Creating ODBC data sources

Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard application programming interface for connecting client applications to Windows-based database management systems.

Many client applications, including application development systems, use the ODBC interface to access SQL Anywhere. When connecting to the database, ODBC applications typically use ODBC data sources. An ODBC data source is a set of connection parameters, stored in the registry or in a file.

Caution

Storing user IDs, encrypted or unencrypted passwords, and database keys in a data source is not recommended.

The SQL Anywhere ODBC driver is named dbodbc12.dll, and it is located in install-dir\bin32.

For more information about using SQL Anywhere with ODBC, see ODBC conformance.

You can use ODBC data sources to connect to SQL Anywhere databases from the following applications:

  • Sybase Central, Interactive SQL, and the SQL Anywhere Console utility.

  • All SQL Anywhere utilities.

  • Sybase PowerDesigner Physical Data Model and InfoMaker.

  • Any application development environment that supports ODBC, such as Microsoft Visual Basic, Sybase PowerBuilder, and Borland Delphi.

  • SQL Anywhere client applications on Unix. On Unix, the data source is stored as a file.


Storing SQL Anywhere connection parameters
Create ODBC data sources using the Connect window
Create ODBC data sources using the ODBC Data Source Administrator
Create an ODBC data source with the dbdsn utility
Create an ODBC data source on Mac OS X
Using file data sources on Windows
Using ODBC data sources on Windows Mobile
Using ODBC data sources on Unix