Home

database-metadata-bind

database-metadata-bind is a Java library that binds java.sql.DatabaseMetaData ResultSet rows to typed Java objects.

The main entry point is com.github.jinahya.database.metadata.bind.Context. A Context wraps a DatabaseMetaData instance and exposes typed List<T> and forEach... methods for JDBC metadata result sets such as getTables, getColumns, getPrimaryKeys, getImportedKeys, and getTypeInfo.

Project Snapshot

Item	Value
Maven coordinates	io.github.jinahya:database-metadata-bind
Current source version	4.5.1-SNAPSHOT
Java main source level	17
Java test source level	25
Build Java requirement	JDK 25 or newer
Maven requirement	Maven 3.6.3 or newer
Automatic module name	com.github.jinahya.database.metadata.bind
Package	com.github.jinahya.database.metadata.bind
License	Apache License 2.0

Installation

Check Maven Central for released versions.

<dependency>
  <groupId>io.github.jinahya</groupId>
  <artifactId>database-metadata-bind</artifactId>
  <version><!-- released version --></version>
</dependency>

Basic Usage

try (var connection = dataSource.getConnection()) {
    var context = Context.newInstance(connection);

    var catalogs = context.getCatalogs();
    var schemas = context.getSchemas();
    var tables = context.getTables(null, null, "%", null);

    for (var table : tables) {
        var columns = context.getColumns(
                table.getTableCat(),
                table.getTableSchem(),
                table.getTableName(),
                "%"
        );

        var primaryKeys = context.getPrimaryKeys(
                table.getTableCat(),
                table.getTableSchem(),
                table.getTableName()
        );
    }
}

Context.newInstance(Connection) calls Connection.getMetaData(). Context also has a public constructor for callers that already have a DatabaseMetaData instance.

var context = new Context(connection.getMetaData());

For large result sets, use the forEach... variants to consume bound rows without first building a list.

context.forEachTable(null, null, "%", null, table -> {
    // inspect each Table as it is bound
});

Nulls And Patterns

The API follows DatabaseMetaData conventions:

• null parameters keep the JDBC driver's original meaning, usually "do not narrow by this value" or "not applicable".
• Pattern parameters such as schemaPattern, tableNamePattern, and columnNamePattern are passed directly to the JDBC driver.
• Result properties that JDBC may report as SQL NULL are exposed as nullable wrapper types or nullable strings.
• Driver-specific result-set columns that are not mapped by the library are preserved in MetadataType.getUnknownColumns().

Wiki Pages

• API Reference: Context methods, convenience sweeps, string-list helpers, and bound result types.
• Model Notes: binding behavior, unknown columns, nullness, relationships, comparators, and validation predicates.
• Testing and Build: Maven requirements, memory database tests, and Testcontainers profiles.
• External Integration Tests: profile-specific ExternalIT runs against externally reachable databases.
• Known Issues: current issues summarized from doc/issues.md.

External Links

• Repository: https://github.com/jinahya/database-metadata-bind
• Javadoc: https://javadoc.io/doc/io.github.jinahya/database-metadata-bind
• Maven Central: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/io.github.jinahya/database-metadata-bind