I can't load the JDBC driver for MySQL

Question

I've been trying to load the JDBC MySQL connector with the following code:

import java.sql.*;

public class dbTest{
   public static void main(String[] args) throws SQLException, ClassNotFoundException
   {
    Class.forName("com.mysql.jdbc.Driver"); 
   }
}

And I keep getting a class not found exception:

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException
    at edu.rice.cs.plt.reflect.PathClassLoader.findClass(PathClassLoader.java:148)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Class.forName0(Native Method)
at java.lang.Class.forName(Unknown Source)
at dbTest.main(dbTest.java:6)

I have added the path to the driver (mysql-connector-java-3.1.14-bin.jar) to my classpath and double checked to make sure it was correct. I also added copies of the jar to the ext folder of my Java installation based on what I read from this article: http://www.developer.com/java/data/jdbc-and-mysql-installation-and-preparation-of-mysql.html

I also searched through posts of others who have had this problem, but all of the responses so far have been saying to add the connector jar to the classpath, which I have already done.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

duffymo duffymo · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-28T23:21:29

I have added the path to the driver (mysql-connector-java-3.1.14-bin.jar) to my classpath

The exception tells you that you didn't do it correctly.

How are you setting CLASSPATH? If it's an environment variable, you're going to learn that IDEs and app servers ignore it. Don't use it.

Don't put it in the /ext directory of your Java JDK, either.

The right way to do it depends on how you're using it:

If you're running inside an IDE like Eclipse or IntelliJ, you have to add the JAR to a library.
IF you're running in a command shell, use the -p option for javac.exe when you compile and java.exe when you run.
If you're using it in a web app, you can start by putting it in the WEB-INF/lib directory of your WAR file. If you're using a servlet/JSP engine like Tomcat 6, put it in the Tomcat /lib directory.

I can't load the JDBC driver for MySQL

3 Answers