List of JDBC drivers for SQL Server 2008 (comparison)
I am in the process of evaluating a whole whack of JDBC drivers, specifically to use with SQL Server 2008 with Windows authentication. Here is the list that I came up with:

 1. **Microsoft JDBC driver**

     **URL**: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/aa937724

     **Pros**: Official Microsoft JDBC driver for SQL Server 2008!

     **Cons**: Seems to have a lot of connectivity/stability issues, don't believe me, just Google about it :). Doesn't have a way of disabling statement preparation/pooling which is something I am looking for.

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 4.0 compliant although many methods throw UnimplementedException!!!!

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**: Free

 2. **Progress DataDirect**

     **URL**: http://www.datadirect.com/index.html

     **Pros**: Claims to be top class, used by numerous applications like Informatica, etc and the company is been around for ages! Have quick support - I have dealt with them briefly.

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 4.0 compliant

     **JDBC Type**: 5

     **Price**: Very expensive for a single web-server. Their license is based on # of cores and can be up to 12K for just dual licenses only for a single Windows 2008 web server!!!! I've been in contact with their sales person so that's how I know.

 3. **JTDS**

     **URL**: http://jtds.sourceforge.net/

     **Pros**: Much faster than the official Microsoft JDBC driver. Has a way of disabling prepared statements.

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: JDBC 3.0 compliant only. This is a deal breaker for me because important methods like .validate() and .isClosed() aren't supported because these are JDBC 4.0 methods.

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**: Free - Open Source

 4. **INET Merlia**

     **URL**: http://www.inetsoftware.de/products/jdbc-driver/ms-sql/merlia

     **Pros**: Much faster than the official Microsoft JDBC driver. Has a way to disable prepared statements.

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 3.0/4.0 compliant

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**: Much cheaper than DataDirect. About $800 for a web-server licence and number of cores don't go into determining the price.


 5. **JNetDirect JSQLConnect**

     **URL**: http://www.jnetdirect.com/products/jsqlconnect.html

     **Pros**: Much faster than the official Microsoft JDBC driver. Has a way to disable prepared statements

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 3.0/4.0 compliant

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**:  Free for a single user with only 1 database connection. Can be $3,500 for a dual core web server! Number of CPU's go into determining the price.


So that's my list. Do you guys have any others? Let's keep them in one spot. And remember, this post is only meant for JDBC drivers for SQL Server 2008 and not any other database management system because there are enough threads about all the others ones and not nearly as enough for SQL Server 2008. If you can keep your comments clean, I'll happily update this post with any others.
List of JDBC drivers for SQL Server 2008 (comparison)
===

I am in the process of evaluating a whole whack of JDBC drivers, specifically to use with SQL Server 2008 with Windows authentication. Here is the list that I came up with:

 1. **Microsoft JDBC driver**

     **URL**: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/aa937724

     **Pros**: Official Microsoft JDBC driver for SQL Server 2008!

     **Cons**: Seems to have a lot of connectivity/stability issues, don't believe me, just Google about it :). Doesn't have a way of disabling statement preparation/pooling which is something I am looking for.

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 4.0 compliant although many methods throw UnimplementedException!!!!

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**: Free

 2. **Progress DataDirect**

     **URL**: http://www.datadirect.com/index.html

     **Pros**: Claims to be top class, used by numerous applications like Informatica, etc and the company is been around for ages! Have quick support - I have dealt with them briefly.

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 4.0 compliant

     **JDBC Type**: 5

     **Price**: Very expensive for a single web-server. Their license is based on # of cores and can be up to 12K for just dual licenses only for a single Windows 2008 web server!!!! I've been in contact with their sales person so that's how I know.

 3. **JTDS**

     **URL**: http://jtds.sourceforge.net/

     **Pros**: Much faster than the official Microsoft JDBC driver. Has a way of disabling prepared statements.

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: JDBC 3.0 compliant only. This is a deal breaker for me because important methods like .validate() and .isClosed() aren't supported because these are JDBC 4.0 methods.

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**: Free - Open Source

 4. **INET Merlia**

     **URL**: http://www.inetsoftware.de/products/jdbc-driver/ms-sql/merlia

     **Pros**: Much faster than the official Microsoft JDBC driver. Has a way to disable prepared statements.

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 3.0/4.0 compliant

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**: Much cheaper than DataDirect. About $800 for a web-server licence and number of cores don't go into determining the price.


 5. **JNetDirect JSQLConnect**

     **URL**: http://www.jnetdirect.com/products/jsqlconnect.html

     **Pros**: Much faster than the official Microsoft JDBC driver. Has a way to disable prepared statements

     **Cons**: ?

     **JDBC compliance**: Claims to be be JDBC 3.0/4.0 compliant

     **JDBC Type**: 4

     **Price**:  Free for a single user with only 1 database connection. Can be $3,500 for a dual core web server! Number of CPU's go into determining the price.


So that's my list. Do you guys have any others? Let's keep them in one spot. And remember, this post is only meant for JDBC drivers for SQL Server 2008 and not any other database management system because there are enough threads about all the others ones and not nearly as enough for SQL Server 2008. If you can keep your comments clean, I'll happily update this post with any others.