ODBCJDBC

ODBCJDBC is a term used to describe approaches or products that facilitate interoperability between the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) API and the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) API. In practice, a JDBC-ODBC bridge or ODBC-JDBC bridge acts as a middle layer that translates JDBC calls from a Java application into equivalent ODBC calls that are understood by ODBC drivers, or conversely, routes ODBC client requests to JDBC-compatible data sources. This enables Java applications to access data sources for which only ODBC drivers are available, or to bridge legacy systems.

The typical architecture places a JDBC driver in the Java application, which forwards requests to a native bridge component. The bridge uses the ODBC Driver Manager and ODBC drivers installed on the host to perform data operations, handling translation of SQL dialects, result sets, types, and connection management.

Historically, the concept gained prominence with the Sun/Oracle JDBC-ODBC bridge (the package sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver), provided in early Java versions. It was deprecated and removed around Java 8 due to performance, portability, and security concerns. Modern Java developments generally favor pure JDBC drivers or database-specific connectors, and ODBC usage is typically confined to legacy environments.

ODBCJDBC solutions are still offered by some commercial vendors as middleware or adapters, often to support data integration, reporting, or migration projects. They come with caveats, including potential performance overhead, platform dependence, and compatibility issues with advanced JDBC features. When possible, migrating to native JDBC drivers or JDBC-compliant data access layers is recommended.