Java DatabaseMetaData interface

DatabaseMetaData interface provides methods to get meta data of a database such as database product name, database product version, driver name, name of total number of tables, name of total number of views etc.

Commonly used methods of DatabaseMetaData interface

• public String getDriverName()throws SQLException: it returns the name of the JDBC driver.
• public String getDriverVersion()throws SQLException: it returns the version number of the JDBC driver.
• public String getUserName()throws SQLException: it returns the username of the database.
• public String getDatabaseProductName()throws SQLException: it returns the product name of the database.
• public String getDatabaseProductVersion()throws SQLException: it returns the product version of the database.
• public ResultSet getTables(String catalog, String schemaPattern, String tableNamePattern, String[] types)throws SQLException: it returns the description of the tables of the specified catalog. The table type can be TABLE, VIEW, ALIAS, SYSTEM TABLE, SYNONYM etc.

How to get the object of DatabaseMetaData:

The getMetaData() method of Connection interface returns the object of DatabaseMetaData. Syntax:

1. public DatabaseMetaData getMetaData()throws SQLException  

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Simple Example of DatabaseMetaData interface :

1. import java.sql.*;  
2. class Dbmd{  
3. public static void main(String args[]){  
4. try{  
5. Class.forName("oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver");  
6.   
7. Connection con=DriverManager.getConnection(  
8. "jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1521:xe","system","oracle");  
9. DatabaseMetaData dbmd=con.getMetaData();  
10.   
11. System.out.println("Driver Name: "+dbmd.getDriverName());  
12. System.out.println("Driver Version: "+dbmd.getDriverVersion());  
13. System.out.println("UserName: "+dbmd.getUserName());  
14. System.out.println("Database Product Name: "+dbmd.getDatabaseProductName());  
15. System.out.println("Database Product Version: "+dbmd.getDatabaseProductVersion());  
16.   
17. con.close();  
18. }catch(Exception e){ System.out.println(e);}  
19. }  
20. }  

Output:Driver Name: Oracle JDBC Driver
       Driver Version: 10.2.0.1.0XE
       Database Product Name: Oracle
       Database Product Version: Oracle Database 10g Express Edition
                                 Release 10.2.0.1.0 -Production

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Example of DatabaseMetaData interface that prints total number of tables :

1. import java.sql.*;  
2. class Dbmd2{  
3. public static void main(String args[]){  
4. try{  
5. Class.forName("oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver");  
6.   
7. Connection con=DriverManager.getConnection(  
8. "jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1521:xe","system","oracle");  
9.   
10. DatabaseMetaData dbmd=con.getMetaData();  
11. String table[]={"TABLE"};  
12. ResultSet rs=dbmd.getTables(null,null,null,table);  
13.   
14. while(rs.next()){  
15. System.out.println(rs.getString(3));  
16. }  
17.   
18. con.close();  
19.   
20. }catch(Exception e){ System.out.println(e);}  
21.   
22. }  
23. }  

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Example of DatabaseMetaData interface that prints total number of views :

1. import java.sql.*;  
2. class Dbmd3{  
3. public static void main(String args[]){  
4. try{  
5. Class.forName("oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver");  
6.   
7. Connection con=DriverManager.getConnection(  
8. "jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1521:xe","system","oracle");  
9.   
10. DatabaseMetaData dbmd=con.getMetaData();  
11. String table[]={"VIEW"};  
12. ResultSet rs=dbmd.getTables(null,null,null,table);  
13.   
14. while(rs.next()){  
15. System.out.println(rs.getString(3));  
16. }  
17.   
18. con.close();  
19.   
20. }catch(Exception e){ System.out.println(e);}  
21.   
22. }  
23. }