MySQL provides connectivity for client applications developed in the Java programming language through a JDBC driver, which is called MySQL Connector/J.
MySQL Connector/J is a JDBC Type 4 driver. Different versions are available that are compatible with the JDBC 3.0 and JDBC 4.0 specifications. The Type 4 designation means that the driver is pure-Java implementation of the MySQL protocol and does not rely on the MySQL client libraries.
Although JDBC is useful by itself, we would hope that if you are not familiar with JDBC that after reading the first few sections of this manual, that you would avoid using naked JDBC for all but the most trivial problems and consider using one of the popular persistence frameworks such as Hibernate, Spring's JDBC templates or Ibatis SQL Maps to do the majority of repetitive work and heavier lifting that is sometimes required with JDBC.
This section is not designed to be a complete JDBC tutorial. If you need more information about using JDBC you might be interested in the following online tutorials that are more in-depth than the information presented here:
JDBC Basics: A tutorial from Sun covering beginner topics in JDBC
JDBC Short Course: A more in-depth tutorial from Sun and JGuru
Key topics:
For help with connection strings, connection options setting up your connection through JDBC, see Section 22.3.4.1, “Driver/Datasource Class Names, URL Syntax and Configuration Properties for Connector/J”.
For tips on using Connector/J and JDBC with generic J2EE toolkits, see Section 22.3.5.2, “Using Connector/J with J2EE and Other Java Frameworks”.
Developers using the Tomcat server platform, see Section 22.3.5.2.2, “Using Connector/J with Tomcat”.
Developers using JBoss, see Section 22.3.5.2.3, “Using Connector/J with JBoss”.
Developers using Spring, see Section 22.3.5.2.4, “Using Connector/J with Spring”.
Developers using GlassFish (Sun Application Server), see Section 22.3.5.2.5, “Using Connector/J with GlassFish”.