Problems connecting to an Oracle database

Question

The service name in my pc is GACASASF and the name of the table that I'm trying to
query is DEPT.
Could you please tell me what's wrong with my connection, is not working.
I think that it has something to do with the connecting string.
I went to ODBC help for oracle connections and the connection strings that I found are
1) DSN=Personnel;UID=Kotzwinkle;PWD=;
2) DRIVER={Oracle ODBC Driver};UID=Kotzwinkle;PWD=whatever;DBQ=instl_alias;
DBA=W;
DSN=     ODBC data source name
UID = user name
PWD = password
DBQ = service name
DBA = connection mode W = write, R = read
I don't know how to embed this in my syntax.
I will appreciate any info that you can give me.
thx,
Gustavo Casasfranco
import java.sql.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
public class TableDisplay extends JFrame {
private Connection connection;
private JTable table;
public TableDisplay()
// The URL specifying the Books database to which
// this program connects using JDBC to connect to a
// Microsoft ODBC database.
String url = "jdbc:odbc:GACASASF";
String username = "scott";
String password = "tiger";
// Load the driver to allow connection to the database
try {
Class.forName( "sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver" );
connection = DriverManager.getConnection(
url, username, password );
catch ( ClassNotFoundException cnfex ) {
System.err.println(
"Failed to load JDBC/ODBC driver." );
cnfex.printStackTrace();
System.exit( 1 ); // terminate program
catch ( SQLException sqlex ) {
System.err.println( "Unable to connect" );
sqlex.printStackTrace();
getTable();
setSize( 450, 150 );
show();
private void getTable()
Statement statement;
ResultSet resultSet;
try {
String query = "SELECT * FROM DEPT";
statement = connection.createStatement();
resultSet = statement.executeQuery( query );
displayResultSet( resultSet );
statement.close();
catch ( SQLException sqlex ) {
sqlex.printStackTrace();
private void displayResultSet( ResultSet rs )
throws SQLException
// position to first record
boolean moreRecords = rs.next();
// If there are no records, display a message
if ( ! moreRecords ) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( this,
"ResultSet contained no records" );
setTitle( "No records to display" );
return;
setTitle( "Authors table from Books" );
Vector columnHeads = new Vector();
Vector rows = new Vector();
try {
// get column heads
ResultSetMetaData rsmd = rs.getMetaData();
for ( int i = 1; i <= rsmd.getColumnCount(); ++i )
columnHeads.addElement( rsmd.getColumnName( i ) );
// get row data
do {
rows.addElement( getNextRow( rs, rsmd ) );
} while ( rs.next() );
// display table with ResultSet contents
table = new JTable( rows, columnHeads );
JScrollPane scroller = new JScrollPane( table );
getContentPane().add(
scroller, BorderLayout.CENTER );
validate();
catch ( SQLException sqlex ) {
sqlex.printStackTrace();
private Vector getNextRow( ResultSet rs,
ResultSetMetaData rsmd )
throws SQLException
Vector currentRow = new Vector();
for ( int i = 1; i <= rsmd.getColumnCount(); ++i )
switch( rsmd.getColumnType( i ) ) {
case Types.VARCHAR:
currentRow.addElement( rs.getString( i ) );
break;
case Types.INTEGER:
currentRow.addElement(
new Long( rs.getLong( i ) ) );
break;
default:
System.out.println( "Type was: " +
rsmd.getColumnTypeName( i ) );
return currentRow;
public void shutDown()
try {
connection.close();
catch ( SQLException sqlex ) {
System.err.println( "Unable to disconnect" );
sqlex.printStackTrace();
public static void main( String args[] )
final TableDisplay app = new TableDisplay();
app.addWindowListener(
new WindowAdapter() {
public void windowClosing( WindowEvent e )
app.shutDown();
System.exit( 0 );
* (C) Copyright 1999 by Deitel & Associates, Inc. and Prentice Hall. *
* All Rights Reserved. *
* DISCLAIMER: The authors and publisher of this book have used their *
* best efforts in preparing the book. These efforts include the *
* development, research, and testing of the theories and programs *
* to determine their effectiveness. The authors and publisher make *
* no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to these *
* programs or to the documentation contained in these books. The authors *
* and publisher shall not be liable in any event for incidental or *
* consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the *
* furnishing, performance, or use of these programs. *

Answer 1

A stack trace for the exception would be very useful!
Anyway, perhaps you should check that the username/password specified in the code correspond to those required to access the database (username = "Kotzwinkle", password = "whatever"). Sometimes you can get away with specifying these in the ODBC data source, in which case you shouldn't pass them to the getConnection method.
Hope this helps.