HikariCP Fast DataSource Implementation Guide | Generated by AI

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HikariCP (HikariDataSource) is a specific implementation of the javax.sql.DataSource interface. Let me explain the relationship:

javax.sql.DataSource

This is a standard Java interface (part of JDBC) that represents a factory for database connections. It’s just a contract that defines methods like:

• getConnection() - to obtain a database connection
• getConnection(String username, String password) - with credentials

It doesn’t provide any actual implementation—it’s just the specification.

HikariDataSource

This is a concrete implementation of DataSource provided by the HikariCP library. It’s a connection pool that manages a pool of reusable database connections for better performance.

Key differences:

1. Nature: DataSource is an interface; HikariDataSource is a class that implements it

2. Connection pooling: Raw DataSource implementations might create a new connection each time. HikariCP maintains a pool of pre-established connections, dramatically improving performance

3. Features: HikariCP adds:

   • Extremely fast connection pooling (often considered the fastest Java connection pool)
   • Automatic connection leak detection
   • Connection validation
   • Configurable pool sizing
   • Metrics and monitoring

In practice:

// Using the interface (loose coupling - recommended)
DataSource dataSource = new HikariDataSource(config);

// Or directly using the implementation
HikariDataSource hikariDataSource = new HikariDataSource(config);

Other popular DataSource implementations include Apache DBCP, C3P0, and Tomcat JDBC Pool, but HikariCP is widely regarded as the fastest and most reliable, which is why it’s the default in Spring Boot.

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