001    /* Driver.java -- A JDBC driver
002       Copyright (C) 1999, 2000, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
003    
004    This file is part of GNU Classpath.
005    
006    GNU Classpath is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
007    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
008    the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
009    any later version.
010    
011    GNU Classpath is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
012    WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
013    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
014    General Public License for more details.
015    
016    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
017    along with GNU Classpath; see the file COPYING.  If not, write to the
018    Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
019    02110-1301 USA.
020    
021    Linking this library statically or dynamically with other modules is
022    making a combined work based on this library.  Thus, the terms and
023    conditions of the GNU General Public License cover the whole
024    combination.
025    
026    As a special exception, the copyright holders of this library give you
027    permission to link this library with independent modules to produce an
028    executable, regardless of the license terms of these independent
029    modules, and to copy and distribute the resulting executable under
030    terms of your choice, provided that you also meet, for each linked
031    independent module, the terms and conditions of the license of that
032    module.  An independent module is a module which is not derived from
033    or based on this library.  If you modify this library, you may extend
034    this exception to your version of the library, but you are not
035    obligated to do so.  If you do not wish to do so, delete this
036    exception statement from your version. */
037    
038    package java.sql;
039    
040    import java.util.Properties;
041    
042    /**
043      * This interface specifies a mechanism for accessing a JDBC database
044      * driver.  When the class implementing this method is loaded, it should
045      * register an instance of itself with the <code>DriverManager</code> in
046      * a static initializer.
047      * <p>
048      * Because the <code>DriverManager</code> might attempt to use several
049      * drivers to find one that can connect to the requested database,
050      * this driver should not cause large numbers of classes and code to
051      * be loaded.  If another driver is the one that ends up performing the
052      * request, any loading done by this driver would be wasted.
053      *
054      * @author Aaron M. Renn (arenn@urbanophile.com)
055      */
056    public interface Driver
057    {
058      /**
059       * This method connects to the specified database using the connection
060       * properties supplied.  If the driver does not understand the database
061       * URL, it should return <code>null</code> instead of throwing an
062       * exception since the <code>DriverManager</code> will probe a driver
063       * in this manner.
064       *
065       * @param url The URL string for this connection.
066       * @param properties The list of database connection properties.
067       * @return A <code>Connection</code> object for the newly established
068       *         connection, or <code>null</code> if the URL is not understood.
069       * @exception SQLException If an error occurs.
070       */
071      Connection connect(String url, Properties properties) throws SQLException;
072    
073      /**
074       * This method tests whether or not the driver believes it can connect to
075       * the specified database.  The driver should only test whether it
076       * understands and accepts the URL. It should not necessarily attempt to
077       * probe the database for a connection.
078       *
079       * @param url The database URL string.
080       * @return <code>true</code> if the drivers can connect to the database,
081       *         <code>false</code> otherwise.
082       * @exception SQLException If an error occurs.
083       */
084      boolean acceptsURL(String url) throws SQLException;
085    
086      /**
087       * This method returns an array of possible properties that could be
088       * used to connect to the specified database.
089       *
090       * @param url The URL string of the database to connect to.
091       * @param properties The list of properties the caller is planning to use
092       *        to connect to the database.
093       * @return A list of possible additional properties for a connection to this
094       *         database.  This list may be empty.
095       * @exception SQLException If an error occurs.
096       */
097      DriverPropertyInfo[] getPropertyInfo(String url, Properties properties)
098        throws SQLException;
099    
100      /**
101       * This method returns the major version number of the driver.
102       *
103       * @return The major version number of the driver.
104       */
105      int getMajorVersion();
106    
107      /**
108       * This method returns the minor version number of the driver.
109       *
110       * @return The minor version number of the driver.
111       */
112      int getMinorVersion();
113    
114      /**
115       * This method tests whether or not the driver is JDBC compliant.  This
116       * method should only return <code>true</code> if the driver has been
117       * certified as JDBC compliant.
118       *
119       * @return <code>true</code> if the driver has been certified JDBC compliant,
120       *         <code>false</code> otherwise.
121       */
122      boolean jdbcCompliant();
123    }