The JDBCTM 3.0 API, which is composed of packages java.sql and javax.sql, provides universal data access from the Java programming language. By using the JDBC 3.0 API, you can access virtually any data source, from relational databases to spreadsheets and flat files. JDBC technology also provides a common base on which tools and alternative interfaces can be built.
This API enables you to do the following:
Set savepoints in a transaction
Keep result sets open after a transaction is committed
Reuse prepared statements
Get metadata about the parameters to a prepared statement
Retrieve keys that are automatically generated
Have multiple result sets open at one time
There are two new JDBC data types, BOOLEAN and DATALINK. The DATALINK type enables management of data outside of a data source. This release also establishes the relationship between the JDBC Service Provider Interface and the Connector architecture.
For more information, see http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/guide/jdbc/index.html.