JDBC Drivers
The four type of jdbc drivers are
Type1. JDBC-ODBC Bridge
Pros
The JDBC-ODBC Bridge allows access to almost any database, since the database's ODBC drivers are already available. Type 1 drivers may be useful for those companies that have an ODBC driver already installed on client machines.
Cons
• The performance is degraded since the JDBC call goes through the bridge to the ODBC driver, then to the native database connectivity interface. The result comes back through the reverse process. Considering the performance issue, type 1 drivers may not be suitable for large-scale applications.
• The ODBC driver and native connectivity interface must already be installed on the client machine. Thus any advantage of using Java applets in an intranet environment is lost, since the deployment problems of traditional applications remain.
Type2. Native-API/Partly Java Driver
Pros
Type 2 drivers typically offer significantly better performance than the JDBC-ODBC Bridge.
Cons
The vendor database library needs to be loaded on each client machine. Consequently, type 2 drivers cannot be used for the Internet.
Type3.Net-protocol/All java Driver
Pros
The net-protocol/all-Java driver is server-based, so there is no need for any vendor database library to be present on client machines. Further, there are many opportunities to optimize portability, performance, and scalability. Moreover, the net protocol can be designed to make the client JDBC driver very small and fast to load. Additionally, a type 3 driver typically provides support for features such as caching (connections, query results, and so on), load balancing, and advanced system administration such as logging and auditing.
Cons
Type 3 drivers require database-specific coding to be done in the middle tier. Additionally, traversing the recordset may take longer, since the data comes through the backend server.
Type4.Native-protocol/All Java Driver
Pros
Since type 4 JDBC drivers don't have to translate database requests to ODBC or a native connectivity interface or to pass the request on to another server, performance is typically quite good. Moreover, the native-protocol/all-Java driver boasts better performance than types 1 and 2. Also, there's no need to install special software on the client or server. Further, these drivers can be downloaded dynamically.
Number of translation layers is very less i.e. type 4 JDBC drivers don't have to translate database requests to ODBC or a native connectivity interface or to pass the request on to another server, performance is typically quite good.
Cons
With type 4 drivers, the user needs a different driver for each database.
