Connecting to the Database

A database works in the classic client/server way. There is one database and many clients talk to it. (Larger enterprises may have multiple databases, but these can be considered independently for our purposes.) The clients are typically remote systems communicating over TCP/IP networks. They may talk directly to the database (called a “2-tier” system) or to a business logic server that talks to the database (known as a “3-tier” system).

How does a client or business logic program open a dialog with a database manager? JDBC uses a piece of software called a database driver. The database driver is specific to each vendor, and it is a library-level example of the Adaptor design pattern. It knows how to connect to ...

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