ojdbc14.jar vs. ojdbc6.jar

Question

I noticed the following difference but did not see it documented anywhere. I'm wondering if others have noticed the same thing or can point me to some documentations that proves the same.

Env:-

Oracle 11g, JDK 1.6, iBatis, PL/SQL

Scenario:-

ojdbc14.jar: if pl/sql returns a variable of type DATE and I try to put that in a java.sql.Date variable then everything works fine. Example:

Date annualDate = (Date) map.get("exam_date");

ojdbc6.jar: if pl/sql returns a variable of type DATE and I try to put that in a java.sql.Date variable then I get an exception:

java.lang.ClassCastException: java.sql.Timestamp cannot be cast to java.sql.Date 

Answer 1

The "14" and "6" in those driver names refer to the JVM they were written for. If you're still using JDK 1.4 I'd say you have a serious problem and need to upgrade. JDK 1.4 is long past its useful support life. It didn't even have generics! JDK 6 u21 is the current production standard from Oracle/Sun. I'd recommend switching to it if you haven't already.

Answer 2

Actually, ojdbc14.jar doesn't really say anything about the real version of the driver (see JDBC Driver Downloads), except that it predates Oracle 11g. In such situation, you should provide the exact version.

Anyway, I think you'll find some explanation in What is going on with DATE and TIMESTAMP? In short, they changed the behavior in 9.2 drivers and then again in 11.1 drivers.

This might explain the differences you're experiencing (and I suggest using the most recent version i.e. the 11.2 drivers).