View source for UC CONN Define Driver Definition

&larr;[[DTP_1_0_API_USE_CASES | Back to API Use Case Page]]
==Purpose==

To provide one place per Eclipse platform instance where definitions of components (drivers) used to access specific types of resources can be specified. Once complete, these ''Driver Definitions'' become templates that other components in Eclipse interested in access to that type of data source can leverage. From the user's perspective, this centralization means that driver-specific details do not have to be supplied multiple times across data tooling in Eclipse. In addition to leveraging these driver defintions in the Eclipse platform instance, extenders can provide reasonable defaults for specific cases, reducing the work required of users and providing hints about the values required to achieve connectivity.

==Extension Points Involved==

* org.eclipse.datatools.connectivity.driverExtension

==Java API Classes==

* org.eclipse.datatools.connectivity.drivers: Core classes for creating, editing, and removing Driver Definitions

==Exemplary Clients==

DTP 1.0 contains a number of sample Driver Definitions, including those for Apache Derby, generic JDBC, and a number of other databases through the DTP Enablement project. Often, all that is required for defining a Driver Definition is declaration using the above extension point. The Java API classes are used by tools leveraging existing Driver Definitions. For example, the Connection Profile tools in DTP use Driver Definitions in their creation wizards.