Technology

ODBC

Open DataBase Connectivity.

ODBC stands for talking to a database in a normalised language. This makes use of specific databases transparent to the user.

ODBC technology is standard available on all Windows platforms. However, you always need to install the ODBC specific driver for the database type you want to work with.

To use an ODBC driver for a specific database you need to configure the driver first. Go to the control panel of your system to call the ODBC administrator. Look for this icon:

When selected you will get the next screen:

DSN stands for Data Source Name. When using an ODBC connection later, you will always refer to this name. The DSN can be defined on user level and will therefore only be available for the user you currently are working under. More typical is defining the DSN on system level. It will then be available to all users logging in the system.

Press Add... , in the User DSN or System DSN tab, to add a new DSN. You will be prompted with the list of available drivers on your workstation.

Select your driver and follow the instructions provided by your database supplier.