Open Database Connectivity Wikipedia. In computing, Open Database Connectivity ODBC is a standard application programming interface API for accessing database management systems DBMS. The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of database systems and operating systems. An application written using ODBC can be ported to other platforms, both on the client and server side, with few changes to the data access code. ODBC accomplishes DBMS independence by using an ODBC driver as a translation layer between the application and the DBMS. The application uses ODBC functions through an ODBC driver manager with which it is linked, and the driver passes the query to the DBMS. An ODBC driver can be thought of as analogous to a printer driver or other driver, providing a standard set of functions for the application to use, and implementing DBMS specific functionality. An application that can use ODBC is referred to as ODBC compliant. Any ODBC compliant application can access any DBMS for which a driver is installed. Drivers exist for all major DBMSs, many other data sources like address book systems and Microsoft Excel, and even for text or comma separated values CSV files. ODBC was originally developed by Microsoft and Simba Technologies during the early 1. Call Level Interface CLI standardized by SQL Access Group in the Unix and mainframe field. ODBC retained several features that were removed as part of the CLI effort. Full ODBC was later ported back to those platforms, and became a de facto standard considerably better known than CLI. The CLI remains similar to ODBC, and applications can be ported from one platform to the other with few changes. HistoryeditBefore ODBCeditThe introduction of the mainframe based relational database during the 1. Generally these systems operated together with a simple command processor that allowed users to type in English like commands, and receive output. The best known examples are SQL from IBM and QUEL from the Ingres project. These systems may or may not allow other applications to access the data directly, and those that did use a wide variety of methodologies. The introduction of SQL aimed to solve the problem of language standardization, although substantial differences in implementation remained. Also, since the SQL language had only rudimentary programming features, users often wanted to use SQL within a program written in another language, say Fortran or C. This led to the concept of Embedded SQL, which allowed SQL code to be embedded within another language. For instance, a SQL statement like SELECT FROM city could be inserted as text within C source code, and during compiling it would be converted into a custom format that directly called a function within a library that would pass the statement into the SQL system. Results returned from the statements would be interpreted back into C data formats like char using similar library code. There were several problems with the Embedded SQL approach. Like the different varieties of SQL, the Embedded SQLs that used them varied widely, not only from platform to platform, but even across languages on one platform a system that allowed calls into IBMs DB2 would look very different from one that called into their own SQLDS. Another key problem to the Embedded SQL concept was that the SQL code could only be changed in the programs source code, so that even small changes to the query required considerable programmer effort to modify. The SQL market referred to this as static SQL, versus dynamic SQL which could be changed at any time, like the command line interfaces that shipped with almost all SQL systems, or a programming interface that left the SQL as plain text until it was called. Deathsmiles 2 Xbox 360'>Deathsmiles 2 Xbox 360. Dynamic SQL systems became a major focus for SQL vendors during the 1. Older mainframe databases, and the newer microcomputer based systems that were based on them, generally did not have a SQL like command processor between the user and the database engine. Instead, the data was accessed directly by the program a programming library in the case of large mainframe systems, or a command line interface or interactive forms system in the case of d. BASE and similar applications. ODBC_drivers_image_3.gif' alt='Access Driver For Odbc' title='Access Driver For Odbc' />Data from d. BASE could not generally be accessed directly by other programs running on the machine. Those programs may be given a way to access this data, often through libraries, but it would not work with any other database engine, or even different databases in the same engine. In effect, all such systems were static, which presented considerable problems. Early effortseditBy the mid 1. Lotus 1 2 3 led to an increasing interest in using personal computers as the client side platform of choice in client server computing. Under this model, large mainframes and minicomputers would be used primarily to serve up data over local area networks to microcomputers that would interpret, display and manipulate that data. For this model to work, a data access standard was a requirement in the mainframe field it was highly likely that all of the computers in a shop were from one vendor and clients were computer terminals talking directly to them, but in the micro field there was no such standardization and any client might access any server using any networking system. ODBC.png' alt='Access Driver For Odbc' title='Access Driver For Odbc' />1 Overview. After installing the ODBC driver, configure it to connect to your ServiceNow instance and to communicate through a proxy server if applicable. The Oracle ODBC driver for Oracle Database enables ODBC applications to connect to Oracle Database. In addition to standard ODBC functions, users can leverage Oracle. SQL Server ODBC driver for Microsoft SQL Server 7. SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2014, SQL Server 2016 and SQL. Forums/getfile/1029/' alt='Access Driver For Odbc' title='Access Driver For Odbc' />By the late 1. Some of these were mainframe related, designed to allow programs running on those machines to translate between the variety of SQLs and provide a single common interface which could then be called by other mainframe or microcomputer programs. These solutions included IBMs Distributed Relational Database Architecture DRDA and Apple Computers Data Access Language. Much more common, however, were systems that ran entirely on microcomputers, including a complete protocol stack that included any required networking or file translation support. One of the early examples of such a system was Lotus Developments Data. Lens, initially known as Blueprint. Blueprint, developed for 1 2 3, supported a variety of data sources, including SQLDS, DB2, FOCUS and a variety of similar mainframe systems, as well as microcomputer systems like d. Base and the early MicrosoftAshton Tate efforts that would eventually develop into Microsoft SQL Server. Driver San Francisco 3D Models more. Unlike the later ODBC, Blueprint was a purely code based system, lacking anything approximating a command language like SQL. Instead, programmers used data structures to store the query information, constructing a query by linking many of these structures together. Lotus referred to these compound structures as query trees. Around the same time, an industry team including members from Sybase Tom Haggin, Tandem Computers Jim Gray Rao Yendluri and Microsoft Kyle Gwere working on a standardized dynamic SQL concept. Much of the system was based on Sybases DB Library system, with the Sybase specific sections removed and several additions to support other platforms. DB Library was aided by an industry wide move from library systems that were tightly linked to a specific language, to library systems that were provided by the operating system and required the languages on that platform to conform to its standards. This meant that a single library could be used with potentially any programming language on a given platform. The first draft of the Microsoft Data Access API was published in April 1. Lotus announcement of Blueprint.