JDBC provides an API for connecting to and interacting with databases in Java. It defines interfaces and classes for establishing a connection with a database, issuing SQL statements, processing result sets, and handling exceptions. The key classes in JDBC include DriverManager, Connection, Statement, PreparedStatement, CallableStatement, and ResultSet. There are four types of JDBC drivers: Type 1 (JDBC-ODBC bridge), Type 2 (native API), Type 3 (network protocol), and Type 4 (native protocol). Connecting to a database in JDBC involves loading the driver, getting a connection, creating statements, executing queries, processing results, and closing the connection.