The ij.database property creates a connection to the database specified by the property when ij starts up.
You can specify the complete connection URL (including protocol) with this property, or you can specify just the database path name and URL attributes if you also specify ij.protocol on the command line. After it boots, ij displays the generated name of the connection made with this property.
ij.database=databaseConnectionURL
The database path name value in the databaseConnectionURL can be either an absolute path name or a path name relative to derby.system.home. For example, thisDB, databases/thisDB, and c:/databases/2014/january/thisDB can all be valid values.
The path separator in the connection URL is a forward slash (/), even in Windows path names. The database name value cannot contain a colon (:), except for the colon after the drive name in a Windows path name.
When specified on the command line, the databaseConnectionURL should not be enclosed in single quotes. However, if the connection URL contains special characters (such as a space, or a semicolon on a UNIX system), it must be enclosed in double quotes.
java -Dij.protocol=jdbc:derby: \
-Dij.database="wombat;create=true" org.apache.derby.tools.ij
ij version 10.17
CONNECTION0* - jdbc:derby:wombat
* = current connection
ij>