Dr. Dobb's Sourcebook July/August 1997
Many questions about data access APIs on the CompuServe and Usenet message threads come from persons using RAD tools to encapsulate API calls, which means the person doesn't get "down and dirty" with the API until they have problems. Such postings often receive a response of "Read the Fine Manual" because the person appears to have jumped online to ask questions before taking the time to read. Until recently there was no JDBC reference manual, even though JavaSoft posts JDBC documents at http://splash.javasoft.com/jdbc/.
A new JDBC book from Addison-Wesley delivers what programmers expect from a reference manual -- clear, concise, well-organized material. JDBC Database Access with Java, by Graham Hamilton, Rick Cattell, and Maydene Fisher, covers the JDBC API in detail, with examples and code snippets. Before the book went to press, the authors asked me to do a technical review. It wasn't difficult because the book needed almost nothing in the way of corrections, changes, or better explanations.
-- K.N.