JDBC connectivity to MS access

hi
i need to Connect to Websphere 6.0.X Server to MS access datasource but not using JDBC-ODBC connection .More over i found that most of the drivers are shareware.

. i'm looking for any open source drivers/ free drivers to connect. and need to help how to configure the JNDI when it comes to connecting with websphere.
thanks in advance cheers

I don't think there are any open source drivers for Access I'm afraid.

I would venture to guess most JDBC drivers are not open source, and shouldn't be. The people who write drivers for large systems like Oracle, MySQL or Access know a lot more about how to access their system from a client than you do, therefore I can't think of a good reason you'd really want to write your own; it would almost certainly be unstable.

The reason for JDBC is so that you don't need to worry about how to connect to different DBMS's, just the language to use once the connection is established.

By the way I'm going to go off on a tangent and say, do you really need to use Access? Using Websphere 6 in the first place implies you have a large system with multiple users, if not you're using the wrong middle tier software. Access implies the opposite, you have a handful (or more likely 1) user and very little concurrency. Therefore, using WebSphere with Access seems like a bad design decision to me.

Granted I know such odd couplings aren't always by choice, but if you have any ability to switch to a real database system (MySQL is free for the most part), do it.

well MS Access is our client's datasource..and we cannot force them to go for even a lighter version's of DB's like mySQL etc. now we have decided to go with jdbc odbc thruogh websphere but still its a problem in configuring the JNDI for Webspere.. any suggestions for it ?

Originally posted by sharaf navas:
well MS Access is our client's datasource..and we cannot force them to go for even a lighter version's of DB's like mySQL etc. now we have decided to go with jdbc odbc thruogh websphere but still its a problem in configuring the JNDI for Webspere.. any suggestions for it ?

Configuring JDBC-ODBC in WebSphere; what have you tried? Or are you stuck where to begin?

I would add that Scott is right, that is quite an architectural mismatch, its going to hinder the operation of WebSphere a good bit I'd imagine. Why are they spending all that money on the most complex and configurable applciation server out there and spending next to nothing on the database behind it? If they are an MS house, SQL Server would seem to be a far better option.

JDBC-ODBC is not designed to be used in production. If your client is adamant, then I would consider convincing them of the need to pay for a better JDBC driver for Access (there are no free ones, but I understand there are better implemnetations than the one Sun provides).

Originally posted by Paul Sturrock:
JDBC-ODBC is not designed to be used in production.

In particular, it is not thread-safe, and thus particularly ill suited for web apps. (Of course, Access itself isn't designed for concurrent access either.)

One commercial option is the HXTT driver; there may be others.
[ June 03, 2008: Message edited by: Ulf Dittmer ]

What about exporting the entire database out of access and into SQL Server? It takes some time to do right (unless someone knows good automated tools), but gives you something to offer your clients.

There are times you can tell your clients what they are asking for is wrong, you just have to be smart about it and don't back down. You need to get across that WebSphere + Access = really bad idea.

Originally posted by Paul Sturrock:
I would add that Scott is right

I never tire of hearing that

[ June 03, 2008: Message edited by: Scott Selikoff ]