ODBC is an interface between computer applications and databases that allows any software to connect to any database regardless of platform or method. It works as a translator through drivers, making updates to the interface easy. Applications have built-in ODBC drivers that communicate with database drivers, creating a nearly foolproof interface.
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an interface between computer applications and databases. This interface provides a buffer level between the database and the software used to access it. This means that any software can connect to any database regardless of platform or method, as long as both systems use ODBC. In essence, the two programs speak in their own languages and the Open Database Connectivity routines translate the information.
The original Open Database Connectivity system was developed by Microsoft® in 1992. This system worked very well in some circumstances, but not in others. In 1995, Microsoft® released version 3 of the system, which coincided with its adoption as the core standard for structured query language (SQL). As part of the SQL standard, the interface has become widely used for all sorts of different database purposes.
Prior to the adoption of Open Database Connectivity, programs that used databases needed coded ways to communicate with different styles of databases. The programmers believed that these systems would need access to three different types of databases; then, three different commands were programmed into the system for each function. The databases had the same redundancy; each program required information to be sent to a specific manor. If one of these programs was syntax disabled or encountered an unknown system, no communication was possible.
This all changed with the development and implementation of Open Database Connectivity. This essentially works as a translator. Database and application programmers write the methods they use in the syntax used by ODBC. When the application requests information, it sends the query and ODBC translates its syntax into the methods used by the database. The database returns the response and ODBC translates it into the syntax required by the application.
This process works through an installed set of drivers. Each database is associated with a specific Open Database Connectivity driver. This driver does the actual translation between the database and the outside world. If specification changes make the driver obsolete, only the driver needs to be changed; the rest of the database can remain unaffected. This allows for updates to the interface without much additional coding work.
Applications essentially have built-in Open Database Connectivity drivers. These drivers are part of the application programming. They can be updated when the program gets patches, but they are separate from the standard ODBC system.
The real communication happens between these sets of drivers. Program drivers translate information before it is actually sent. The database drivers receive the request in their own language, obtain the information and send it, again in ODBC syntax. The program drivers take the information and translate it into the program language. This two-level system creates an interface that is nearly foolproof, as current system designers create their own interfaces.
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