Introduction to the Oracle Database ODBC Driver

1.1 About the ODBC Driver

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) provides a standard interface that allows one application to access many different data sources. The application's source code does not have to be recompiled for each data source. A database driver links the application to a specific data source. A database driver is a dynamic-link library that an application can invoke on demand to gain access to a particular data source. Therefore, the application can access any data source for which a database driver exists.

The ODBC interface defines the following:

A library of ODBC function calls that allows an application to connect to a data source, execute structured query language (SQL) statements, and retrieve results.
SQL syntax based on the SQL-99 specification.
A standard set of error codes.
A standard way to connect to and log in to a data source.
A standard representation for data types.

The following figure shows the components of the ODBC model. The model begins with an ODBC application making a call to the Driver Manager through the ODBC application program interface (API). The Driver Manager can be either the Microsoft Driver Manager or the unixODBC Driver Manager. While using the ODBC API, the Driver Manager makes a call to the ODBC driver. The ODBC driver accesses the database over a network communications link using the database API. This figure shows an ODBC application accessing three separate databases.

Figure 1-1 Components of the ODBC Model

Description of "Figure 1-1 Components of the ODBC Model"

1.2 What Is the Oracle Database ODBC Driver

The Oracle Database ODBC driver enables ODBC applications on Microsoft Windows, and on UNIX platforms such as Linux, Solaris, and IBM AIX to have read and write access to Oracle® Databases through the ODBC interface using the Oracle Net Services software.

The Oracle Database ODBC driver uses the Oracle Call Interface (OCI) client and server software to submit requests to and receive responses from a data source. The Oracle Net Services communications protocol is used for communications between the OCI client and the Oracle server.

The Oracle Database ODBC driver translates the ODBC SQL syntax into the syntax that can be used to access a data source. When the results are returned from the data source, the Oracle Database ODBC driver translates them back to the ODBC SQL syntax.

The following figure shows the Oracle Database ODBC driver architecture as described in the preceding paragraphs.

Figure 1-2 Oracle Database ODBC Driver Architecture

Description of "Figure 1-2 Oracle Database ODBC Driver Architecture"

* The Oracle ODBC Resource data definition language (DLL) file (sqresxx.dll), where xx represents the language abbreviation, contains all pertinent language information; the default resource file used is sqresus.dll.

The Oracle Database ODBC driver complies with ODBC version 3.52 specifications. For UNIX platforms, the ODBC driver is certified with unixODBC Driver Manager version 2.3.11.

1.3 Certifications for Oracle Database ODBC Driver on Windows

The following table summarizes the Windows operating system versions on which the Oracle Database ODBC driver is certified.

Table 1-1 Oracle Database ODBC Driver Is Certified on Windows Operating Systems

Driver Version	Database Version	Operating Systems
ODBC Release 23ai, Version 23.3.0.0	As Supported by OCI	See Software Required.
ODBC Release 21c, Version 21.1	As Supported by OCI	See Software Required.
ODBC Release 19c, Version 19.1.0.0.0	As Supported by OCI	See Software Required.
ODBC Release 18c, Version 18.1.0.0.0	As Supported by OCI	See Software Required.
ODBC 12.2.0.1.0	As Supported by OCI	See Software Required.

Parent topic: Introduction to the Oracle Database ODBC Driver

1.4 Certifications for Oracle ODBC Driver on UNIX Platforms

Oracle has certified the Oracle Database ODBC driver for release 23.3 against Driver Manager (DM) 2.3.11 on the following listed UNIX platforms.

These UNIX platforms are shown in Table 1-2. On 64-bit UNIX platforms, DM 2.3.11 is built with the -DBUILD_REAL_64_BIT_MODE -DSIZEOF_LONG=8 -fshort-wchar flags and then certified.

Table 1-2 Certification Matrix for Oracle Database ODBC Driver on UNIX Platforms

Platform	32-bit/64-bit	UnixODBC DM version
Linux x86-64	32-bit, 64-bit	2.3.11
Solaris SPARC64	32-bit, 64-bit	2.3.11
AIX5L	32-bit, 64-bit	2.3.11
Solaris x64	32-bit, 64-bit	2.3.11
HPUX.IA64	32-bit, 64-bit	2.3.11
ZLinux	32-bit, 64-bit	2.3.11

To learn more about each operating system and Oracle Client software requirements, see the Installation guide of each platform.

Parent topic: Introduction to the Oracle Database ODBC Driver

1.5 Driver Conformance Levels

ODBC defines the conformance levels for drivers in two areas:

ODBC application programming interface (API)
ODBC SQL-99 syntax

The Oracle Database ODBC driver supports all core API functionality and a limited set of Level 1 and Level 2 functionalities.

The Oracle Database ODBC driver is broadly compatible with the SQL-99 Core specification, which is a superset of the SQL-92 Entry Level specification. Applications must call SQLGetInfo with the appropriate information type to retrieve a list of SQL-99 supported features.