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'In [[computing]], '''Open Database Connectivity''' ('''ODBC''') provides a standard [[software]] [[application programming interface|API]] method for using [[database management system]]s (DBMS). The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of [[programming language]]s, database systems, and [[operating system]]s. == History== ODBC uses as its basis the various [[Call Level Interface]] (CLI) specifications from the [[SQL Access Group]], [[X/Open]] (now part of [[The Open Group]]), and the [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]/[[International Electrotechnical Commission|IEC]]. Microsoft, in partnership with [[Simba Technologies]], created ODBC by adapting the SQL Access Group CLI. It released ODBC 1.0 in September 1992. After ODBC 2.0, Microsoft decided to align ODBC 3.0 with the CLI specification making its way through X/Open and ISO. In 1995, SQL/CLI became part of the international SQL standard (ISO/IEC 9075-3 -- Information technology -- Database languages -- SQL -- Part 3: Call-Level Interface (SQL/CLI)). ==Bridging configurations == === JDBC-ODBC bridges=== A [[JDBC-ODBC Bridge|JDBC-ODBC bridge]] consists of a [[JDBC driver]] which employs an ODBC driver to connect to a target database. This driver translates JDBC [[Method (computer science)| method]] calls into ODBC function calls. Programmers usually use such a bridge when a particular database lacks a JDBC driver. [[Sun Microsystems]] included one such bridge in the [[JVM]], but viewed it as a stop-gap measure while few JDBC drivers existed. Sun never intended its bridge for production environments, and generally recommends against its use. Independent data-access vendors {{As of|2008|alt= now}} deliver JDBC-ODBC bridges which support current standards for both mechanisms, and which far outperform the JVM built-in.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} === ODBC-JDBC bridges=== An ODBC-JDBC bridge consists of an [[ODBC]] driver which uses the services of a [[JDBC driver]] to connect to a database. This driver translates ODBC function calls into JDBC method calls. Programmers usually use such a bridge when they lack an ODBC driver for a particular database but have access to a JDBC driver. ==Implementations == ODBC implementations run on many operating systems, including [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Unix]], [[Linux]], [[OS/2]], [[OS/400]], [[IBM i5/OS]], and [[Mac OS X]]. Hundreds of ODBC drivers exist, including drivers for [[Oracle database|Oracle]], [[IBM DB2|DB2]], [[Microsoft SQL Server]], [[Sybase]], [[Pervasive SQL]], [[IBM Lotus Domino]], [[MySQL]], [[PostgreSQL]], and desktop database products such as [[FileMaker]], and [[Microsoft Access]]. ===Microsoft ODBC === [[Microsoft]] released the first ODBC product as a set of [[DLL]]s for [[Microsoft Windows]]. {{As of|2006}}, Microsoft ships its own ODBC with every supported version of Windows: compare [[Microsoft Data Access Components]]. === iODBC=== {{main|iODBC}} [[iODBC]] (Independent Open DataBase Connectivity) offers an [[open source]], platform-independent implementation of both the ODBC and X/Open specifications, generally used on platforms other than [[Microsoft Windows]]. [[OpenLink Software]] maintains and supports the iODBC project and distributes its software under the [[GNU Lesser General Public License| LGPL]] and/or [[BSD licenses| BSD License]]. [[Apple Computer|Apple]] chose to bundle iODBC into [[Mac OS X]] and [[Darwin (operating system)|Darwin]], starting with Darwin 6.0 and [[Mac OS X v10.2]]. Programmers have ported iODBC to several other operating systems and hardware platforms, including [[Mac OS 9]], [[Linux]] (x86, [[x86-64]], [[IA-64]], [[DEC Alpha|Alpha]], [[MIPS architecture|MIPS]], and [[ARM architecture|ARM]]), [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] ([[SPARC]] and x86), [[AIX operating system|AIX]], [[HP-UX]] (PA-RISC and Itanium), [[Compaq]] [[Tru64]], [[Digital UNIX]], [[Dynix]], Generic UNIX 5.4, [[FreeBSD]], [[Data General|DG]]-UX, and [[OpenVMS]]. ===IBM i5/OS === {{main|IBM i5/OS}} In the [[IBM i5/OS]] (formerly OS/400), IBM's DB2 implementation supports ODBC. The vendor provides ODBC Drivers for Windows and JDBC as part of the Server and Client Packages. === UnixODBC=== {{main|unixODBC}} The [[unixODBC]] project — headed, maintained and supported by [[Easysoft]] Director Nick Gorham — {{As of|2006|alt=has become}} the most common driver-manager for non-Microsoft Windows platforms (and for one Microsoft platform, [[Interix]]). It offered full ODBC3 support and [[Unicode]] in advance of its competitors. Most [[Linux]] distributions {{As of|2006|lc=on}} ship it, including [[Red Hat]], [[Mandriva Linux|Mandriva]] and [[Gentoo Linux|Gentoo]]. Several vendors of commercial databases, including [[IBM]] ([[IBM DB2|DB2]], [[Informix]]), [[Oracle database|Oracle]] and [[SAP AG|SAP]] ([[Ingres (database)|Ingres]]) use it for their own drivers. It includes GUI support for both [[KDE]] and [[GNOME]]. Many [[open source]] projects — including [[OpenOffice.org]] and [[Glade Interface Designer|Glade]] — also make use of it. It builds on any platform that supports the [[GNU]] [[autoconf]] tools (in other words, most of them). For licensing, UnixODBC uses the [[GNU Lesser General Public License|LGPL]] and the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]. ===UDBC === UDBC, a cross-platform fusion of ODBC and the [[SQL Access Group| SAG]] CLI, enabled non-Windows-based DBMS-independent application development at a time when shared-library implementations on Unix occurred only sporadically. This effort laid the foundation for the [[iODBC]] [[open source]] project. == See also == * [[JDBC]] * [[ODBC Administrator]] == External links== * [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/110093 Microsoft ODBC Overview] * [http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iseries/v5r3/topic/rzaii/rzaiiodbcadm.htm OS400 and i5OS ODBC Administration] * [http://www.roth.net/perl/odbc/conf/sld002.htm Presentation slides from www.roth.net] * [http://www.dbmsmag.com/9403d13.html Understanding ODBC and multidatabase adaptive programming] * [http://www.dbmsmag.com/9604d53.html Understanding ODBC 3.0 and OLE DB] * [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ken_North/Odbcfact.HTM The ODBC Hall of Fame] * [http://www.openlinksw.com/info/docs/odbcwhp/tableof.htm Early ODBC White Paper] * [http://www.iodbc.org/index.php?page=languages/php/odbc-phpHOWTO ODBC & PHP Installation & Config Guide] * [http://www.macsos.com.au/MacODBC/ Mac OS Platforms ODBC Guide] * [http://www.easysoft.com/developer/interfaces/odbc/linux.html What is ODBC?] * [http://blogs.msdn.com/data/archive/2006/12/05/data-access-api-of-the-day-part-i.aspx Microsoft ODBC & Data Access APIs History Article] * [http://www.ibprovider.com/eng/documentation/odbc_escape_sequences_eng.html The Compete Guide to ODBC Escape Sequences in Firebird and Interbase] === Sources of ODBC drivers === * [http://www.SQLSummit.com/ODBCVend.htm Comprehensive catalog of ODBC Drivers at SQLSummit.com] * [http://www.unixodbc.org/drivers.html List of ODBC Drivers at unixODBC.org] == References == {{reflist}} {{Databases}} [[Category:Application programming interfaces]] [[Category:Data management]] [[Category:Databases]] [[Category:SQL data access]] [[ca:Open Data Base Connectivity]] [[cs:Open Database Connectivity]] [[de:Open Database Connectivity]] [[es:Open Database Connectivity]] [[fr:Open database connectivity]] [[ko:ODBC]] [[id:Open Database Connectivity]] [[it:ODBC]] [[lt:ODBC]] [[nl:Open DataBase Connectivity]] [[ja:Open Database Connectivity]] [[no:ODBC]] [[pl:ODBC]] [[pt:ODBC]] [[ru:ODBC]] [[fi:ODBC]] [[sv:ODBC]] [[th:ODBC]] [[vi:ODBC]] [[tr:ODBC]] [[uk:ODBC]] [[zh:ODBC]]'