Articles : JavaBoutique's Introduction to Java : Q and A :

Explaining Java database access and servlets

Q

1. Can Java interact with Access, or Microsoft SQL server? I know it works well with Oracle but not sure if it will work with the two that I mention. My intention is to put the Access database that my office uses on line. Or convert to a different database if Access will not work.

A

Yes, Java can interact with most popular relational databases through the JDBC API. In your case, you would use an ODBC driver for Access. You should be able to find that driver on the Microsoft website.

Q

2. What about the serlets and applets? I heard about them before but don't have a real understanding of how they work.

A

I will do an article on servlets in time.... but I think for the moment, the most important distinction you should make is that servlets run on the server side and that applets run on the client side. You can think of servlets as a souped up version of CGI or ASP.

Selena Sol contributes to the JavaBoutique's Introduction to Java. Selena curently works for Barclays Capital in London, one of the leading global investment banks in Europe and has worked as a software developer for the National Center for Human Genome research, Microline Software, Neuron Data, and Electric Eye in Singapore. Selena is perhaps best-known for creating the Public Domain Web Script Archive (Extropia) and writing several books on Web Programming (Perl, CGI, Java).
Email: selena@extropia.com

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