Type 3 Driver

Type 3 Driver - Network-Protocol Driver

Type 3 drivers are pure Java drivers that use a proprietary network protocol to communicate with JDBC middleware on the server. The middleware then translates the network protocol to database-specific function calls. Type 3 drivers are the most flexible JDBC solution because they do not require native database libraries on the client and can connect to many different databases on the back end. Type 3 drivers can be deployed over the Internet without client installation.

In a Type 3 driver, a three-tier approach is used to accessing databases. The JDBC clients use standard network sockets to communicate with an middleware application server. The socket information is then translated by the middleware application server into the call format required by the DBMS, and forwarded to the database server.This kind of driver is extremely flexible, since it requires no code installed on the client and a single driver can actually provide access to multiple databases.

 

Advantages:

1). Since the communication between client and the middleware server is database independent, there is no need for the database vendor library on the client. The client need not be changed for a new database.

2). This driver is server-based, so there is no need for any vendor database library to be present on client machines.

3). The middleware server (which can be a full fledged J2EE Application server) can provide typical middleware services like caching (of connections, query results, etc.), load balancing, logging, and auditing.

4). This driver is fully written in Java and hence Portable. It is suitable for the web.

5). There are many opportunities to optimize portability, performance, and scalability.

6). The net protocol can be designed to make the client JDBC driver very small and fast to load.

7). A single driver can handle any database, provided the middleware supports it.

8). This driver is very flexible allows access to multiple databases using one driver.

9). They are the most efficient amongst all driver types.

 

Disadvantages:

1). Requires database-specific coding to be done in the middle tier.

2). It requires another server application to install and maintain. Traversing the recordset may take longer, since the data comes through the backend server.