JDBC-ODBC Bridge Drivers

Type 1 drivers translate calls to JDBC methods into calls to Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) functions. Bridge drivers allow JDBC applications immediate access to database connectivity provided by the existing array of ODBC drivers.

Both the JavaSoft JDK and Microsoft Java SDK include JDBC-ODBC bridge drivers.

ODBC architecture requires that the ODBC driver manager and (typically) the ODBC drivers themselves be loaded on each client system. The requirement for software resident on client systems means that JDBC-ODBC bridge drivers will not work with Java applets run from an Internet browser. Browsers do not allow applets to run another program on the client to which they are downloaded. (In general, JDBC-ODBC bridge drivers will not work in environments that restrict Java applications from reading and writing files or running other programs.)

JDBC-ODBC bridge drivers are still useful in corporate networks, or for use by application server code written in Java in a 3-tier architecture. In such an environment, the application server has intermediary software, such as Blue Lobster’s Aptivity, that receives requests from browsers and other Internet applications. The intermediary software in turn calls the JDBC driver manager when it receives a database request.