Getting started with oracle and jdbc

Question

i have downloaded ojdbc14.zip from oracle.com
it's documentation only tells you about the api and the packages and nothing about how to configure it.
how do i get started? where do i unzip those files and what to do next?
please help

Answer 1

"The Old oracle.jdbc.driver Package Will Go Away Soon
If you still have existing applications that use the
old oracle.jdbc.driver
package, now is the time to convert your code."
And who is so foolish as to use concrete types
instead of java.sql and javax.sql interfaces or embed
driver class names in their code? Well, anybody who's more interested in optimal performance than being generic, and willing to put up with the headaches of that, such as providers of high-performance OR mapping tools or someone tuning a very heavily used bit. Or anybody working in a committed Oracle-only shop. It's not a one-size-fits-all world...
Again, Oracle is evolving the standard. No, the standard is Sun's java.sql interface.Yea, Sun evolved Java, and Oracle is recommending the use of Datasources to keep step with that evolution...
This still
works, but Oracle is shifting away from <sid> and
using <service name> instead. The alternate syntax
for the URL is:
String url=jdbc:oracle:thin:@<host>:<port>/<database>
This has been true for as long as Oracle has had a
thin, type IV JDBC driver. The URL syntax hasn't
changed.
Yes it has and Oracle says it has, here:
http://download-west.oracle.com/docs/cd/B14117_01/java.101/b10979/urls.htm#BEIJFHHB
Wherein it is written, in Section 3.2.1 of the Oracle� Database JDBC Developer's Guide and Reference, the sesction on the several supported URL formats for Oracle 10.1
Notes:
* Oracle Service IDs are no longer supported at 10g Release 1 (10.1).
They go on to list three URL styles supported:
Oracle Net connection descriptor - like an entry in tnsnames.ora (ick!)
Thin-style service name - the most common, what was quoted above.
LDAP syntax - for having an LDAP service resolve the database for you
However, in the old 8.1.7 JDBC documentation, here:
http://download-east.oracle.com/docs/cd/A87860_01/doc/java.817/a83724/basic1.htm#1006213
Oracle lists support for:
Net8 connection descriptor - Net8 is the old name for Oracle Net
Thin-style sid name - what was quoted in the post to which I first responded.
Thin-style sid name syntax has a colon between the port and the sid; thin-style service name syntax has a forward slash between the port and the service name. SIDs and service names are not the same thing, although they serve the same purpose in a URL (connecting you to the right instance) and often have the same value. However, a SID for a database is set at DB creation time, is unique to the DB, and cannot be changed easily. Multiple service names can be configured for a database, and they can easily be changed (if you're the DBA). Oracle is providing an additional leval of abstraction by moving to service names, to support additional features and choices. While many installations don't need all that and have in essence ignored the distinction bewteen SID and service name, some multi-database projects can benefit from it.
>
StuDerby, I think you should look into this a bit
more. Your advice is far from optimal, IMO.
Yeah, I could've taken the time to write a more generic, newbie friendly repsonse; instead, I lifted directly from the Oracle documentation that was cited earlier since newbies seem to have an aversion to reading documentation.