Preface

This preface contains these sections:

• Intended Audience

• Manual Structure

• Related Documentation

• Conventions Used in this Manual

Intended Audience

This manual assumes that you are an experienced programmer and that you understand Oracle databases, the SQL and Java programming languages, and the principles of JDBC.

Manual Structure

The JDBC Developers Guide and Reference contains eight chapters and one appendix:

Chapter 1, "Overview"	This chapter provides an overview of the Oracle implementation of JDBC and the Oracle JDBC driver architecture.
Chapter 2, "Getting Started"	This chapter introduces the Oracle JDBC drivers and some scenarios of how you can use them. This chapter also guides you through the basics of testing your installation and configuration.
Chapter 3, "Basic Features"	This chapter covers the basic steps in creating any JDBC application. It also discusses additional basic features of Java and JDBC supported by the Oracle JDBC drivers.
Chapter 4, "Oracle Extensions"	This chapter describes JDBC extensions provided by Oracle: packages, classes, and datatypes. It also describes the support for LOBs, objects, and collections provided by the extensions.
Chapter 5, "Advanced Topics"	This chapter describes advanced JDBC topics such as using NLS, working with applets, the server-side driver, and embedded SQL92 syntax.
Chapter 6, "Coding Tips and Troubleshooting"	This chapter includes coding tips and general guidelines for troubleshooting your JDBC applications.
Chapter 7, "Sample Applications"	This chapter presents sample applications that highlight advanced JDBC features and Oracle extensions.
Chapter 8, "Reference Information"	This chapter contains detailed JDBC reference information.
Appendix A, "JDBC Error Messages"	This appendix lists errors that can be thrown by the JDBC drivers.

Related Documentation

This manual contains references to the following Oracle publications:

• Oracle8i JPublisher User's Guide

  This book describes how to use the JPublisher utility to translate object types and other user-defined types to Java classes. If you are developing SQLJ or JDBC applications that use object types, varray types, nested table types, or REF types, then you are required to have Java classes that correspond to these types. JPublisher helps you do this by creating the mapping between object types and Java classes, and between object attribute types and their corresponding Java types.

• Oracle8i SQLJ Developer's Guide and Reference

  This book describes the use of SQLJ to embed static SQL operations directly into Java code. Both standard SQLJ features and Oracle-specific SQLJ features are described.

• Oracle8i Java Stored Procedures Developer's Guide

  This book describes Java stored procedures, which lets Java programmers access the Oracle RDBMS. With stored procedures (functions, procedures, database triggers, and SQL methods), Java developers can implement business logic at the server level, thereby improving application performance, scalability, and security.

• Oracle8i Enterprise JavaBeans and CORBA Developer's Guide

  This manual describes the Oracle extensions to the JavaBeans and CORBA specifications.

• Net8 Administrator's Guide

  Refer to this manual for more information about ANO (Advanced Network Option), the Oracle8 Connection Manager, and about Net8 network administration in general.

• Oracle8i Error Messages

  Refer to this document set for more information on error messages that can be passed by the Oracle Database and the Oracle JDBC drivers.

• Oracle8i National Language Support Guide

  Refer to this manual for more information on NLS environment variables, character sets, territories, and locale data. In addition, it contains an overview of common NLS issues, some typical scenarios, and some NLS considerations for OCI and SQL programmers.

• Oracle8i Application Developer's Guide - Large Objects (LOBs) and the Oracle8i Application Developer's Reference - Packages

  These books describe how to access and manipulate large objects (LOBs) using PL/SQL code and the DBMS_LOB package.

• Oracle8i SQL Reference

  This reference contains a complete description of the content and syntax of the Structured Query Language (SQL) used to manage information in an Oracle database.

• PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference

  PL/SQL is Oracle's procedural extension to SQL. An advanced fourth-generation programming language (4GL), PL/SQL offers seamless SQL access, tight integration with the Oracle server and tools, portability, security, and modern software engineering features such as data encapsulation, overloading, exception handling, and information hiding. This guide explains all the concepts behind PL/SQL and illustrates every facet of the language.

• Oracle8i Application Server documentation

  Refer to this documentation for more information on how the Oracle8i Application Server supports JDBC.

• Oracle8 JDeveloper Suite documentation

  Refer to this documentation for more information on how Oracle8 JDeveloper Suite supports JDBC.

Conventions Used in this Manual

Solaris syntax is used in this book, but file names and directory names for Windows NT are the same unless otherwise noted.

The term [ORACLE_HOME] is used to indicate the full path of the Oracle home directory.

In examples, an implied carriage return occurs at the end of each line, unless otherwise noted. You must press the Return key at the end of a line of input.

The following conventions are also used in this manual:

Convention	Meaning
. . .	Vertical ellipsis points in an example mean that information not directly related to the example has been omitted.
. . .	Horizontal ellipsis points in statements or commands mean that parts of the statement or command not directly related to the example have been omitted
< >	Angle brackets enclose user-supplied names.
[ ]	Brackets enclose optional clauses from which you can choose one or none.

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