[WinMac] a recent ODBC post on Evangelist

Belinda J. Wagner Ph.D.(bwagner[at]wfubmc.edu)
Thu, 1 Oct 98 09:59:36 -0500

On 9/29/98 8:59 AM, EvangeList Digest <
owner-evangelist-digest@public.lists.apple.com> wrote:

>
>Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 11:45:02 -0700
>From: John Halbig <john@garage.com>
>Subject: Tidbit - Mac ODBC Post Explained
>
>This tidbit is from:
>
>JASON KULAS, <JKULAS@bcbsct.com>
>
>What is ODBC?
>
>Regarding the 9/17 post on Mac ODBC...ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity)
>is a cross-platform "standard" Microsoft rolled-out some years back. The
>idea was to make it easier for various productivity apps (anything from a
>db-type package to a spreadsheet) to talk to various types of data
>storage formats, and to make it easier for developers to write apps that
>talk to whatever type of data engine was appropriate for the job at hand
>(i.e.--keep using your fave development environment/language, use any
>data engine you needed, ODBC could make the connection work for you).
>Instead of your spreadsheet needing code for how to deal w/ xbase formats
>vs Oracle vs MS Access vs...or the developer having to find an API
>package in his chosen language that implements access to a particular
>data format...now everyone could just work to ODBC and let ODBC handle
>the particular flavor of data engine being used. ODBC has successfully
>driven out some products designed to mediate between an app and a
>"foreign" db format, but, despite the fact that ODBC can be very slow in
>some situations vs "native" db connectivity, it has enabled a variety of
>products to talk to any of a variety of db formats with some "ease",
>though initially configuring & installing ODBC drivers can sometimes be a
>problem.
>
>At its simplest level, the way it works is that the app (say a
>spreadsheet) knows how to utilize data from a database by "talking" in
>the language of ODBC...it makes ODBC API calls. Then depending upon what
>type of database it needs to talk to an ODBC driver must be present that
>can translate from generic ODBC requests to the specific steps required
>to do the action on the particular data format being used. By supporting
>ODBC, rather than say just Oracle, the spreadsheet app now can work with
>any data engine that can work with ODBC.
>
>What does the Augsoft product do?
>
>What the product mentioned <http://www.augsoft.com/router/> does is give
>you a "client" app that can run on your Mac alongside your main app (a
>productivity app like Office or something you've custom coded). The main
>app can make ODBC calls to work with data in a database. The client will
>transmit those calls up to a server program on an NT server. That server
>program has ODBC drivers that let it talk to whatever db necessary, then
>return the result back to the Mac.
>
>Why is it good for Mac users?
>
>The value of this product is that it can let ANY ODBC-aware Mac apps
>(such as Hypercard, Office, FileMaker, Code Warrior, Visual Cafe,
>PowerObjects, MacPERL, 4D, MPW, OMNIS 7, Tcl/Tk, etc) talk to ANY
>ODBC-aware data engines that aren't available on the Mac platform and not
>supported by any other Mac-based ODBC solution (like MS Access, which is
>fairly popular, despite being a so-so product). Also, being server based,
>as ODBC drivers change (& you can end up needing an unwieldy number of
>them), instead of having to update lots of individual computers that
>drivers installed on them you can update just the server & lower your
>maintenance costs.
>
>So if you're required to work with some db standard you don't have to
>ditch your Mac if you can use the ODBC route to get your work done.
>
>Disclaimer: I don't work for Augsoft, I don't think highly of ODBC, & I
>love my Mac (which lives at home)

posted to the Win-Mac coop list by:

Belinda J. Wagner, Ph.D. voice: (336) 716-2992
Research Assistant Professor fax: (336) 716-6642
Department of Plastic Surgery
Wake Forest Univ. School of Medicine email: bwagner@wfubmc.edu
Medical Center Blvd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27157

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