Open database connectivity (ODBC) standards provide
a common interface to a variety of databases such as DB2, Microsoft
Access, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server databases. Specifically,
ODBC standards define application programming interfaces (APIs) that
enable an application to access a database if the ODBC driver complies
with the specification.
Tip
If a
SAS/ACCESS engine is available for a database,
then performance is better with the
SAS/ACCESS engine rather than with the ODBC interface.
The basic components and features
of ODBC include the following:
-
ODBC functionality is provided
by three components: the client interface, the ODBC driver manager,
and the ODBC driver. SAS provides the
SAS/ACCESS interface to ODBC,
which is the client interface. For PC platforms, Microsoft developed
the ODBC Administrator, which is used from the Windows Control Panel
to perform software administration and maintenance activities. The
ODBC driver manager also manages the interaction between the client
interface and the ODBC driver. On UNIX platforms, a default ODBC driver
manager does not exist and SAS does not provide a driver manager with
SAS/ACCESS to ODBC. For UNIX platforms, you should obtain an ODBC
driver manager from your ODBC driver vendor.
-
The ODBC administrator defines
a data source as the data that is used in an application and the operating
system and network that are used to access the data. You create a
data source by using the ODBC Administrator in the Windows Control
Panel and then selecting an ODBC driver. You then provide the information
(for example, data source name, user ID, password, description, and
server name) that is required by the driver to make a connection to
the desired data. The driver displays dialog boxes in which you enter
this information. During operation, a client application usually requests
a connection to a named data source, not just to a specific ODBC driver.
-
An ODBC Administrator tool is not
available in a UNIX environment such as
HP-UX, AIX, or Solaris. During an install, the driver creates
a generic
.odbc.ini
file that can be
edited to define your own data sources.
The following figure
shows how ODBC is used to establish connectivity to Oracle databases: