title: How to install JDBC driver in Eclipse web project without facing java.lang.ClassNotFoundexception
body: <p><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1585811/classnotfoundexception-com-mysql-jdbc-driver">There is a VERY similar question</a> to mine but in my case I don't have any duplicate jars in my build path, so the solution does not work for me.  I've searched google for a couple of hours now, but none of the solutions I've found there actually resolve my issue.  I'm creating a web site with some database connectivity for a homework.  I'm using a MySQL database, developing in Eclipse and running on Windows.</p>
  
  <p>I keep getting <code>java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mysql.jdbc.Driver</code> with the following code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>import java.sql.*;
  //...
  public void someMethodInMyServlet(PrintWriter out)
  {
      Connection connection = null;
      PreparedStatement query = null;
      try {
  
          out.println("Create the driver instance.&lt;br&gt;");
          Class.forName("com.mysql.jdbc.Driver").newInstance();
  
          out.println("Get the connection.&lt;br&gt;");
          connection = DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/test", "root", "secret");
          query = connection.prepareStatement( "SELECT * FROM customers");
  
          //...
      } catch (Exception e)
      {
          out.println(e.toString()+"&lt;br&gt;");
      }
  }
  //...
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>When I run the above code I get the following output:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Create the driver instance.
  java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It doesn't get past the <code>Class.forName...</code> line and I can't figure out why! Here is what I did:  </p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Download mysql-connector.  </li>
  <li>Put it in my MySQL folder <code>C:\Program Files\MySQL\mysql-connector-java-5.1.12\mysql-connector-java-5.1.12-bin.jar</code>.  </li>
  <li>Opened the project properties in Eclipse.  </li>
  <li>Add External Jar to my Build Path and I selected <code>mysql-connector-java-5.1.12-bin.jar</code>.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Every time I attempt to use the servlet I get the same error regardless if I have the jar in there or if I don't. Could you help me figure this out?</p>