>>>>> "JMS" == Julian M Savage <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
JMS> What's the difference between loadClass() and JMS> forceLoadSystemClass()? Well, forceLoadSystemClass will always try the system class loader first - you could have achieved the same by setting the third argument to AntClassLoader's constructor to true. loadClass will try to load classes from the user classpath first, unless they live in a package that must be loaded via the system class loader (by default everything starting with "java.", you can add different package roots yourself). I think you've used forceLoadSystemClass to ensure java.sql.Driver will be loaded by the system class loader - which will be done anyway (even in JDK 1.1 - I've fixed that with the same commit). JMS> My main reason for concern was the thought that instantiating it JMS> myself might somehow be less portable or something. Tested it with FreeTDS, Interbase and DB2 - no problems. The contract of Driver.connect is quite clear anyway. We should check for a null return value though - which is supposed to mean "I'm not the correct driver for the given URL". This is something DriverManager would transform into a "No suitable driver" exception. Going to add this. Stefan
