Re: What about a DBMS that won't be platform-specific

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Date: Sun, 06 Jun 2004 02:54:29 GMT

R.A.J. wrote:
>
> FInally, I think this post will answer my question. I'm thinking of later on
> down the road converting an Access database I created with a VB interface to
> one done in Java. I've been searching all over for info, but I've seen
> nothing in reference to Access. At this time, all I would to know would it
> be similar to connecting as in VB and would the JDBC bridge work similar to
> it, would I have to use an IDE other than Visual J++ to create the
> interface? This would be my first time doing this and the database is being
> used in the division of a small college I work for. Because of the
> environment and the amount of data going into it, there isn't a need for a
> large capacity DBMS.

Let me answer this in pieces.

Microsoft provides an ODBC driver for Access. It only can be used on Windows. Therefore,
it is platform-specific. There is no JDBC driver for Access.

In Java, you can use databases which provide only ODBC drivers through the JDBC-ODBC
bridge. Sun includes a JDBC-ODBC bridge with their standard distro, but they warn that
it is not intended for production use. I'm not sure that matters since I don't think the
Access is suitable for production use, either ;^) There are some commercially available
JDBC-ODBC bridges, but I have no experience with them.

So, you can use JDBC in Java to use Access. You don't need an IDE. Is it similar to VB?
Using JDBC in Java would be similar to using ODBC in VB ... actually quite easier. If
you're looking for an interface more high level than that, you may need an IDE or some
other interface layer on top of JDBC. I don't have any recommendations on that.

In general, you can create an application using JDBC that can utilize different back-end
databases. However, there are a number of complications, such as, significant
differences in SQL syntax. Most pay only lip service to Standard SQL. Solid guidelines
on surmounting these obstacles are rare to non-existent.

For other aspects of your questions, I would repeat the suggestions I made previously.

-- 
Lee Fesperman, FirstSQL, Inc. (http://www.firstsql.com)
==============================================================
* The Ultimate DBMS is here!
* FirstSQL/J Object/Relational DBMS  (http://www.firstsql.com)

• Previous message: Lee Fesperman: "Re: POD speed"
• In reply to: R.A.J.: "What about a DBMS that won't be platform-specific"
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