# Derby API

Derby provides documentation of API classes and interfaces in the javadoc subdirectory.

This section provides a brief overview of the API. Derby does not provide the API documentation for the java.sql packages, the main API for working with Derby, because it is included in the JDBC API. For information about Derby's implementation of the JDBC API, see JDBC reference.

This section divides the API classes and interfaces into several categories. The stand-alone tools and utilities are Java classes that stand on their own and are invoked on the command line. The JDBC implementation classes are standard JDBC APIs and are not invoked on the command line. Instead, you invoke these only within a specified context within another application.

- Stand-alone tools and utilities
  These classes are in the package org.apache.derby.tools.
- JDBC implementation classes
- Miscellaneous utilities and interfaces