Should I keep the type 1 driver?

Question

I am an intern at FedEx, My project is to incorporate one of their databases on Microsoft Access with one of the Intranet website. The website should allow for a client to update the database, search for inquires, display recent inquires, ect... I used the sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver to do this. I have it working fine except that I have not implemented it on the network yet. However the purpose of the project is to update the database using different platforms and machines. Obviously once it is on the network, only a windows box will be able to update it, plus that database is limited to the functionality of the Microsoft driver. I guess my question is, will it be worth my time and effort to switch to a pure java driver or maybe even a type 3 without knowing much about the type 3 or 4 drivers. This means I would have to switch databases also. The current database is around 500 inquires. I am a CS major with an emphasis in java, I have never written any programs using JDBC before this one. It took me around a week to write this after reading up on JDBC. If so, any suggestions on what database and driver to switch to. If not, is their any thing that I should be aware of before putting it on the network? Any help will be much appreciated.

Answer 1

As of right now it only updates the database. I have not implemented the requests yet to make it three tiered. FedEx will pay for a more capable JDBC driver. I guess I don't like the bridge driver because when running the servlet off the network, you have to update the ODBC driver manager with your database. I felt the need for change because I was not aware that I could make it platform independent simply using the browser. I am currently using tomcat 5.0 to run the servlet. I think my design is pretty good. If you could please expand on having every browser connect to a servlet that would intercede with the database. Here is my design:
* File: ProblemsServlet.java
* Created on July 5,2004 7:21 AM
package problems;
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import javax.servlet.*;
import javax.servlet.http.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.sql.*;
* @author michaelvogel
* @version
* The information management group at FedEx must meet the service objectives
* for computer operations specified in FedEx's business plan. This group
* monitors and maintains the on-line sufficient software by providing 24 x 7
* on-site and on-call production support to the on line system and database
* software to ensure on-line function availability. This allows them to diagnose
* problems and recommend corrective actions.
* IBM designed the operating systems FedEx uses to run this software. FedEx
* uses multiple main frames to run these operating systems. Like any operating
* system, these contain bugs and errors. When problems or errors occur with
* the operating systems, FedEx will submit a report to IBM explaining what
* happened. IBM then sends a report back containing the error or fix number,
* and either an explanation on how to fix it or a patch that will fix it.
* FedEx is to take every fix report sent by IBM and store it in a database
* using Microsoft Access. This is done so that FedEx can quickly search for
* the solution to an error before dealing with IBM.
* Class ProblemsServlet responsibility is to allow for a client to update
* the database, search for inquires, and display recent inquires. It creates
* a connection to Microsoft access using sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDrive, an ODBC
* bridge. A connection is made using class HttpServlet. Once a connection is
* established it updates the Problems.mdb.
public class ProblemsServlet extends HttpServlet {
private Statement statement = null;
private Connection connection = null;
String URL = "jdbc:odbc:Problems";
String userName = "anonymous";
String password = "guest";
/** Initializes the servlet.
public void init(ServletConfig config) throws ServletException {
super.init(config);
try{
Class.forName( "sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver" );
connection =
DriverManager.getConnection( URL, userName, password );
catch( Exception e ){
e.printStackTrace();
connection = null;
/** Destroys the servlet.
public void destroy() {
try{
connection.close();
catch( Exception e ){
System.err.println( "Problem closing the database" );
/** Processes requests for both HTTP <code>GET</code> and <code>POST</code> methods.
* @param request servlet request
* @param response servlet response
protected void processRequest(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
throws ServletException, IOException {
response.setContentType("text/html");
PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();
out.println("<html>");
out.println("<head>");
out.println("<title>Servlet</title>");
out.println("</head>");
out.println("<body>");
out.println("</body>");
out.println("</html>");
out.close();
/** Handles the HTTP <code>GET</code> method.
* @param request servlet request
* @param response servlet response
protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
throws ServletException, IOException {
processRequest(request, response);
/** Handles the HTTP <code>POST</code> method.
* @param request servlet request
* @param response servlet response
protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res)
throws ServletException, IOException
String problemNumber, system, sev, status, version, vendor, date, fix,
action, customerImpact, description, comments;
problemNumber = req.getParameter( "Number");
system = req.getParameter( "System" );
sev = req.getParameter( "Sev" );
status = req.getParameter( "Status" );
version = req.getParameter( "Version" );
vendor = req.getParameter( "Vendor" );
date = req.getParameter( "Date" );
fix = req.getParameter( "Fix" );
action = req.getParameter( "Action" );
customerImpact = req.getParameter( "Imapct" );
description = req.getParameter( "Description" );
comments = req.getParameter( "Comments" );
PrintWriter output = res.getWriter();
res.setContentType( "text/html" );
boolean success = insertIntoDB("'"+ problemNumber + "','" + system +
"','" + sev + "','" + status + "','" + version + "','" + vendor +
"','" + date + "','" + fix + "','" + action + "','" +
customerImpact + "','" + description + "','" + comments +"'");
if ( success )
output.print( "<H2>Query add successfully!!</H2>" );
else
output.print( "<H2>An error occurred. " +
"Please try again later.<H2>" );
output.close();
* Creates the connection to the database. If a connection is established
* the values are inserted into the database in the correct fields.
* @param String values that represent the database fields
* @return true if connection is success and values are inserted correctly
* into the database. False is values do not match database fields.
private boolean insertIntoDB( String stringtoinsert )
try{
statement = connection.createStatement();
statement.execute(
"INSERT INTO Problems values (" + stringtoinsert + ");" );
statement.close();
catch ( Exception e ){
System.err.println( "ERROR: Problems with adding new entry" );
e.printStackTrace();
return false;
return true;
/** Returns a short description of the servlet.
public String getServletInfo() {
return "Short description";