Help With Servlet & SQL

Question

I'm working on a project for my Java class and I'm running into trouble with the JDBC section. My project is laid out as follows:
This project consists of a HTML page, a servlet, and a database. I have already wrote up the code for the interaction between the login page and the servlet, however, I cannot figure out how to use java to interact with a Microsoft Access database.
I'm trying to call to a method (which has the coding for JDBC & SQL) by calling to it through the doPost method. The program refuses to go to that method. I'm not sure if it's a syntax error or if it's not even allowed in Java. I think I've narrowed the problem down to this line:
String user = getUser(username, password);
getUser is the method I was refering to in the previous paragraph. When getUser as it's own class, without dealing with paramters, it works fine. When I calling it with parameters, it doesn't seem to work. It will not even return a string when I call it. If you need the getUser code, I can provide it.
I hope I am being clear, if not please let me know. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. It is much appreciated.

Answer 1

I'm trying to call to a method (which has the coding
for JDBC & SQL) by calling to it through the doPost
method. The program refuses to go to that method. I'm
not sure if it's a syntax error or if it's not even
allowed in Java. I think I've narrowed the problem
down to this line:
String user = getUser(username, password);
getUser is the method I was refering to in the
previous paragraph. When getUser as it's own class,
without dealing with paramters, it works fine. When I
calling it with parameters, it doesn't seem to work.This the part that is a little confusing.
You should always be able to call a method. The method may not return anything, but if the method exists and you supply the correct parameters, you can call it, or as you put it, "go to it". I.e.,
public void doGet( HttpServletRequest request,
                   HttpServletResponse response ) {
   ... // some code that defines the output stream as "out"
   out.println( "The user's name was " + getUser( username, password ) );
}Would work. You've "gone to" the method.
That is a completely seperate problem from the getUser() method not working when you provide parameters. I suspect getUser() isn't working because you either provide the incorrect parameters, or you're expecting the wrong return value.
This is one of those examples when being able to see your code would really help.
However, I can make a guess... You've defined the function as:
String getUser( username, password ).
I would guess getUser() takes the username expressed as a string, the password expressed as a string, and returns what... the username as a string? In which case, why do you need getUser()?
Another possibility is that Microsoft Access isn't really a multi-user application, I don't think it requires you to log in and present your credentials (the password). That may explain why it works when you call getUser() without any parameters.