Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)

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Note: The following is an excerpt from the official Microsoft Open Database Connectivity site. It is provided here as a convenience and is not authoritative. Refer to the original document as the authoritative reference.

Data sheet for Microsoft Open Database Connectivity

Title	Microsoft Open Database Connectivity
Acronym	ODBC
Version	3.8
Operating Systems
Downloads	https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15
NOTE	Each DBMS supplies its own download of an ODBC Driver that is specific to the DBMS.
Supported Languages
License	Microsoft Developer Services Agreement
Reference	https://cdn.simba.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ODBC_specification.pdf

Introduction

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a widely accepted Application Programming Interface (API) for database access. It is based on the Call-Level Interface (CLI) specifications from Open Group and ISO/IEC for database APIs and uses Structured Query Language (SQL) as its database access language.

ODBC is designed for maximum interoperability - that is, the ability of a single application to access different database management systems (DBMSs) with the same source code. Database applications call functions in the ODBC interface, which are implemented in database-specific modules called drivers. The use of drivers isolates applications from database-specific calls in the same way that printer drivers isolate word processing programs from printer-specific commands. Because drivers are loaded at run time, a user only has to add a new driver to access a new DBMS; it is not necessary to recompile or relink the application.