Database connection URLs

A JDBC URL provides a way of identifying a database so that the appropriate driver recognizes it and connects to it. In the Derby documentation, a JDBC URL is referred to as a database connection URL.

After the driver is loaded, an application must specify the correct database connection URL to connect to a specific database. The Derby database connection URL allows you to accomplish tasks other than simply connecting.

For complete information about the database connection URL, see the Derby Reference Manual and the Derby Developer's Guide.

A JDBC URL always starts with jdbc:. After that, the format for the database connection URL depends on the JDBC driver.

Here is the format for the database connection URL for connecting to an existing Derby database using the embedded driver:
The format for the database connection URL for connecting to an existing Derby database using the Network Client is:
The italicized items stand for something the user fills in:

About Protocols

Officially, the portion of the database connection URL called the protocol is jdbc:, just as http:// is a protocol in web URLs. After that, derby: is officially the subprotocol, and anything else between jdbc:derby: and databaseName is called the subsubprotocol. See "Syntax of database connection URLs for applications with embedded databases" in the Derby Reference Manual for details. However, the subprotocol and subsubprotocol are informally considered part of the protocol. When you see references to the protocol in this manual, consider the protocol to be everything that comes before databaseName.