How to connect to a database using JDBC

Symptom

Appeon has discontinued JDK 1.6 and Java features since PowerBuilder 2022; however, some applications still have a strong dependency on using JDBC. 

Environment 

• PowerBuilder 2022 MR Build 1892 or newer (including 2022 R2, 2022 R3, and their MRs) 
• InfoMaker 2022 MR Build 1892 or newer (including 2022 R2, 2022 R3, and their MRs) 

If you are using Version 2022 GA (Build 1878), please upgrade to 2022 MR 1892 or newer.

Note: The workaround files (pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar) provided in Download Files section will be updated for every major/revision release. Please remember to go back to this article to get the new files if later you need to upgrade to a newer major/revision version.

Resolution

A workaround is provided here so that customer can provide their own JDK distribution and enable JDBC connectivity.  Since Java features have been discontinued, this workaround is not eligible for technical support and IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

For PowerBuilder IDE

Step 1: Install exactly JDK 1.6.0.24. Any other JDK version is not supported.

Step 2: Go to the installation folder of JDK 1.6, and copy the subfolder “jdk1.6.0_24” to the PB IDE installation folder (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Appeon\PowerBuilder 22.0\IDE).

The subfolder name must be “jdk1.6.0_24”. You may get different subfolder name if you install different builds of JDK 1.6. In that case, just copy the subfolder and change the name to “jdk1.6.0_24”.

When step 2 is done correctly, PB IDE will automatically show the JDB JDBC Database Profiles, and the System Options > Java tab page.

Step 3: Run the following commands to add the relevant registry entries. 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\PowerBuilder\22.0\Java]
"JDKLocation"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\PowerBuilder 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24"
"JDKLocationDef"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\PowerBuilder 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24"
"JREBinLocation"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\PowerBuilder 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24\\jre\\bin\\server"
"JREBinLocationDef"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\PowerBuilder 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24\\jre\\bin\\server"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\PowerBuilder\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\PowerBuilder\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig\PBJVMconfig]
"0"="-Xmx128m"
"1"="-verbose:jni"
"Count"="2"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\PowerBuilder\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig\PBJVMprops]
"java.compiler"="NONE"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\PowerBuilder\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig\PBSysclasspath]
"Count"="1"
"0"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\PowerBuilder 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24\\lib\\tools.jar"

Step 4: Configure the JDBC interface and the System Options > Java tab page, as required before (for more, refer to the 2021 help file: https://docs.appeon.com/pb2021/connecting_to_your_database/XREF_54669_CHAPTER_3_Using.html).

Step 5: Get the following DLL files following the instructions at Download files, and copy them to the PowerBuilder Runtime installation folder (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Appeon\Common\PowerBuilder\Runtime 22.0.0.XXXX)

pbjdb.dll

pbjvm.dll

pbjbc12.jar

For InfoMaker IDE

Step 1: Install exactly JDK 1.6.0.24. Any other JDK version is not supported.

Step 2: Go to the installation folder of JDK 1.6, and copy the subfolder “jdk1.6.0_24” to the IM IDE installation folder (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Appeon\InfoMaker 22.0\IDE).

The subfolder name must be “jdk1.6.0_24”. You may get different subfolder name if you install different builds of JDK 1.6. In that case, just copy the subfolder and change the name to “jdk1.6.0_24”.

Step 3: Run the following commands to add the relevant registry entries. 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\InfoMaker\22.0\Java]
"JDKLocation"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\InfoMaker 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24"
"JDKLocationDef"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\InfoMaker 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24"
"JREBinLocation"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\InfoMaker 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24\\jre\\bin\\server"
"JREBinLocationDef"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Appeon\\InfoMaker 22.0\\IDE\\jdk1.6.0_24\\jre\\bin\\server"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\InfoMaker\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\InfoMaker\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig\PBJVMconfig]
"0"="-Xmx128m"
"1"="-verbose:jni"
"Count"="2"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\InfoMaker\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig\PBJVMprops]
"java.compiler"="NONE"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sybase\InfoMaker\22.0\Java\PBIDEConfig\PBSysclasspath]
"Count"="0"

Step 4: Configure the CLASSPATH environment variable to include an entry pointing to the location of the database JDBC driver, as required before (for more, refer to the 2021 help file: https://docs.appeon.com/im2021/im_connecting_to_your_database/ch03s02.html).

Step 5: Get the following DLL files following the instructions at Download files, and copy them to the runtime installation folder (IM and PB share the same runtime folder) (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Appeon\Common\PowerBuilder\Runtime 22.0.0.XXXX)

pbjdb.dll

pbjvm.dll

pbjbc12.jar

For PowerBuilder/InfoMaker Runtime 

Get the following DLL files following the instructions at Download files, and copy them to the runtime installation folder (PowerBuilder and InfoMaker share the same runtime folder) (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Appeon\Common\PowerBuilder\Runtime 22.0.0.XXXX)

pbjdb.dll

pbjvm.dll

pbjbc12.jar

For PowerClient Projects

Get the following DLL files following the instructions at Download files, and deploy them as external files for PowerClient projects, so that they will be automatically downloaded to the client with other application files.

pbjdb.dll

pbjvm.dll

pbjbc12.jar

Note: These DLLs do not need to be registered; there is no need to configure and register these DLLs in the PowerClient project painter.

For how to add files as external files, refer to https://docs.appeon.com/pb2022/pbug/creating_a_powerclient_project.html#external_files_page.

For PowerServer Projects

It is not supported for PowerServer projects to connect to a database using JDBC.

Download Files

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R3 Build 3397, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from 

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3397.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3397.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2025 Beta Build 3398, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2025/JDBC_workaround_files_2025_3398.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2025/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2025_3398.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R3 Build 3391, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3391.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3391.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R3 Japanese Build 3382, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://download.appeon.com/APB/2022/R3/GA_JP/build_3382/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3JP_3382.zip (SHA256: https://download.appeon.com/APB/2022/R3/GA_JP/build_3382/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3JP_3382.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R3 Build 3356, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3356.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3356.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R3 Build 3289, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3289.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R3_3289.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R2 Build 2828, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R2_2828.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R2_2828.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 R2 Build 2819, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R2_2819.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022R2_2819.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 MR Build 1900, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022_1900.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022_1900.txt)

• If your current version is PowerBuilder/InfoMaker 2022 MR Build 1892, download pbjdb.dll, pbjvm.dll, pbjdbc12.jar from

https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/JDBC_workaround_files_2022.zip (SHA256: https://file.appeon.com/download/APB/2022/sha256/JDBC_workaround_files_2022.txt)