Different types of JDBC Drivers

JDBC Driver is a software component that enables java application to interact with the database.
There are 4 types of JDBC drivers:

1.JDBC-ODBC bridge driver
2.Native-API driver (partially java driver)
3.Network Protocol driver (fully java driver)
4.Thin driver (fully java driver)

1) JDBC-ODBC bridge driver

The JDBC-ODBC bridge driver uses ODBC driver to connect to the database. The JDBC-ODBC bridge driver converts JDBC method calls into the ODBC function calls. This is now discouraged because of thin driver. 

Advantages:

•easy to use.
•can be easily connected to any database.

Disadvantages:

•Performance degraded because JDBC method call is converted into the ODBC funcion calls.
•The ODBC driver needs to be installed on the client machine.
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2) Native-API driver

The Native API driver uses the client-side libraries of the database. The driver converts JDBC method calls into native calls of the database API. It is not written entirely in java. 

Advantage:

•performance upgraded than JDBC-ODBC bridge driver.
Disadvantage:

•The Native driver needs to be installed on the each client machine.
•The Vendor client library needs to be installed on client machine.
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3) Network Protocol driver

The Network Protocol driver uses middleware (application server) that converts JDBC calls directly or indirectly into the vendor-specific database protocol. It is fully written in java.

Advantage:

•No client side library is required because of application server that can perform many tasks like auditing, load balancing, logging etc.
Disadvantages:

•Network support is required on client machine.
•Requires database-specific coding to be done in the middle tier.
•Maintenance of Network Protocol driver becomes costly because it requires database-specific coding to be done in the middle tier.
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4)  Thin driver

The thin driver converts JDBC calls directly into the vendor-specific database protocol. That is why it is known as thin driver. It is fully written in Java language. 

Advantage:

•Better performance than all other drivers.
•No software is required at client side or server side.
Disadvantage:

•Drivers depends on the Database.