© 2026 Machinery For Change LLC
This software is made available for use, modification, and redistribution, under the terms of the Lesser GNU Public License, v.2.1 (LGPL) or the Eclipse Public License, v.1.0 (EPL), at your option. You should have received copies of both licenses with this distribution. You may also opt to license this software under a more recent version of LGPL than v.2.1.
You'll find this version on the Maven Central repository — com.mchange:c3p0:0.13.0
For support of asynchrony via Java 21 "loom" virtual threads, use instead — com.mchange:c3p0-loom:0.13.0
To its author's profound shame, c3p0, along with its supporting libraries, was used for about a decade as a "deserialization gadget". If an attacker is able to replace and maliciously recraft a javax.naming.Reference or Java-serialized object that an application will decode, c3p0's libraries could be misused to expand that access into execution of arbitrary malicious code.
c3p0-0.12.0, along with its dependency mchange-commons-java-0.4.0, includes mitigations that lock down the functionality misused as gadget chains.
Although it remains possible to resurrect and make use of the dangerous functionality, it requires new, affirmative configuration, and very few contemporary applications should do so.
Most installations will not, but if you experience breaking changes in c3p0-0.12.0, you may need to customize security configuration for your deployment. Please see Configuring Security below for information on how, and for more background on the security issues.
c3p0-0.13.0, with mchange-commons-java-0.5.0, eliminates all use of Java serialization in resolving References, definitively ending any possibility of misuse of c3p0-related JNDI utilities to construct deserialization gadgets.
Many thanks to David Pollak of Spice Labs for a very detailed report about this issue.
See also Warning: c3p0 trusts its CLASSPATH and configuration.
c3p0 was designed to be butt-simple to use.
Just bring Maven dependency com.mchange:c3p0:0.13.0 into your application's effective CLASSPATH (which should bring along its one transitive dependency, mchange-commons-java). Then make a DataSource like this:
[Optional] If you want to turn on PreparedStatement pooling, you must also set maxStatements and/or maxStatementsPerConnection (both default to 0):
Do whatever you want with your DataSource, which will be backed by a Connection pool set up with default parameters. You can bind the DataSource to a JNDI name service, or use it directly, as you prefer.
When you are done, you can clean up the DataSource you've created like this:
That's it! The rest is detail.
c3p0 is an easy-to-use library for making traditional JDBC drivers "enterprise-ready" by augmenting them with functionality defined by the jdbc3 spec and the optional extensions to jdbc2. c3p0 now also fully supports the jdbc4.
In particular, c3p0 provides several useful services:
The library tries hard to get the details right:
c3p0 hopes to provide DataSource implementations more than suitable for use by high-volume "J2EE enterprise applications". Please provide feedback, bug-fixes, etc!
c3p0-0.13.0 requires a level 1.7.x or above Java Runtime Environment.
There is no installation beyond accessing managed Maven dependency com.mchange:c3p0:0.13.0.
If you wish to make use of Java 21 ("loom") virtual threading, use com.mchange:c3p0-loom:0.13.0 instead.
If you want to install c3p0 by hand, just place the files c3p0-0.13.0.jar and mchange-commons-java-0.5.0.jar somewhere in your CLASSPATH (or any other place where your application's classloader will find it). For Java 21 "loom" support, also include the jar c3p0-loom-0.13.0.jar.
Change the bound IP addresses. Use 127.0.0.1 for a local offline test server. Use your Virtual Private Server (VPS) public IP address if you are hosting for external players. Step 3: Configuring the Client
To ensure successful Dekaron server file development, follow these best practices:
Private servers are targets for SQL injection, DDoS attacks, and client hackers. Ensure your SQL database has a strong password and that you use protection tools. dekaron server files
Locate the database connection strings inside the configuration files.
Stores user registration info, passwords (usually hashed), and access levels (GM status). Change the bound IP addresses
: Key files such as version.ini and various .ini or .csv files (like loginlist.csv ) must have matching IP addresses and version strings to allow the game client to connect. 2. Technical Requirements
Right-click each database, select , and locate the .bak files included with your server files. Step 3: Configuring the Client To ensure successful
Harder to find stable, secure files; complex database management. Technical Requirements for Hosting
The premier forum for game server development and emulation. Search for "Dekaron" in their game development section.
I will follow the search plan as outlined. The first round of searches will cover an overview of the game's history and the evolution of private servers, online discussions, database content, development tools, and comparisons with official servers. search results provide some information. The history search shows a Vietnamese forum post about a private server from 2012, and a RaGEZONE forum section. The file search shows a release on RaGEZONE. The setup guide search shows various RaGEZONE tutorials. The Reddit and ePvP searches were not very fruitful. The RaGEZONE-specific search shows some relevant results, including a 14-class server release. The database editing guide search shows some results. The comparison search shows some blog posts and a review. I need to gather more comprehensive information. I will open some of the promising results to get more details. open pages provide a good amount of information. The RaGEZONE forum section is a hub for development. The MMO-Core forum is a German Dekaron forum. The "2Moons 'Bad Moons Rising'" release is a repack of Action 3 client with server files. The "Ultimate Dekaron Server Tutorial" is a detailed guide. The "14 Class" release is a server with 14 classes. The "Dekaron Server Manager" is a tool for server administration. The MMOS.com review provides an overview of the game. The results from the search for database editing are not very detailed. The results from the search for official vs private server differences are mostly from weebly blogs. The results from the search for community forums show RaGEZONE as a central hub. The results from the search for tools and utilities show server managers and debug tools. The results from the search for current private server scene show some recent activity. I need to write a long article covering the history of the game and the development of private servers, technical details, setup guides, legal and ethical considerations, and the community. The article should be comprehensive. I will structure the article with an introduction, the history of Dekaron, the rise of private servers, the technical anatomy of server files, a step-by-step setup guide, the world of server customization, the community, legal and ethical considerations, the current state and future, and a conclusion. I will cite the sources I have gathered. I will also search for more information on the official game's shutdown and the current state of the community. search results show that official servers have shut down in some regions, and there are private servers active in 2026. I have enough information to write the article. The user's question has high authority requirements, I should prioritize using official or expert sources. I will cite the information from the RaGEZONE tutorials, the 2Moons repack, the server manager, the game review, and the private server listings. I will structure the article as planned. Dekaron Server Files: The Complete Guide to Running Your Own Private Server
Use a Dekaron-specific file extractor to open files like parca.ka or edit configuration files like option.txt or serverlist.csv .
These utilities are no longer supported. Please use Connection.unwrap(...) to access Oracle-specific APIs.
The Oracle thin JDBC driver provides a non-standard API for creating temporary BLOBs and CLOBs that
requires users to call methods on the raw, Oracle-specific Connection implementation. Advanced users
might use the raw connection operations described above to access this
functionality, but a convenience class is available in a separate jar file (c3p0-oracle-thin-extras-0.13.0.jar)
for easier access to this functionality. Please see the
API docs for com.mchange.v2.c3p0.dbms.OracleUtils
for details.
As of c3p0 0.10.0, c3p0's config property connectionTesterClassName defaults to null. When this property is null, c3p0 just uses the Java 6+ Connection.isValid(int timeout) method to test Connections.
But c3p0 is an old library, first published uner Java 1.3. Back in the day, we didn't have no stinking standard Connection.isValid(int timeout) method, and had to roll our own Connection tests. This Appendix documents that old but still supported style of Connection test management. To make this section relevant again, just 1) set connectionTesterClassName to its old default of com.mchange.v2.c3p0.DefaultConnectionTester; 2) set connectionTesterClassName to the name of a custom ConnectionTester implementation with a public no-arg constructor; 3) set a non-null preferredTestQuery; or 4) set a non-null automaticTestTable. If any connectionTesterClassName is explicitly set, the provided ConnectionTester implementation will be used. If preferredTestQuery or automaticTestTable are set, but no connectionTesterClassName is provided, an instance of com.mchange.v2.c3p0.DefaultConnectionTester will be used to perform Connection tests.
If any of these conditions apply, the following section documents how Connection testing with a ConnectionTester works in c3p0.
c3p0 can be configured to test the Connections that it pools in a variety of ways, to minimize the likelihood that your application will see broken or "stale" Connections. Pooled Connections can go bad for a variety of reasons -- some JDBC drivers intentionally "time-out" long-lasting database Connections; back-end databases or networks sometimes go down "stranding" pooled Connections; and Connections can simply become corrupted over time and use due to resource leaks, driver bugs, or other causes.
c3p0 provides users a great deal of flexibility in testing Connections, via the following configuration parameters:
idleConnectionTestPeriod, testConnectionOnCheckout, and testConnectionOnCheckin control when Connections will be tested. automaticTestTable, connectionTesterClassName, and preferredTestQuery control how they will be tested.
When configuring Connection testing, first try to minimize the cost of each test. If you are using a JDBC driver that you are certain supports the new(ish) jdbc4 API — and if you are using c3p0-0.9.5 or higher! — let your driver handle this for you. jdbc4 Connections include a method called isValid() that should be implemented as a fast, reliable Connection test. By default, c3p0 will use that method if it is present.
However, if your driver does not support this new-ish API, c3p0's default behavior is to test Connections by calling the getTables() method on a Connection's associated DatabaseMetaData object. This has the advantage of being very robust and working with any database, regardless of the database schema. However, a call to DatabaseMetaData.getTables() is often much slower than a simple database query, and using this test may significantly impair your pool's performance.
The simplest way to speed up Connection testing under a JDBC 3 driver (or a pre-0.9.5 version of c3p0) is to define a test query with the preferredTestQuery parameter. Be careful, however. Setting preferredTestQuery will lead to errors as Connection tests fail if the query target table does not exist in your database prior to initialization of your DataSource. Depending on your database and JDBC driver, a table-independent query like SELECT 1 may (or may not) be sufficient to verify the Connection. If a table-independent query is not sufficient, instead of preferredTestQuery, you can set the parameter automaticTestTable. Using the name you provide, c3p0 will create an empty table, and make a simple query against it to test the database.
The most reliable time to test Connections is on check-out. But this is also the most costly choice from a client-performance perspective. Most applications should work quite reliably using a combination of idleConnectionTestPeriod and testConnectionOnCheckin. Both the idle test and the check-in test are performed asynchronously, which can lead to better performance, both perceived and actual.
For some applications, high performance is more important than the risk of an occasional database exception. In its default configuration, c3p0 does no Connection testing at all. Setting a fairly long idleConnectionTestPeriod, and not testing on checkout and check-in at all is an excellent, high-performance approach.
It is possible to customize how c3p0's DefaultConnectionTester tests when no preferredTestQuery or automaticTestTable are available. Please see Configuring DefaultConnectionTester.isValidTimeout and Configuring DefaultConnectionTester.QuerylessTestRunner.
Advanced users may define any kind of Connection testing they wish, by implementing a ConnectionTester and supplying the fully qualified name of the class as connectionTesterClassName. If you'd like your custom ConnectionTesters to honor and support the preferredTestQuery and automaticTestTable parameters, implement UnifiedConnectionTester, most conveniently by extending AbstractConnectionTester. See the api docs for more information.
If you know you want to use the jdbc4 Connection.isValid() method, but you want to set a timeout, consider writing a trivial extension of IsValidConnectionTester.
See? These really are trivial to write.
If you don't know what to do, try this:
If you know your driver supports the JDBC 4 Connection.isValid(...) method and you are using c3p0-0.9.5 or above, don't set a preferredTestQuery. If your driver does not support this method (or if you are not sure), try SELECT 1 for your preferredTestQuery, if you are running MySQL or Postgres. For other databases, look for suggestions here. Leave automatedTestTable undefined.
Begin by setting testConnectionOnCheckout to true and get your application to run correctly and stably. If you are happy with your application's performance, you can stop here! This is the simplest, most reliable form of Connection-testing, but it does have a client-visible performance cost.
If you'd like to improve performance by eliminating Connection testing from clients' code path:
Set testConnectionOnCheckout to false
Set testConnectionOnCheckin to true
Set idleConnectionTestPeriod to 30, fire up you application and observe. This is a pretty robust setting, all Connections will tested on check-in and every 30 seconds thereafter while in the pool. Your application should experience broken or stale Connections only very rarely, and the pool should recover from a database shutdown and restart quickly. But there is some overhead associated with all that Connection testing.
If database restarts will be rare so quick recovery is not an issue, consider reducing the frequency of tests by idleConnectionTestPeriod to, say, 300, and see whether clients are troubled by stale or broken Connections. If not, stick with 300, or try an even bigger number. Consider setting testConnectionOnCheckin back to false to avoid unnecessary tests on checkin. Alternatively, if your application does encounter bad Connections, consider reducing idleConnectionTestPeriod and set testConnectionOnCheckin back to true. There are no correct or incorrect values for these parameters: you are trading off overhead for reliability in deciding how frequently to test. The exact numbers are not so critical. It's usually easy to find configurations that perform well. It's rarely worth spending time in pursuit of "optimal" values here.
So, when should you stick with simple and reliable (Step 2 above), and when is it worth going for better performance (Step 3)? In general, it depends on how much work clients typically do with Connections once they check them out. If clients usually make complex queries and/or perform multiple operations, adding the extra cost of one fast test per checkout will not much affect performance. But if your application typically checks out a Connection and performs one simple query with it, throwing in an additional test can really slow things down.
That's nice in theory, but often people don't really have a good sense of how much work clients perform on average. The best thing to do is usually to try Step 3, see if it helps (however you measure performance), see if it hurts (is your application troubled by broken Connections? does it recover from database restarts well enough?), and then decide. You can always go back to simple, slow, and robust. Just set testConnectionOnCheckout to true, testConnectionOnCheckin to false, and set idleConnectionTestPeriod to 0.
But do, always, be sure that your tests themselves are performant, either because your JDBC driver supports Connection.isValid(...) or because you have set an efficient preferredTestQuery !!!