Manipulating a legacy MDB (Access 2.0) with Java 8

Question

The JDBC-ODBC bridge is no longer supported with Java 8. Is there a way to access legacy MDB files without the bridge in Java 8? By legacy, I mean Access 2.0. Such old version is not supported by UCanAccess, which was suggested here.

Answer 1

Not sure what you're using the database for - but limited use might open up more options.

1. Try mounting your database with Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable. Probably needs exclusive access to the database.

2. Can you export the database to a flat file or import it into another JDBC-enabled database format? Either Access or another database format? Would require copying the database - probably only work for reporting or read-only access.

3. Set up a sync process to mirror the database into something modern. Some in-memory Java type options: H2/Derby/SQLite. You may need to change your table structure to include last modified dates and manage those.

4. Migrate the Access 2 database to SQL Server or another modern, multi-user database.

Including this info here, in case you are able to get to some intermediate version of Access. What won't work as-is:

• jackcess & stelsMDB support Access 2000+
• HXTT supports Access 95+