5 Best books to Learn JDBC for Java Programmers

The JDBC (Java Database connectivity) is one of the vital API in the Java programming language which allows a Java program to connect to any database, like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Lite, Sybase or any other relational database. It's an essential API to learn and master for both core Java and Java EE professionals, given the ubiquitous nature of Databases in real-world applications. Despite its importance, many Java developer lacks essential JDBC skills, like they are not familiar with Connection, Statement, connection pool, calling stored procedures, and executing a transaction in JDBC.

One reason for that is very limited or coverage of JDBC essentials in front line Java books, like Head First Java 2nd Edition.  That's why I have come up with this article to share some of the best books to learn fundamentals and advanced JDBC concepts. Since JDBC API also keeps changing with a newer version coming up now in a couple of years.

For example, JDBC 4.0 was released with Java 6, and JDBC 4.1 was released with Java 8, it's important for Java developers to learn and adopt new features introduced in these JDBC releases.

I have been sharing a lot of books and courses for Java programmers in this blog, and if you are new here, you can also search for them in the search box at the top right corner of this page. You will find books and courses on Java, Spring, Hibernate, Docker, Jenkins, Eclipse, and many more essential Java technologies.



Top 5 Books to Learn JDBC in Java

Unfortunately, there are not many books in the market to learn JDBC in depth. Most of the frontline Java books only cover basic stuff. The available books are mostly out-of-date, but some of them can still be useful if they cover fundamentals, for example, the book I have included in this list about JDBC best practices.

I have included 5 books on this list, but the first one is the most important because it's both up-to-date and covers Java 8. Though it's not exclusive to JDBC and includes other essential API extensions, like Swing, JavaFX, and Network Programming, it's still the best book to learn JDBC at this moment.

Anyway, without any further ado, here is my list of some of the best books to learn JDBC for Java programmers.


1. Beginning Java 8 APIs, Extensions, and Libraries

This is an up-to-date book that covers essential JDK APIs, extensions, and libraries, like JDBC, Swing, JavaFX, JavaScript, and Network Programming APIs from Java 8 perspective.

The JDBC sections cover details of connecting and working with databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, DB2, Sybase, Adaptive Server Anywhere, Java DB (Apache Derby), etc. It also explains how to work with ResultSet and a RowSet, two key JDBc interfaces.

It also discusses how to use the RowSetFactory to obtain a RowSet object of a specific type. Working with Large Objects (LOBs), such as Blob, Club, and NClob, is also covered in detail with Java code examples and database scripts.

In short, one of the most up-to-date and best books to learn JDBC in Java 8, and if you want more, you can combine this book with The Complete Java Masterclass course on Udemy, which is also one of the most up-to-date resources to learn Java from scratch including JDBC.

books to learn JDBC in Java 8




2. JDBC Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

This is one of the recent books on JDBC, which covers until Java EE 5 release. If you like the problem-solution approach of recipes, books, then it's a great book to learn JDBC with MySQL and Oracle database.

It teaches you the basics of how JDBC works, including different types of drivers, and then explores new features of JDBC from recent releases.

 You will learn how to connect to the database, execute SQL queries, retrieve results, using PreparedStatement, reading and writing BLOB and CLOB, dealing with DATE, TIME, and TIMESTAMP, and several other essential JDBC concepts.

If you love project-based learning and want to learn JDBC by building a database application in Java then I also suggest you take a look at JSP, Servlets, and JDBC for Beginners: Build a Database App course on Udemy. It's a great course which is available at a throwaway price in Udemy of just $10



3. JDBC API Tutorial and Reference (3rd Edition)

One of the best books to learn JDBC is from the source itself, i.e., Sun Microsystem. The JDBC API Tutorial and Reference by Maydene Fisher, Jon Ellis, and Jonathan Bruce is another excellent book from the Java series which teaches you everything about JDBC.

It's one of the rare books which makes JDBC easy to learn even for new programmers. It provides a lot of valuable background information and supplements the JDBC specification as well.

The only problem with this book is that it's a bit outdated and only covers up to JDBC 2.0 specification, which is way behind the current JDBC 4.1 specification.

books to learn JDBC



4. Expert Oracle JDBC Programming 

This is an excellent book if you are using Oracle database in the backend and want to master Oracle JDBC programming.

It's also an older book but still one of the best for learning JDBC for the Oracle database. It covers Oracle 10g, which is still the most popular version of the Oracle database.

It's also the best book if you want to improve the performance of your Java application connected to the Oracle database. If you need more useful, practical advice or want to learn JDBC in-depth, I suggest you take a look at Java Platform: Working with Databases Using JDBC course on Pluralsight.





5. Java Database Best Practices

This is the best practices books aimed at experienced Java programmers who know JDBC. I have to say that from my practical experience that JDBC is one area where you can improve performance tremendously by following the best practices.

Many Java developer doesn't even know about primary best practices like using PreparedStatment over Statment, but this book will teach you several other essential best practices for writing JDBC code.

In short, a must-read for experienced Java programmer who wants to master JDBC. If you want, you can also combine this book with the Complete JDBC Programming Part 1 and 2 courses on Udemy for some active and instructor-led learning.

5 Best books to learn JDBC - Java



That's all about some good books to learn about JDBC. This list contains a variety of JDBC books, like books that cover fundamentals, books that include best practices, and books, which are expert books for a particular database, like Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server. You can choose the book you need.


Other Programming Resources You may like:

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these books, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. - Btw, If you are new to SQL and Database in general and want to learn DB fundamentals and SQL basics before deep dive on JDBC then you can also check out this list of free Websites to learn SQL and Database for beginners.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Feel free to comment, ask questions if you have any doubt.