Press releases

One Part Java and One Part Database = New Edition of Valuable JDBC Guide

O'Reilly's just-released second edition of Database Programming with JDBC and Java describes the Java interfaces that make portable object-oriented access to relational databases possible and offers a robust model for writing applications that are easy to maintain.

The author, George Reese, introduces the JDBC and RMI packages and uses them to develop three-tier applications (applications divided into a user interface, an object- oriented logic component, and an information store). "Since the first edition was released, Java and enterprise computing have become synonymous," says Reese. "JDBC is the very heart of Java's enterprise strategy. While most books teach you the JDBC API, my book aims at teaching you how to use the JDBC API in real enterprise programming. It does this using the latest tools from Java's J2EE platform."

One key contribution of this newest O'Reilly release is a set of patterns that let developers isolate critical tasks like object creation, information storage and retrieval, and the committing or aborting of transactions.

"Database programming has traditionally been a technological Tower of Babel. We are faced with dozens of available database products, and each one talks to our applications in its own private language. If your application needs to talk to a new database engine, you have to teach it (and yourself) a new language. As Java programmers, however, we should not be worrying about such translation issues. Java is supposed to bring us the ability to 'write once, compile once, and run anywhere,' so it should bring it to us with database programming as well. Java's JDBC API gives us a shared language through which our applications can talk to database engines," says Reese.

"Database Programming with JDBC and Java is not just about JDBC," he explains. "You can use it to learn JDBC, but do not expect 300 pages covering the JDBC API. JDBC is not complex enough to use 300 pages unless you use a really big typeface. Putting JDBC into a two-tier or three-tier Java environment, however, is a very complex thing. The first half of the book thus focuses on teaching people JDBC. If all you want is a book on JDBC, the first half is what you are looking for. The second half takes you that extra step and addresses the complexities of real world database programming with JDBC and Java."

The second edition, completely updated for JDBC 2.0, includes reference listings for JDBC and the most important RMI classes. It also includes more basics of JDBC and SQL, with more examples, and a deeper discussion about the architecture of a robust, maintainable database application. This new edition also explains the relationship between JDBC and Enterprise JavaBeans.

What critics and readers said about the first edition:

Reader's Choice Special Mention Award from 'Visual Basic Programmers Journal'

"I know it sounds like a cliche, but... 'if you only buy one JDBC book, then this should be the one'! It's **vastly** better than the other 5 that I (unfortunately) purchased before seeing this one, and it's full of real world stuff."
-Thomas J. Lukasik, Buffalo Dataware

"This book is outstanding If you want an excellent framework for three-tier distributed applications that access a database, this book cannot be topped."
-David Friedrich

"This book will help you become more effective at developing Java database programs. The author expertly teaches the reader to use Java to access relational databases."
-Geoff Choo, Director Solutions WEBzine

"Most people who write about OOP programming have never actually done any of it in the 'real' world. This is painfully obvious since none of their 'customer' examples never other to discuss topics like Locking and Transactions. However, this book does begin to address these topics in some detail, which is rare."
-Sid Soni

"Worth its weight in gold!! Highly recommended as an introduction to Distributed Computing with JavaMany thanks to the author for such a wonderful book."
-Arman Shah

• Chapter 9, Persistence, is available free online.

• More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and samples.

• A cover graphic in jpeg format.

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