You can use a databaseName attribute on a database connection URL to specify the path name of the database to which you want to connect.
jdbc:derby:;databaseName=databaseName
You can access read-only databases in jar or zip files by specifying jar as the subsubprotocol, like this:
jdbc:derby:jar:(pathToArchive)databasePathWithinArchive
Or, if the jar or zip file has been included in the classpath, like this:
jdbc:derby:classpath:databasePathWithinArchive
The path separator in the path name is a forward slash (/), even in Windows path names. The path name cannot contain a colon (:), except for the colon after the drive name in a Windows path name. See Conventions for specifying the database path name for more information.