MySQL JDBC Driver 5.1.33 - Time Zone Issue

📝 Hey there tech enthusiasts! 👋 Are you facing a time zone issue 🕒 while using the MySQL JDBC Driver 5.1.33? Fret not, because I've got you covered with some easy solutions 🛠️.

To give you a bit of context, imagine you have a Java 1.6 web app running on Tomcat 7 🌐, and your database is MySQL 5.5 ⚙️. Previously, you were using the MySQL JDBC driver 5.1.23 for successful database connections. However, when you upgraded to the MySQL JDBC driver 5.1.33, your blissful journey was abruptly halted by Tomcat throwing the following error:

WARNING: Unexpected exception resolving reference
java.sql.SQLException: The server timezone value 'UTC' is unrecognized or represents
  more than one timezone. You must configure either the server or JDBC driver (via
  the serverTimezone configuration property) to use a more specific timezone value if
  you want to utilize timezone support.

Pretty frustrating, right? But don't worry, I've got your back! Let's understand why this is happening and explore some easy ways to fix it. 🤓

The Why:

The root cause of this issue lies in the fact that the MySQL JDBC driver 5.1.33 introduced stricter time zone validation. It requires your server's time zone value to be recognized and specific ✅. In your case, the server's time zone value was 'UTC', which was either unrecognized or represented multiple time zones.

The Solutions:

Solution 1: Server Configuration

One way to resolve this issue is by configuring your server's time zone value to a recognized and specific timezone 🌍. Find the appropriate time zone for your server and set it in the server's configuration.

For example, if your server is in New York, you can configure it by adding the following line to your MySQL configuration file (usually my.ini or my.cnf):

default-time-zone='America/New_York'

Remember to restart the server after making this change.

Solution 2: JDBC Driver Configuration

Alternatively, you can configure the time zone value in your JDBC driver by utilizing the serverTimezone configuration property 🧩. You need to set it with a specific time zone value recognized by your MySQL server.

For instance, if your server is in Tokyo, you can use the following code snippet in your Java application to configure the time zone:

String timeZone = "Asia/Tokyo";
String jdbcUrl = "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/your_database?&serverTimezone=" + timeZone;
Connection connection = DriverManager.getConnection(jdbcUrl, "username", "password");

Here, replace your_database, username, and password with your respective values.

The Call-to-Action:

I hope these solutions helped you overcome the MySQL JDBC driver 5.1.33 time zone issue 🚀. If you found this post useful or have any further questions or insights, feel free to leave a comment below 👇. Let's build a vibrant community of tech enthusiasts helping each other out!

Oh, and don't forget to share this blog post with your fellow developers who might be facing similar issues. Sharing is caring! 🤗

Happy coding! 💻🎉