The CallableStatement interface is used to execute a call to a database stored procedure.

Suppose, you need to execute the following stored procedure in TUTORIALSPOINT database −

DELIMITER $$

DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS `TUTORIALSPOINT`.`getEmpName` $$
CREATE PROCEDURE `TUTORIALSPOINT`.`getEmpName` 
   (IN EMP_ID INT, OUT EMP_FIRST VARCHAR(255))
BEGIN
   SELECT first INTO EMP_FIRST
   FROM Employees
   WHERE ID = EMP_ID;
END $$

DELIMITER ;

Three types of parameters exist: IN, OUT, and INOUT. The PreparedStatement object only uses the IN parameter. The CallableStatement object can use all the three.

Here are the definitions of each −

The following code snippet shows how to employ the Connection.prepareCall() method to instantiate a CallableStatement object based on the preceding stored procedure −

CallableStatement cstmt = null;
try {
   String SQL = "{call getEmpName (?, ?)}";
   cstmt = conn.prepareCall (SQL);
   . . .
}
catch (SQLException e) {
   . . .
}
finally {
   . . .
}

The String variable SQL, represents the stored procedure, with parameter placeholders.

Using the CallableStatement objects is much like using the PreparedStatement objects. You must bind values to all the parameters before executing the statement, or you will receive an SQLException.

If you have IN parameters, just follow the same rules and techniques that apply to a PreparedStatement object; use the setXXX() method that corresponds to the Java data type you are binding.

When you use OUT and INOUT parameters you must employ an additional CallableStatement method, registerOutParameter(). The registerOutParameter() method binds the JDBC data type, to the data type that the stored procedure is expected to return.

Once you call your stored procedure, you retrieve the value from the OUT parameter with the appropriate getXXX() method. This method casts the retrieved value of SQL type to a Java data type.

Closing CallableStatement Object

Just as you close other Statement object, for the same reason you should also close the CallableStatement object.

A simple call to the close() method will do the job. If you close the Connection object first, it will close the CallableStatement object as well. However, you should always explicitly close the CallableStatement object to ensure proper cleanup.

CallableStatement cstmt = null;
try {
   String SQL = "{call getEmpName (?, ?)}";
   cstmt = conn.prepareCall (SQL);
   . . .
}
catch (SQLException e) {
   . . .
}
finally {
   cstmt.close();
}

We”re using try with resources which handles the resource closure automatically. Following example demonstrates all of the above said concepts.

This code has been written based on the environment and database setup done in the previous chapter.

Copy and paste the following example in TestApplication.java, compile and run as follows −

import java.sql.CallableStatement;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.SQLException;

public class TestApplication {
   static final String DB_URL = "jdbc:mysql://localhost/TUTORIALSPOINT";
   static final String USER = "guest";
   static final String PASS = "guest123";
   static final String QUERY = "{call getEmpName (?, ?)}";

   public static void main(String[] args) {
      // Open a connection
      try(Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(DB_URL, USER, PASS);
         CallableStatement stmt = conn.prepareCall(QUERY);
      ) {		      
         // Bind values into the parameters.
         stmt.setInt(1, 102);  // This would set ID
         // Because second parameter is OUT so register it
         stmt.registerOutParameter(2, java.sql.Types.VARCHAR);
         //Use execute method to run stored procedure.
         System.out.println("Executing stored procedure..." );
         stmt.execute();
         //Retrieve employee name with getXXX method
         String empName = stmt.getString(2);
         System.out.println("Emp Name with ID: 102 is " + empName);
      } catch (SQLException e) {
         e.printStackTrace();
      } 
   }
}

Now let us compile the above example as follows −

C:>javac TestApplication.java
C:>

When you run TestApplication, it produces the following result −

C:>java TestApplication
Executing stored procedure...
Emp Name with ID: 102 is Zaid
C:>

JDBC SQL Escape Syntax

The escape syntax gives you the flexibility to use database specific features unavailable to you by using standard JDBC methods and properties.

The general SQL escape syntax format is as follows −

{keyword ''parameters''}

Here are the following escape sequences, which you would find very useful while performing the JDBC programming −

d, t, ts Keywords

They help identify date, time, and timestamp literals. As you know, no two DBMSs represent time and date the same way. This escape syntax tells the driver to render the date or time in the target database”s format. For Example −

{d ''yyyy-mm-dd''}

Where yyyy = year, mm = month; dd = date. Using this syntax {d ”2009-09-03”} is March 9, 2009.

Here is a simple example showing how to INSERT date in a table −

//Create a Statement object
stmt = conn.createStatement();
//Insert data ==> ID, First Name, Last Name, DOB
String sql="INSERT INTO STUDENTS VALUES" +
             "(100,''Zara'',''Ali'', {d ''2001-12-16''})";

stmt.executeUpdate(sql);

Similarly, you can use one of the following two syntaxes, either t or ts −

{t ''hh:mm:ss''}

Where hh = hour; mm = minute; ss = second. Using this syntax {t ”13:30:29”} is 1:30:29 PM.

{ts ''yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss''}

This is combined syntax of the above two syntax for ”d” and ”t” to represent timestamp.

escape Keyword

This keyword identifies the escape character used in LIKE clauses. Useful when using the SQL wildcard %, which matches zero or more characters. For example −

String sql = "SELECT symbol FROM MathSymbols WHERE symbol LIKE ''%'' {escape ''''}";
stmt.execute(sql);

If you use the backslash character () as the escape character, you also have to use two backslash characters in your Java String literal, because the backslash is also a Java escape character.

fn Keyword

This keyword represents scalar functions used in a DBMS. For example, you can use SQL function length to get the length of a string −

{fn length(''Hello World'')}

This returns 11, the length of the character string ”Hello World”.

call Keyword

This keyword is used to call the stored procedures. For example, for a stored procedure requiring an IN parameter, use the following syntax −

{call my_procedure(?)};

For a stored procedure requiring an IN parameter and returning an OUT parameter, use the following syntax −

{? = call my_procedure(?)};

oj Keyword

This keyword is used to signify outer joins. The syntax is as follows −

{oj outer-join}

Where outer-join = table {LEFT|RIGHT|FULL} OUTERJOIN {table | outer-join} on search-condition. For example −

String sql = "SELECT Employees FROM {oj ThisTable RIGHT OUTER JOIN ThatTable on id = ''100''}";
stmt.execute(sql);