Using ODBC in Jaguar?

dmayle asks: "I've decided to do some Mac-based database development, and, since Apple was kind enough to include ODBC Administrator, I decided to use that as a starting point. The only problem is, there doesn't seem to be ANY documentation anywhere about it. I know that PostgreSQL for Mac includes an ODBC driver, but again, I can's seem to find out any docs on how to use it... Are there any developers using this tool out there, and where did you learn how to do it?"

Re:ODBC == Microsoft

[GoRK]

While it's true that MS was a huge proponent of ODBC and had a major hand in implementing it, ODBC is probably one of the only things that they probably helped do right and didnt get their grubby hands in to restrict and control. For more of the history of ODBC, why it's cool, and how it relates to things today, a good read is the chapter on ODBC in the O'Reily Perl DBI book. Much of the perl DBI is drawn and made possible by the existence of ODBC. Incedentally, ODBC MS has twice tried to supplant ODBC in its OS's with OLEDB and some newer ActiveX crap, but ODBC continues to hang on due to it's wide support and general standard implementation.

Sorry I don't have any more about ODBC for OS/X, but since it's unix-like, it's got a 95% chance of being UNIXODBC or iODBC. It's also undoubtadely documented on apple's developer site, which is probably why you can't find any documentation anywhere else.

Re:ODBC == Microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, use OLEDB where possible on a Microsoft platform. It includes speed and stability and feature advances over ODBC!

The answer.

[/dev/trash]

ODBC Jaguar [google.com]

Re:The answer.

[dmayle]

Hate to tell you, but I did that exact same search. You'll find 20 news articles that say *Wow they decided to include ODBC in Jaguar* and no details. It's all fluff. I wouldn't have submitted to Slashdot if I hadn't done a lot of research first

man pages?

[BenTheDewpendent]

I've seen screen shots with man pages in the console. Why not try that?

iODBC

[bdash]

A good place to starting looking is at iODBC [iodbc.org]. They provide an SDK with the necessary headers and library to get started. OpenLink [openlinksw.com] provides ODBC drivers for various database engines, as well as a 'Cross-Platform ODBC SDK'.

Re:New hardware on apple.com?

[vincent99]

No, you're probably just trying to get there through WorldCom's crappy network. When the site is being updated the store goes offline and says they'll be back soon.

Check out Mac SQL

[Corvus9]

There is a Mac OS X SQL front end called Mac SQL available from RunTime Labs [rtlabs.com] that includes ODBC drivers for mSQL, mySQL, and Sybase. I believe Metro Technologies [metrotechnologies.com] has Mac OS X ODBC drivers for Oracle.

The person to ask about this is Marc Lilback; he wrote the ODBC stuff for OS X; his web site at www.lilback.com [lilback.com] has drivers, sample code, and ports, but I believe he charges for this. Mac SQL databases are his livelihood.

Proof of Concept

[Paul Burney]

From the about tab in the ODBC Administrator application, I saw that they were using iodbc librarys. A quick search of the web boards at iodbc.org turned up this from an iODBC developer:

http://www.iodbc.org/wwwboard/messages/1423.html [iodbc.org]

"OpenLink has a full complement of Drivers for use on Mac OS X, including Jaguar. Single-Tier drivers supporting connections to MySQL, MS SQL Server, Sybase, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Virtuoso, and the Generic Multi-Tier driver, are all available for download now.

They all come with the OpenLink ODBC Administrator (a/k/a the iODBC Administrator), and the Aqua-Frameworks implementation of iODBC. Other OEM and third-party drivers will become available in the future, I'm sure.

Apple ships the Darwin-level iODBC components, at this time, with a rudimentary ODBC Administrator -- only capable of keyword-value pair DSN configuration. This is a proof-of-concept application, while the OpenLink ODBC Administrator is a mature application, capable of delivering driver-specific configuration panels, based on Setup Libraries shipped with the Drivers."

So maybe he's right and the OSX app is just a proof of concept. The interface looks very similar to the ODBC interface on windows. If you have experience with windows ODBC, you might be able to get the mac one working.

This comes with some docs...

[jeblucas]

Marc Liyanage's one-click postgreSQL [entropy.ch] comes with some html docs for ODBC setup and config. Use the defaults and they're dropped in
/usr/local/pgsql/doc/html/

[i]ODBC on Jaguar

[MacTed]

Check out the iODBC.org website [iodbc.org] and the OpenLink Software website [openlinksw.com].

The ODBC components in Jaguar (and Darwin) are based on the open-source iODBC project, supported, coordinated, and maintained by OpenLink Software.

The ODBC Administrator supplied by Apple is a very basic application, capable only of assisting the knowledgeable user in keyword-value pair editing and creation of DSNs.

The OpenLink ODBC Administrator, a/k/a the iODBC Administrator, is installed with all OpenLink Single-Tier and Multi-Tier Drivers for ODBC. This Administrator handles Setup libraries, and provides full GUI dialogs for DSN configuration when the Drivers have been built for such.

Full user documentation is in progress, and developer documentation is available now from the iODBC.org site. Free support for both may be found through the iODBC.org web forum, or through the OpenLink Support pages. You can also chose to write directly to <[e-mail]> [mailto].

Enjoy,

Ted Thibodeau Jr Consultant OpenLink Software