Table of Contents
Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is a standard SQL database access interface, providing uniform access to a wide range of relational databases. JDBC also provides a common base on which higher level tools and interfaces can be built. Elixir Data Designer supports reading of data using JDBC and provides an SQL query builder.
Currently most JDBC Drivers belong to the following two categories.
JDBC-Net pure Java driver - This type of driver translates JDBC API calls into a DBMS-independent net protocol which is then translated to a DBMS protocol by a server. This net server middleware is able to connect its clients to different databases. The specific protocol used depends on the vendor.
Native protocol pure Java driver - This driver converts JDBC technology calls into the network protocol used by a specific DBMS directly. This allows a direct call from the client machine to the DBMS server and is a practical solution for intranet access.
Earlier JDBC driver categories included JDBC-ODBC bridge plus ODBC driver, and Native API partly-Java driver.
To illustrate the configuration process for a driver, here are the steps on how to use a MySQL DataSource. The latest MySQL driver can be downloaded from http://www.mysql.com/. The mysql jar file must be copied to the Elixir Repertoire ext folder. Similarly, for an Oracle DataSource, the latest driver must be copied to the ext folder which can be downloaded from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/jdbc/index-091264.html. For a Postgres driver, check here: http://jdbc.postgresql.org/.
In each case, regardless of the DBMS vendor, the corresponding driver files are copied to the ext folder. Elixir Repertoire must be restarted to load any new drivers added.
If you are using Elixir Repertoire Remote, then the database drivers must be placed in the server ext folder instead. This is because data operations are performed on the server. The only exception is the Query Builder functionality which requires access to the database schema information. See the note in the Query Builder section below describing how to configure the Remote tool to support this.