In the beginning…
When Sun originally released Java 1.0, there were no JDBC drivers — there wasn’t even a JDBC.
Data access came in Java 2.0, as JDBC 1.0, but there were very few JDBC drivers from any source, as would be expected with any new technology — but the ODBC ecosystem (itself then at only v2.0) was going strong.
Sun recognized that Java wouldn’t have as much uptake without a functional data access solution — so they produced and bundled the original Type 1 JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver, sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver, …
ODBC Drivers that provide access to SQL Data Sources by way of a bridging layer. Fundamentally, this bridging-layer provides an ODBC compliant application with an entry point that’s mapped to an JDBC exit point.
Architecturally, a Multi-Tier Driver has two tiered components: Client and Server. In our case, you have a generic client that connects to a generic server (a/k/a) request-broker component.
Generic Client
In this case of ODBC, this component is 100% data source and ODBC application independent. It’s equipped with in-built networking that’s also target data source independent.
Generic Server
Here we have a server (or listener) that handles requests from the…
OpenLink Software
High-Performance & Secure Data Access (ODBC, JDBC, http://ADO.NET), Integration (Linked Data), and RDBMS (SQL and/or RDF Graph) Technology Providers
