Lesson 3: Open Database Connectivity

Defining ODBC

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) technology provides a common interface for accessing heterogeneous SQL databases. ODBC uses SQL as a standard for accessing data.

Figure 6.11 How a client application communicates with a database through ODBC

Using ODBC and SQL, a single application can access different SQL Database Management Systems (DBMS) through a common set of code. ODBC enables a developer to build and distribute a client/server application without targeting a specific DBMS. Database drivers are added to link the application to the user 's choice of DBMS. The ODBC Driver Manager loads the appropriate database drivers to allow the client application to access the database.

The following features illustrate ODBC's flexibility:

• Applications are not tied to one vendor's proprietary API.
• SQL statements can be explicitly included in source code or they can be constructed dynamically at run time. An application can ignore the underlying data communications protocols.
• Data can be sent and received in a format that is convenient to the application.

ODBC is designed in conjunction with the emerging International Standards Organization (ISO) Call-Level Interface standard.