Stella SQL Documentation
Table of Contents | Up: 1. Getting Started | Previous: 1.2. Connecting to a Database | Next: 1.4. JDBC URLs and the Basic setting

1.3. Installing JDBC Drivers

JDBC drivers can usually be downloaded directly from the database vendor's website. If you can't find a driver there then the JDBC Drivers page on Sun Microsystems website can be used.

After you have downloaded the driver for your database follow the installation instructions as defined in the driver documentation. If the downloaded driver has a .jar extension then you probably don't have to do anything extra to install it.
Note: It is not recommended to install the driver into the Stella installation directory as it may get deleted when you upgrade Stella.

Now that you have the JDBC driver follow these steps to configure Stella to use it.
  1. Open the 'Driver Manager' screen by selecting the 'Tools' main menu item then select 'Driver Manager' from the menu drop down.
  2. Click on the green plus icon in the upper left corner to set up a new driver. This will open the Driver Information screen.
  3. Enter a 'Driver Name' in the first text field. The driver name is used to identify this driver so it should at the very least identify what kind of database the driver is for.
  4. Enter the 'Driver Path' by using the 'File' or 'Directory' button. If the driver is contained in a .jar file, as is most common, then you should click the 'File' button then locate and select the .jar file in the file selection dialog. If the driver is installed as seperate .class files then you should click on the 'Directory' button and select the directory where the class files are located. After the driver location is selected the 'Driver Class' combo box should automatically populate with at least one driver class. If it does not refer to the driver documentation to ensure the driver is installed correctly.
  5. Select the correct 'Driver Class' in the combo box if more than one is present. If there are no drive class selections in the combo box please refer to the driver documentation to find out what you should enter for the driver class.
  6. In the 'Example JDBC URL' text field enter a example JDBC URL as described in the driver documentation. If you would like to use the basic setup for a new connection you must enter the example in a specific format as described in the 'JDBC URLs and the Basic setting' section of this document.
  7. In the 'Driver Website URL' text field enter the website address of the JDBC drivers home page for easy reference back to it at a later time.
  8. Press the 'OK' button to complete the set up of the driver. The driver should now show up in the driver list with a green checkmark next to it.


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