I need a database recommendation
 

I'd like to install a database so that I can start on some development work. The requirements are:
1. EASY! I tried Oracle, but the install failed in the first 10 seconds
2. JDBC. I need a JDBC interface
3. SQL I'm used to Oracle's SQL*Plus interface for creating and working with tables. I'd like the same.

Please let me know what's freely available for development.

mysql or postgresql should do the trick fine

Lately I have been learning to use MySQL and PHP. That combination seems to mainly be designed to create databases that are accessed using forms on web pages. MySQL is the actual database program. PHP is a server side scripting language that is used to access MySQL from a browser and to create the forms. That combination requires having a MySQL server and a webpage server. On my computer the server and the client are both on the same computer.

On my computer I use Apache as the web server and I also have the MySQL server daemon running. I have heard that many E-commerce commerce sites are created with PHP, MySQL and Apache. It seems to me that it could also be used for a database in a companys own intranet or extranet. Is that sometimes done? Would they then configure the Linux iptables firewall or a router to block incoming access to certain port numbers so rest of the world could not access that information?

I have been wondering if that combination is overkill for what I want to do? For the last couple of years I have been maintaining the membership database for for a small local club. So far I have been using the Microsoft Access database that I created. The trouble is that I have to boot up into Windows to access that database. People keep calling me wanting to join the club when I am usually booted up into Linux at the time. I am tired of having to reboot my computer when people call. MySQL and PHP are available for both Windows and Linux so I have figured out how to create a database that I can access no matter which I am booted up into.

Is that overkill for what I want to do? When I originally installed Linux on this computer I chose to have Apache, MySQL and PHP installed at the time. In the last couple of weeks I have figured out the essentials of using those to create my database. Would there have been an easier way to create a simple database that could be accessed from both Linux and Windows.

Chapzilla also said he needed a JDBC interface. I see that there is a chaper on JDBC and Java in one of the two PHP/MySQL I have. I have not yet read that chapter. I wonder if the Java is used instead of the PHP or in addition or what? I am not sure. Several years ago I took a Java course so that feature might eventually be of use to me. I am not a computer professional or a total expert on this although I did once take a database course.