type 4 pure Java JDBC driver, which conforms to the JDBC 3.0 and JDBC 4.0 specifications. It provides compatibility with all the functionality of MySQL, including 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.4 and 5.5. Connector/J 5.1 provides ease of development features, including auto-registration with the Driver Manager, standardized validity checks, categorized SQLExceptions, support for the JDBC-4.0 XML processing, per connection client information,
NCHAR,NVARCHARandNCLOBtypes. This release also includes all bug fixes up to and including Connector/J 5.0.6.Connector/J 5.0 provides support for all the functionality offered by Connector/J 3.1 and includes distributed transaction (XA) support.
Connector/J 3.1 was designed for connectivity to MySQL 4.1 and MySQL 5.0 servers and provides support for all the functionality in MySQL 5.0 except distributed transaction (XA) support.
Connector/J 3.0 provides core functionality and was designed with connectivity to MySQL 3.x or MySQL 4.1 servers, although it will provide basic compatibility with later versions of MySQL. Connector/J 3.0 does not support server-side prepared statements, and does not support any of the features in versions of MySQL later than 4.1.
The following table summarizes the Connector/J versions available:
| Connector/J version | Driver Type | JDBC version | MySQL Server version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 4 | 3.0, 4.0 | 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.4, 5.5 | Recommended version |
| 5.0 | 4 | 3.0 | 4.1, 5.0 | Released version |
| 3.1 | 4 | 3.0 | 4.1, 5.0 | Obsolete |
| 3.0 | 4 | 3.0 | 3.x, 4.1 | Obsolete |
The current recommended version for Connector/J is 5.1. This guide covers all four connector versions, with specific notes given where a setting applies to a specific option.