The mapping in the Java programming language of an SQL
REF
value, which is a reference to an SQL structured type value in the database.
SQL REF
values are stored in a table that contains instances of a referenceable SQL structured type, and each REF
value is a unique identifier for one instance in that table. An SQL REF
value may be used in place of the SQL structured type it references, either as a column value in a table or an attribute value in a structured type.
Because an SQL REF
value is a logical pointer to an SQL structured type, a Ref
object is by default also a logical pointer. Thus, retrieving an SQL REF
value as a Ref
object does not materialize the attributes of the structured type on the client.
A Ref
object can be stored in the database using the PreparedStatement.setRef
method.
All methods on the Ref
interface must be fully implemented if the JDBC driver supports the data type.
@see Struct
@since 1.2