Java continues to be one of the most widely used programming languages for a variety of application scenarios and industries. The Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server is used to connect Java applications to SQL Server, whether SQL Server is hosted in the cloud or on-premises, or provided as a platform-as-a-service.
With the release of SQL Server v.Next public preview on Linux and Windows, the ability to connect to SQL Server on Linux, Windows, Docker or macOS (via Docker) makes cross-platform support for all connectors, including the JDBC driver, even more important. To enable Java developers to use the newest SQL Server features, we have been updating the JDBC driver with client-side support for new features, including Always Encrypted and Azure Active Directory Authentication.
We recently open sourced the Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server. In doing so, we included the Java source code on GitHub (under MIT License). By making the project available on GitHub, we hope to facilitate a quicker feedback loop for Java developers. This feedback will be used to inform the prioritization of the developed features to support the variety of Java applications that connect to SQL Server. We want to get the community involved as much as possible in the design and implementation of features and welcome pull requests. We’ve also included build scripts if you’d like to build the jars on your own.
We have also made the connector available on the Maven Central Repository. Maven is popularly used by Java developers to build projects and manage dependencies. Maven support has been one of the most popular requests for the JDBC driver, and we hope that its availability on the Central Repository will make it easier to obtain and use the JDBC driver in new and existing projects. It’s as simple as adding the JDBC driver to your Maven project’s POM file.
This connector can be used to connect Java applications to Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Data Warehouse and SQL Server (including SQL Server v.Next public preview). We have two jars available to support JRE 7 and 8. To start using the JDBC driver or upgrade your existing JDBC driver to the newest version, you can use one of the methods below:
- Add the corresponding JDBC jar (version 6.1.0.jre8 or 6.1.0.jre7) to your Maven project by adding it as a dependency using the code below:
<dependency>
<groupId>com.microsoft.sqlserver</groupId>
<artifactId>mssql-jdbc</artifactId>
<version>6.1.0.jre8</version>
</dependency>
- Build the corresponding jar for your JRE version (7 or 8) on your own through Maven or Ant build scripts available on GitHub and reference it in your application.
- Download the corresponding jar for your JRE version from Maven.
You can learn more about open sourcing the JDBC driver and support for Maven in this blog. We look forward to working more closely with the community to continue to bring the best support for Java applications connecting to SQL Server.
Get started today
- Check out the JDBC driver source code on GitHub! Make pull requests and let us know what you think.
- Add the JDBC driver from the Central Repository to your POM file in your Maven project.
- Try the new getting started tutorials that show you how to:
- Install SQL Server on Linux/macOS/Docker/Windows
- Create a simple app using Java and other popular programming languages with SQL Server
- Create a simple app using popular web frameworks and Object Relational Mapping (ORM) frameworks with SQL Server
- Use cool SQL Server features that can make your apps shine
Connect with us
Join the conversation at https://gitter.im/mssqldev.
Learn more
- Visit the Connect(); webpage to watch overview, security, high-availability and developer tools on-demand videos about SQL Server on Linux.
- Visit the webpage for the next release of SQL Server.
Other videos in this series
- SQL Server + Node.js: what’s new
- SQL Server + C#: what’s new
- SQL Server + PHP: what’s new
- SQL Server + Python: what’s new
- Watch the Microsoft Mechanics video to see how to get started with SQL Server on Linux in less than a minute
- SQL Server on Linux: use SQL Tools with SQL Server