ODBC Architecture and Database Drivers



ODBC Application Architecture

The diagram below indicates where LPC Consulting's product fits in the ODBC application architecture: ODBC Architecture Diagram

As you can see from the above diagram, your application can access, using the same Smalltalk database logic, any number of underlying databases which have an ODBC- compliant driver. In addition, the same code can be used for the Windows, Win32s, Windows 95, Windows-NT, and OS/2 operating environments, providing portability and flexibility. ODBTalk supports both ParcPlace-Digitalk (Visual Smalltalk and VisualWorks) and IBM (VisualAge) Smalltalk implementations.

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ODBC Information and Resources

Books on ODBC

Using ODBC 2 - 1994
Que Corporation
ISBN # 0-78970-015-8

call 1-800-428-5331 or 317-581-3535

ODBC SDK 2.0 Programming Reference - 1994
Microsoft Press
ISBN # 1-55615-658-8

call 1-800-MS-PRESS or your local computer bookstore

Microsoft ODBC SDK (Software Development Kit)

The ODBC Software Development Kit is available from Microsoft as part of the Microsoft Developer Network, a quarterly technical newsletter and set of CD-ROM's containing the latest releases of Microsoft operating systems and development tools. A Microsoft Developer Network subscription costs from $99 to $499.00 US, depending on the play you choose. Call 1-800-426-9400 or 206-936-8661.

Microsoft FTP site - ODBC directory

Microsoft's ODBC directory at their FTP site contains files with information on the ODBC specification, current information on third-party sources of database drivers, and other topics of interest to developers using ODBC. View the ODBC main directory's README.TXT file for a brief description of what is available there.

Microsoft Automated Faxback System

Call 206-635-2222 (US and Canada) or 206-635-2233 (International) to reach the Technical Sales Information Team faxback system. This automated phone service allows a customer to request documents on specific topics to be faxed to them by specifying a document number. Request document # 1 for an index to all available documents. The following are the ODBC-related topics available at the date of this document:
           730   Accessing the World of Information: ODBC Backgrounder
           731   ODBC Drivers, Third Party Vendor List
           732   ODBC Technical Overview
           733   Writing lnteroperable Applications with ODBC
           734   Jet Database Engine ODBC Connectivity white paper
           735   ODBC and DB-Library: A comparison of the API's
           736   ODBC: Architecture, Performance, and Tuning
           737   Understanding ODBC and OLE

CompuServe

Microsoft and many other vendors have forums on CompuServe where you can post messages/inquiries to vendors' tech support personnel and other users, and download information, software fixes and updates, utilities, code, etc. Some relevant forums you can check are shown below:

Note that LPC Consulting Services posts announcements, files, demos, fixes, etc. to the ParcPlace-Digitalk forum's 3rd Party section (library 4) and to the IBM Smalltalk/VisualAge forum's 3rd Part parts section (library 7).

Internet

There is a vast amount of information of interest to Smalltalk and database developers available on the Internet's thousands of networks and computers. LPC Consulting Services provides online information on LPC, our products and services, our world-wide network of authorized distributors, software fixes, enhancements, interim releases, and demo's on the Internet. You can even obtain Socktalk, our Windows Sockets class library, which has been placed into the public domain, and is available there for Digitalk's Smalltalk/V for Windows and Win32/NT. The web site provides links to other web pages, USENET Newsgroups and FTP sites (including LPC's) also, so you can do everything from one place if your browser supports accessing other URL's.
There are also many other Smalltalk, Object Oriented, and Database Programming Internet Resources which may be of interest to you. If you are relatively new to the Internet, you may wish to check out other World Wide Web sites or use FTP to download files which provide basic information on the Web, Internet resources, and tips on how to search for information. We have compiled a list with links to some of these Web and other Internet sites with information on Smalltalk, Object Oriented & Programming, ODBC & Databases, and World Wide Web & Internet information and search tools.

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Sources of ODBC Database Drivers

The ODBC DLL interface is included with Windows-NT and Windows 95. LPC Consulting Services redistributes the Microsoft ODBC Driver Manager DLL for Windows 3.x . In addition, Microsoft and Intersolv distribute it with their ODBC-compliant database drivers or and some database vendors with their database products . For current information on ODBC and database drivers, visit the ODBC directory at Microsoft's FTP site.

Sybase databases

call 1-800-265-4555 or 519-886-3700

Sybase provides an ODBC implementation bundled with their Watcom-SQL and SQL Anywhere database products.

Microsoft ODBC Desktop Drivers v2.0

call 1-800-426-9400 or 206-936-8661
        .       Access 1.0, 1.1, 2.0
        .       ASCII text files
        .       Btrieve 5.1, 6.x
        .       Dbase 3.0, 4.0
        .       Excel 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 spreadsheet files
        .       FoxPro 2.0, 2.5, 2.6
        .       Paradox 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5

Intersolv Datadirect ODBC Drivers

call 1-800-876-3101 or 919-859-2220
        .              Access
        .              ASCII text files
        .              Btrieve
        .              Clipper
        .              DB2 via DDCS/2 and DDCS/6000
        .              DB2 via MDI
        .              DB2 via Sybase netGateway
        .              DB2/2
        .              DB2/6000
        .              Dbase II,III,IV,V
        .              Excel 5 Workbooks
        .              Excel spreadsheet files
        .              FoxBase, FoxPro
        .              HP Allbase/SQL
        .              HP Image/SQL
        .              Informix 4,5
        .              Ingres
        .              Interbase
        .              Microsoft SQL Server
        .              Netware SQL
        .              Oracle 6,7
        .              Paradox 3,4,5
        .              Progress 6
        .              SQL Server
        .              SQL/400 via DDCS/2 and DDCS/6000
        .              SQL/DS via DDCS/2 and DDCS/6000
        .              SQLBase
        .              Sybase SQL Server
        .              Sybase System 10
        .              Tandem Nonstop SQL
        .              Teradata via MDI
        .              XDB 2,3

Note that not all database formats/gateways are supported by all client platforms

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last edited June 15th, 1996