JDBC - Type 1 Driver

Last Updated : 6 Apr, 2026

JDBC Type 1 Driver, also known as the JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver, is used to connect Java applications to databases via ODBC drivers. It acts as an intermediate layer that translates JDBC method calls into ODBC function calls, enabling database communication.

  • Converts JDBC calls -> ODBC calls
  • Uses ODBC driver installed on client machine
  • Deprecated and removed in Java 8 and later versions

Note: It depends on ODBC driver availability and configuration, making it platform dependent rather than tied to a specific operating system like Windows

Architecture

The diagram represents the working structure of the JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver.

Working of JDBC - Type 1 Driver

  • Java application sends database request using JDBC API
  • Type 1 driver converts JDBC calls into ODBC calls
  • ODBC driver communicates with the database
  • Database processes the request and returns the result
  • Result is sent back to the Java application

Example Code

Java 
import java.sql.*;

public class Type1Example {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            // Load driver (deprecated)
            Class.forName("sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver");

            // Establish connection
            Connection con = DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:odbc:mydsn");

            Statement stmt = con.createStatement();
            ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT * FROM students");

            while (rs.next()) {
                System.out.println(rs.getInt(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
            }

            con.close();

        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Advantages of Bridge driver

  • Different Data Sources can be accessed by this single driver only.
  • All ODBC supported databases are supported

Disadvantages:

  • JAVA application should be dependent only on the ODBC driver
  • On every client, you need to install ODBC to make Type- 1 driver work
  • JDBC method call is converted to ODBC calls this degrades its performance
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