iODBC is a port of the iODBC driver manager. This library manages drivers for different databases (local or remote) on behalf of applications to allow transparent connectivity to different database architectures. iODBC supports ODBC 3 and users of earlier versions might find slight changes to the API have been introduced. This is due to differences in the ODBC 2.5 and 3 specifications and is not a limitation of iODBC itself.
This port has been implemented in a number of discreet sections:
- A stubs library to link to the client application
- A server application to manage the drivers using iODBC
- A module to enable to communication between the client and server components
All necessary resources have been allocated by RISCOS Ltd.
Note that due to the way this port has been carried out there are a few restrictions about how ODBC compliant applications have to be written:
- Client applications must be WIMP based
- The main WIMP poll loop may require modifications
Neither of these restrictions should cause problems and the operation of the driver manager should be largely transparent.
Documentation on how to write ODBC compliant applications is beyond the scope of this site. The MSDN site should have links leading to ODBC documentation and examples.
Due to the fact that many drivers require 64 bit integers this application requires a 32 bit Shared C Library. RISC OS 5 and RISC OS 6 users already have a suitable library installed. Note however that any client applications can be linked against whatever library the developer chooses as they simply call the module that communicates with the driver manager. Of course, a suitable Shared C Library must be loaded in order for the driver manager itself to function.
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