Connecting with Java This guide explains how to establish a connection between a Java application and a MySQL database using the  mysql-connector-j JDBC driver. It walks through the necessary setup, configuration, and execution of a simple SQL query. Variables Certain parameters must be provided to establish a successful connection to a MySQL database. Below is a breakdown of each required variable, its purpose, and where to find it. Here’s what each variable represents: Variable Description Purpose USER MySQL username, from the Elestio service overview page Identifies the database user who has permission to access the MySQL database. PASSWORD MySQL password, from the Elestio service overview page The authentication key is required for the specified USER to access the database. HOST Hostname for MySQL connection, from the Elestio service overview page The address of the server hosting the MySQL database. PORT Port for MySQL connection, from the Elestio service overview page The network port used to connect to MySQL. The default port is 3306. DATABASE Database Name for MySQL connection, from the Elestio service overview page The name of the database being accessed. A MySQL instance can contain multiple databases. These values can usually be found in the Elestio service overview details as shown in the image below, make sure to take a copy of these details and add it to the code moving ahead. Prerequisites Install Java Check if Java is installed by running: java -version. If not installed, download it from oracle.com or install OpenJDK. Install MySQL Connector/J Download the latest version  mysql-connector-j from the official MySQL site. Code Once all prerequisites are set up, create a new file named MySQLConnect.java and add the following code: import java.sql.*; import java.util.*; public class MySQLConnect { public static void main(String[] args) { Map config = new HashMap<>(); for (int i = 0; i < args.length - 1; i += 2) config.put(args[i], args[i + 1]); String url = String.format("jdbc:mysql://%s:%s/%s?useSSL=true", config.get("-host"), config.get("-port"), config.get("-database")); try { Class.forName("com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver"); try (Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url, config.get("-username"), config.get("-password")); Statement stmt = conn.createStatement(); ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT VERSION()")) { System.out.println("Connected to MySQL"); if (rs.next()) System.out.println("MySQL Version: " + rs.getString(1)); } } catch (Exception e) { System.err.println("Connection error: " + e.getMessage()); } } } To compile and run the Java program, use the following commands in your terminal: javac MySQLConnect.java && java -cp mysql-connector-j-9.3.0.jar:. MySQLConnect -host HOST -port PORT -database DATABASE -username avnadmin -password PASSWORD If the connection is successful, the terminal will display output similar to: Connected to MySQL MySQL Version: 8.0.41