Java and databases make a powerful combination. Getting the two sides to work together, however, takes some effort--largely because Java deals in objects while most databases do not.This book describes the standard 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. It 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). This book is the key to becoming a more effective application developer for Java database programs. It includes reference listings for JDBC and the most important RMI classes and covers Java 1.1.The book begins with a quick overview of SQL for developers who may be asked to handle a database for the first time. It then explains how to issue database queries and updates through SQL and JDBC. It also covers the use of stored procedures and other measures to improve efficiency, where these are available.But the book's key contribution is a set of patterns that separate the various functions of the Java application and facilitate the growth and maintenance of an application. Patterns allow isolation of critical tasks like object creation, information storage and retrieval, and the committing or aborting of transactions. The book also introduces RMI as a way to distribute objects among systems. All techniques are illustrated with working examples.

Amazon.com Review
O'Reilly & Associates has made its name publishing gritty documentation of Unix innards, especially application programming interface (API) references. Database Programming with JDBC and Java follows this heritage in the excellent roadmap of the java.sql.* package, which fills a solid quarter of this thin book. All the variables and methods have clear annotations that will help you solve problems. The rest of the book is a mixed bag.

Reese opens with a discussion of SQL, then proceeds to explain client-server architecture and three-tier database access. In describing JDBC, he provides clear program listings on how to connect to a database, get information from it, add information to it, and delete parts of it. While Reese does a fine job of explaining these critical tasks, the book doesn't come with a disc to save you from typing them manually (though you can get them by FTP from the O'Reilly site). This book continues to guide the reader through query optimization and interface design. The book focuses a lot of attention on Remote Method Invocation (RMI), walking the reader through the creation of a "banking" application that illustrates all the important JDBC operations. This book has the best JDBC application programming interface (API) reference around, which alone is worth the price of the book. However, you will probably want to supplement this book with a better JDBC tutorial.