JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) is a standard Java API that allows Java programs to connect to and interact with various database systems in a database-independent way. It provides interfaces for querying and updating data in a database, as well as interfaces for executing SQL statements. The JDBC architecture consists of the JDBC API layer and the JDBC driver API layer. Common JDBC components include the DriverManager, Drivers, Connections, Statements, ResultSets, and SQLExceptions.