Introduction to JDBC

In an enterprise application, business data should be stored in a persistent storage area in such a way that it can be retrieved efficiently and in programming language independent manner.

Database Management Systems (DBMSs) allow us to store data permanently in the databases and retrieve it in a language independent way. Databases are good at storing data but poor at processing and presenting it. High level languages like Java are made for data processing and presenting and hence are efficient in this task but poor at storage. Hence these both form integral components of a business application. Since each has a specific role, interaction between them is inevitable.

The strength of Java is its methods. However, to retrieve data from the database these method calls cannot be used. No DBMS is capable of understanding Java method calls. DBMSs use SQL to interact with the database. Java cannot process SQL statements and SQL syntax. These are called heterogeneous environments. Thus, its clear that Java - Database interaction though mandatory, cannot be achieved directly.

What is JDBC?

1. To enable Java - Database communication in heterogeneous environments (such stated above), Sun Microsystems created a technology called JDBC.

2. JDBC is a J2SE technology.

3. JDBC is an API (Application Programming Interface) - a set of library methods that enable Java - Database comunication.

4. JDBC is a specification.

5. JDBC is a service technology.

JDBC is used by any kind of Java program (Servlets, JSP, Applets, Swing, etc) to communicate with any database(Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, Informix, Sybase, etc) in a standard manner.

Any Java program communicating with the database is a JDBC application.

Abhinav Bindra: Golden Shot

India has never had much to speak about when it comes to Olympics. It is more so with winning a gold medal. In all these years of participation at the Olympics we have won only 8 gold medals (all of which have come from hockey and the last being in 1980) and none in individual events. Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore did us proud at the Athens Olympics in 2004 when he struck silver in the men's double trap event. But a nation of more than a billion definitely deserves more than that.

The Indian contingent sent to Beijing is a small one. A result of the fact that we have managed not to qualify in the game in which we have won all our golds till date.The Indian Olympic Association did not look confident about India's chances at this Olympics even before the games began. This made it look like India's hope for a gold will have to wait for some more years.

Not many would have believed that this wait was to end on August 11th, 2008. Abhinav Bindra shot to glory in the 10m Air Rifle and won the first ever individual gold for India. It is a day of great pride for him and the nation. A day we will all remember and cherish for long time to come. Congratulations to him for this truly commendable achievement.

What have we to take home from Bindra's story?

Bindra's success should ignite the fresh and budding talent in our country. It should set an example for kids and their parents alike that sports in India has a future if nurtured in the right way. It should give the Indian Olympic Association and the government the confidence that we have the talent that can make us proud at the international level. It should drive them to invest more in traning and providing world class facilities to the atheletes. The people who are doing their best for the nation, deserve the best.

Their is a lesson for the youth of our country too. More often than not we indulge in criticising the country and its system, but rarely contribute to nation building. Instead most contribute to the brain drain. One must note that Bindra holds a MBA and is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a Chandigarh based company. He is contributing to the country through his entrepreneurial skills and sporting acumen. With Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and many medals to his credit, Abhinav Bindra is a person to look upto and a shooter to look for in the years to come.

All of us may not be able to win a gold at the Olympics but we surely can do our part in nation building. So lets get going ...