Java Programming with Oracle JDBC [Paperback]

Donald Bales (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2001

JDBC is the key Java technology for relational database access. Oracle is arguably the most widely used relational database platform in the world. In this book, Donald Bales brings these two technologies together, and shows you how to leverage the full power of Oracle's implementation of JDBC.

You begin by learning the all-important mysteries of establishing database connections. This can be one of the most frustrating areas for programmers new to JDBC, and Donald covers it well with detailed information and examples showing how to make database connections from applications, applets, Servlets, and even from Java programs running within the database itself.

Next comes thorough coverage of JDBC's relational SQL features. You'll learn how to issue SQL statements and get results back from the database, how to read and write data from large, streaming data types such as BLOBs, CLOBs, and BFILEs, and you'll learn how to interface with Oracle's other built-in programming language, PL/SQL.

If you're taking advantage of the Oracle's relatively new ability to create object tables and column objects based on user-defined datatypes, you'll be pleased with Don's thorough treatment of this subject. Don shows you how to use JPublisher and JDBC to work seamlessly with Oracle database objects from within Java programs. You'll also learn how to access nested tables and arrays using JDBC.

Donald concludes the book with a discussion of transaction management, locking, concurrency, and performance--topics that every professional JDBC programmer must be familiar with. If you write Java programs to run against an Oracle database, this book is a must-have.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donald Bales is a Computer Applications Consultant specializing in the analysis, design, and programming of distributed systems; systems integration; and data warehousing. Don has over sixteen years experience with Oracle as both a developer and a database administrator, and six years experiance with Java. He is currently working on the migration of medical and industrial hygiene systems to a web environment for a major Oil company. When he is not developing applications, Donald can often be found working with horses, playing the piano, or playing the bagpipes. Donald has had several careers, and has at various times been a mechanic, a general contractor, Mr. Mom, a developer, and currently a consultant. He has a bachelor of science degree in Business from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. Don currently resides in Downers Grove, Illinois with his wife Diane and his daughter Kristyn. He can be contacted by email at [e-mail]

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059600088X
• ISBN-13: 978-0596000882
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,586,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oracle JDBC gets a good treatment., December 20, 2001

By 

L. Johnson (Central Valley CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Java Programming with Oracle JDBC (Paperback)

I'm prototyping an Oracle database application "engine" for use in a planning and estimation application (as in project management). The idea was to use Java and Oracle 8i's object-relational features, specifically to take advantage of performance improvements and generally to get the advantages of object oriented design. I had reached the point of implementing Oracle's CustomDatum interface when I got this book. I was initially disappointed when I opened the book and found it discussed on the last eleven pages of the section on Object-Relational SQL. But then I read the Introduction, the first chapter, and on and on....
It's immediately obvious Mr. Bales is familiar with actual process of developing real applications. He has presented this complex and complicated subject in a direct and pleasant manner for advanced programmers. Relatively new to Java but very familiar with Oracle, I found his organization of the material very helpful - and the sections on Relational SQL and Object-Relational SQL based on sound knowledge and experience. Mr. Bales includes a final Section on Essentials where he discusses transactions and locking, performance and trouble shooting - all very practical and extremely useful if you are developing serious applications. And yes, those last eleven pages were very helpful.
I have not found a book that addresses using Oracle JDBC in application development directly, and have found few books that address database application development very well - but this book does both. One small thing I thought was missing were guidelines for using weakly typed object SQL vice strongly typed - in other areas good advice was offered.
Before I bought this book, I used Oracle's documentation at otn.oracle.com. This required a file of bookmarks, several large block diagrams, lots of notes and much patience. It's much better to start with this book - and get a well-organized and coherent view along with practical advice and examples, before wading into Oracle's extensive documentation.

Larry Johnson
KeepItSimpleEngineering,Inc. (...)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent coverage of Oracle's implementation of JDBC, February 21, 2002

By 

Ajith Kallambella (JavaRanch.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Java Programming with Oracle JDBC (Paperback)

An excellent coverage of Oracle's implementation of JDBC, this book beats your expectations

Meet the middle ground where the strengths of Java and Oracle work in synergy - the JDBC. Whether making simple database connections or using the Oracle 8i's sophisticated object-relational features, the authors peel the onion very well with detailed information and cleverly written examples. After a brief overview of JDBC, several different types of database clients are discussed in detail - the applets, the Servlets, the Server side internal drivers and those managed by J2EE using JNDI and connection pooling.

A whole section is dedicated to modes of interaction between Java programs and the JDBC API such as using cursors, submitting prepared statements and ResultSet manipulation. A great deal of good advice is offered to help you choose between the options. The chapter on Object-Relational SQL covers broad ground on both Weakly Typed Object SQL and Strongly Typed Object SQL.

Enterprise essentials such as Security, locking, transaction management supports for data encryption and SSL issues, performance tuning and testing strategies - are addressed in detail. This book is treasure trove if newer feats of Oracle are of Interest to you. I found immediate application for features such as creating object tables and column objects based on user-defined data types, support for really big streaming data types such as BFILEs and LONG RAW and batch processing for my project.

Overall, this book has everything you need to learn, know and master in order to leverage the essential two great technologies - JDBC and Oracle. Every serious Java developer should have this at arms reach.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but out of date, January 30, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Java Programming with Oracle JDBC (Paperback)

Let me start by saying that had I purchased this book 2 years ago when it was first released, I would have given it 5 stars.

This is a very well-written book, with good explanations and sample code. However, the book is fairly out of date, and much of the performance tuning suggestions he makes don't really apply as much when using the latest Oracle JDBC drivers and Oracle9 database. This book covers Oracle 8.1.6, and a lot of changes have been made between that release and 8.1.7 and Oracle9.

I recommend the newer "Oracle 9i JDBC Programming" book by Jason Price for much more current coverage of this topic.