Module java.sql
Package java.sql

Interface Array

All Known Implementing Classes:
SerialArray

public interface Array
The mapping in the Java programming language for the SQL type ARRAY. By default, an Array value is a transaction-duration reference to an SQL ARRAY value. By default, an Array object is implemented using an SQL LOCATOR(array) internally, which means that an Array object contains a logical pointer to the data in the SQL ARRAY value rather than containing the ARRAY value's data.

The Array interface provides methods for bringing an SQL ARRAY value's data to the client as either an array or a ResultSet object. If the elements of the SQL ARRAY are a UDT, they may be custom mapped. To create a custom mapping, a programmer must do two things:

  • create a class that implements the SQLData interface for the UDT to be custom mapped.
  • make an entry in a type map that contains
    • the fully-qualified SQL type name of the UDT
    • the Class object for the class implementing SQLData

When a type map with an entry for the base type is supplied to the methods getArray and getResultSet, the mapping it contains will be used to map the elements of the ARRAY value. If no type map is supplied, which would typically be the case, the connection's type map is used by default. If the connection's type map or a type map supplied to a method has no entry for the base type, the elements are mapped according to the standard mapping.

All methods on the Array interface must be fully implemented if the JDBC driver supports the data type.

Since:
1.2