JDBC Dependencies for Oracle Database

Overview

Use this skill to choose the Oracle JDBC driver and related artifacts for a Java application that connects to Oracle Database.

Oracle provides the JDBC Thin driver (ojdbc) as a pure Java JAR, so no Oracle Client installation is required for standard JDBC Thin connections. Oracle also provides UCP (Universal Connection Pool) for production connection pooling.

Driver and JDK Selection

JAR	JDK Compatibility
`ojdbc17.jar`	JDK 17, 19, 21, 25
`ojdbc11.jar`	JDK 11, 21
`ojdbc8.jar`	JDK 8, 11

Use the matching UCP artifact for the JDBC driver line:

JDBC artifact	UCP artifact
`ojdbc17`	`ucp17`
`ojdbc11`	`ucp11`
`ojdbc8`	`ucp`

Keep ojdbc and ucp artifacts on the same version.

Maven

For modern JDK 17+ applications:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.oracle.database.jdbc</groupId>
    <artifactId>ojdbc17</artifactId>
    <version>23.26.2.0.0</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.oracle.database.jdbc</groupId>
    <artifactId>ucp17</artifactId>
    <version>23.26.2.0.0</version>
</dependency>

For JDK 11 applications:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.oracle.database.jdbc</groupId>
    <artifactId>ojdbc11</artifactId>
    <version>23.26.2.0.0</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.oracle.database.jdbc</groupId>
    <artifactId>ucp11</artifactId>
    <version>23.26.2.0.0</version>
</dependency>

For applications that intentionally use Oracle's production dependency bundle:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.oracle.database.jdbc</groupId>
    <artifactId>ojdbc17-production</artifactId>
    <version>23.26.2.0.0</version>
    <type>pom</type>
</dependency>

Gradle

For modern JDK 17+ applications:

implementation 'com.oracle.database.jdbc:ojdbc17:23.26.2.0.0'
implementation 'com.oracle.database.jdbc:ucp17:23.26.2.0.0'

For JDK 11 applications:

implementation 'com.oracle.database.jdbc:ojdbc11:23.26.2.0.0'
implementation 'com.oracle.database.jdbc:ucp11:23.26.2.0.0'

Dependency Practices

Pin JDBC and UCP versions explicitly unless your platform has a controlled BOM strategy.
Upgrade the JDBC driver through normal dependency patching, especially for security and compatibility fixes.
Keep JDBC, UCP, ONS, and related Oracle database client artifacts from the same release line when practical.
Use ojdbc17 for new JDK 17+ services unless a platform constraint requires ojdbc11.
Avoid old drivers such as ojdbc6 or ojdbc7; they miss current fixes and features.

Oracle Version Notes (19c vs 26ai)

The examples use the Oracle AI Database 26ai JDBC/UCP RU line.
Oracle Database 26ai JDBC drivers are certified with Oracle Database 26ai, 21c, and 19c servers.
Newer server features, such as JSON Relational Duality Views and VECTOR, require a compatible database release and a current JDBC driver line.

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