SQL Server 2005's Type 4 JDBC driver provides database connectivity from a Java application. Though the driver class and connection URL are a bit different in this version, connectivity is a snap.

Get an overview of JDBC's architecture, then learn how to connect to a database and handle SQL queries and responses with PreparedStatements, transactions, connection pooling, and more.

You could just implement a corresponding Java type that implements the SQLData interface and then tell the connection object the new SQL-Java type mapping via the Connection.setTypeMap() method.

Untangle SQL Server connection strings Today’s README file explains how to create connection strings to SQL Server databases using Visual Studio’s built-in tools.

Here's a quick JDBC with HSQLDB tutorial to get you up and running with Java database connectivity and the popular HyperSQL database.