JDBC stands for Java Database Connectivity. It is a Java API for connecting to and interacting with relational databases. With JDBC, you can perform database operations such as querying, updating, and deleting data using SQL statements.

The JDBC API consists of a set of interfaces and classes that provide a standard way to interact with databases from Java applications. The main interfaces in the JDBC API are:

• Driver: defines the interface for database drivers, which are used to connect to a specific type of database.
• Connection: represents a connection to a specific database and provides methods for creating Statement and PreparedStatement objects.
• Statement: represents a SQL statement that can be executed on a specific connection.
• PreparedStatement: represents a precompiled SQL statement that can be executed multiple times with different parameters.
• ResultSet: represents the results of a SQL query and provides methods for navigating and accessing the data.

To use JDBC in a Java application, you typically start by loading the appropriate database driver using the Class.forName() method. Once you have loaded the driver, you can create a connection to the database using the DriverManager.getConnection() method.

Once you have a connection, you can use Statement or PreparedStatement objects to execute SQL statements and obtain ResultSet objects containing the results. You can then use the methods provided by the ResultSet object to access and manipulate the data.

JDBC also supports transactions, which allow you to group multiple database operations into a single atomic unit of work. Transactions ensure that either all of the operations in the transaction are completed successfully, or none of them are.

Overall, JDBC provides a powerful and flexible way to interact with relational databases from Java applications. Whether you are building a simple data-driven application or a complex enterprise system, JDBC can help you connect to and interact with your database of choice.