Describe the main stages of interacting with a database using JDBC.

1. Driver loading: Loading the database driver class into the JVM. Usually happens automatically when using DriverManager in newer JDBC versions or explicitly via Class.forName().
2. Establishing connection: Connecting to the database using DriverManager.getConnection(). Requires the database URL, username, and password.
3. Creating a Statement object: Creating a Statement, PreparedStatement, or CallableStatement object to send SQL queries to the database. PreparedStatement and CallableStatement are recommended for improved performance and security (preventing SQL injection).
4. Executing SQL query: Running the SQL query using Statement methods (e.g., executeQuery() for SELECT, executeUpdate() for INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or execute()).
5. Processing the result (if any): If the query returns data (SELECT), processing the obtained ResultSet. Iterating over the ResultSet rows and extracting data from columns by name or index.
6. Closing resources: Properly closing all used resources in the reverse order of their creation: ResultSet, Statement, Connection. It is recommended to use try-with-resources blocks for automatic closing.

Example of using try-with-resources:

import java.sql.*;

// Assume driver is loaded and url, user, password are defined

try (Connection connection = DriverManager.getConnection(url, user, password);
     Statement statement = connection.createStatement();
     ResultSet resultSet = statement.executeQuery("SELECT * FROM your_table")) {

    while (resultSet.next()) {
        // Process data from resultSet
        String columnName = resultSet.getString("column_name");
        // ...
    }

} catch (SQLException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}