A JDBC data source is a Java object, specifically a DataSource object, that defines connection information required for a JDBC driver to connect to the database. Each JDBC driver vendor provides their own data source implementation for this purpose. A Progress DataDirect data source is Progress DataDirect’s implementation of a DataSource object that provides the connection information needed for the driver to connect to a database.

Because data sources work with the Java Naming Directory Interface (JNDI) naming service, data sources can be created and managed separately from the applications that use them. Because the connection information is defined outside of the application, the effort to reconfigure your infrastructure when a change is made is minimized. For example, if the database is moved to another database server, the administrator need only change the relevant properties of the DataSource object. The applications using the database do not need to change because they only refer to the name of the data source.