1.1 Introduction

The Dharma DataLink SDK allows users to access proprietary storage systems through the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface.

The ODBC SDK supports two different configurations for different network environments.

• The ODBC SDK Desktop configuration implements a “single-tier” ODBC architecture where the ODBC tool, the Dharma DataLink Desktop Driver, and the proprietary data all reside on the same Windows 95, Windows 98, or NT computer.
• The ODBC SDK Client/Server configuration provides network access to your proprietary data. The ODBC tool and the Dharma DataLink driver run on Windows or UNIX clients, while the ODBC SDK server library runs on the UNIX or NT server hosting the proprietary storage system.

This manual describes how to add data sources for both configurations (Chapter 2), and provides detailed reference material about the ODBC and SQL support they offer (Chapters 3, 4, and 5).

What is ODBC?

The ODBC interface enables Windows applications to access data from a variety of data sources while insulating the applications from differences between them. The ODBC standard specifies two major components:

• A library of function calls that allows applications to connect with a database system and issue requests. Chapter 3 details Dharma DataLink support.
• Syntax for Structured Query Language (SQL) statements, based on existing standards. Chapters 4 and 5 provide detailed reference material about the SQL interface to the ODBC SDK.