ODBC on the Macintosh
The Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) application programminginterface (API) allows applications to access data in databasemanagement systems (DBMS) using Structured Query Language (SQL)as a standard for accessing data. The interface permits maximuminteroperability - a single application can access differentdatabase management systems. This allows an application developerto develop, compile, and ship an application without targetinga specific DBMS. Users can then add modules called database driversthat link the application to their choice of database managementsystem.
- Apr 03, 2020 MySQL is an SQL database server which has been ported to a number of operating systems, including Linux and Win32. An ODBC driver for the server is also available. MySQL is free unless you are selling a product that includes the mySQL server.
- Actual ODBC Pack (for Mac OS - compatible with MacOS 11 Big Sur) The Actual ODBC Pack installs the latest version of several Actual Technologies ODBC drivers. The included drivers and their version numbers are listed below: Actual SQL Server 5.1.2 (Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase).
- OpenLink Software have been providing ODBC solutions for Mac users for several years. They have recently been active in this area and have a number of software releases. Open-source (BSD and LGPL licensed) iODBC Driver Manager for Mac OS 8.6-9.x and Mac OS X, complete with SDK for the building of both ODBC Drivers and Applications.
Odbc drivers for mac free download. Arm Mbed OS Arm Mbed OS is an open source embedded operating system specifically designed for the Internet of Th. Oct 31, 2020 Our software library provides a free download of Actual ODBC Driver for Access 3.2 for Mac. The actual developer of this Mac application is Actual Technologies. The program is included in System Tools. This Mac download was scanned by our antivirus and was rated as virus free.
ODBC allows the front end client programmer to abstractly querya proprietary backend RDBMS database without overly tying theclient application to that particular vendor.
When programming to interact with an ODBC compliant databaseyou need to communicate via the ODBC protocol (a combination ofODBC API function calls and the SQL language). The ODBC Managerwill figure out how to contend with the type of database you aretargeting. Regardless of the database type you are using, allof your calls will be to the ODBC API. All that you need to dois have installed an ODBC driver that is specific to the typeof database you will be using.
With the introduction of REALbasicthe rapid development of AppleMacintosh applications which can act as front-ends to industrialstrength backend databases (such as SYBASE, ORACLE etc. running onSun UNIX systems) is now possible.Until now, however, the information on the missing link 'ODBC'for the Macintosh has been difficult to obtain. This web pageis designed to help you go from concept, to REALbasic ODBC clientapplication, to backend ODBC compliant Database, to product.
This page is about ODBC and not JDBC.
FileMaker Pro now has SQL Builderand ODBC import capabilities as well as an ODBC Server plugin.
I have written a Sybase Browser and isqlreplacement application for Win32 and Macintosh.
Some ODBC Background:
ODBC on Macintosh is implemented via shared libraries installedin the System Folder. The GUI interface to these libraries isgenerally a control panel, called 'ODBC Setup PPC' (orsome such) and the most important step in setting up an ODBC connectionis creating an 'ODBC data source'.
The 'ODBC Setup PPC' control panel will allow youto administer multiple ODBC data sources.
An 'ODBC data source' connection is simply the logicaljoin between the backend database (and the details needed to talkto that server e.g. DBMS logon name, password, IP address) andthe specific ODBC driver (shared lib) for that particular vendor(e.g. SYBASE). These connections are either of type 'UserDSN' (User Data Source Name. i.e. a remote database wherea network connection is required), 'File DSN' (FileData Source Name, i.e. a local file on this machine contains theinformation) or 'Server DSN' (Server Data Source Name,i.e. a minimally configured client interfaces with an centrallyadministered ODBC master server that communicates with the DBMS).This information gives the ODBC driver manager the ability toact as the conduit between the Client Macintosh application andthe DBMS.
With the connections set, the ODBC system is now enabled asthe Babel fish between your client application and the backendserver. Remember your app (or REALbasic) talks to the ODBC sharedlibraries and not the actual DBMS.
Some Mac ODBC Middleware software:
| ODBC Aware Vendors | Notes |
| Actual Technologies, LLC | Our Actual ODBC Driver for SQL Server lets Mac OS X user connect to Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase databases from applications such as Excel and FileMaker Pro. The driver supports both types of SQL Server authentication and requires nothing to be installed on the server. It is available for $30 USD for a single user license. A non-expiring demo version is also available from our website. |
| Openlink Software | OpenLink Software have been providing ODBC solutions for Mac users for several years. They have recently been active in this area and have a number of software releases. Open-source (BSD and LGPL licensed) iODBC Driver Manager for Mac OS 8.6-9.x and Mac OS X, complete with SDK for the building of both ODBC Drivers and Applications. Universal Data Access Suite -- a Multi-Tier ODBC solution delivering connectivity from Mac OS 7+ and Mac OS X to most major DBMS on most major OS. Virtuoso -- Internet Data Integration Server. |
| ODBC Gateway by Team FXML | A free, GPL'd ODBC/XML gateway that runs on Windows NT. I have written a REALbasic socket demo that can talk to this WindowsNT server process. It allows ODBC connectivity without installing Macintosh Drivers. |
| Server DSN setup. Allows one primary NT server to manager all ODBC configurations. Macintosh clients simply connect to this Windows NT ODBC router. Augsoft have also recently been very active in this area and have a number of new software releases are available. Excellent info docs are available. NEW NEWS In latest release, the hardware key is NOT required! Latest Downloads | |
MERANT (INTERSOLV/ DataDirect Connect Version 3.02 ODBC interface drivers Manual | v3 ODBC interface compliant drivers. Difficult to find information on their poorly organised web site. Macintosh info is buried deep in the supposedly cross-platform manuals. Seems to have lost Mac focus. The single Mac programmer Peter Kaplan left in mid 1999. FileMaker 4.1 may still be supplying the older INTERSOLV Sybase driver version 3.0.2 PPC. This driver will cause a freeze or crash if it is selected from within the Select Data Source dialog in FileMaker Pro. Has Macintosh ODBC drivers as well as SequeLink ODBC drivers. The later is a 'universal' driver that communicates to the SequeLink Server which in turn connects to the SQL database. Sequelink ODBC driver costs about $100 USD per client in packs of 20. Amazingly, it works well... UPDATE: MERANT recently obtained the services of a new Mac marketing manager who appears keen to reverse MERANT's previous form with Mac ODBC drivers. He seems keen to make them work again - Good Luck Greg Stasko UPDATE 2: MERANT recently out-sourced their ODBC driver sales to www.metrotechnologies.com - MetroTech sell the latest ODBC and Sequelink drivers. UPDATE 3: According to sources, Merant has spun off their DataDirect business in a sale to Golden Gate Capital; what this means to Mac users has yet to be determined. UPDATE 4: According to yet more sources.... RE: ...MERANT's DataDirect division was puchased by Golden Gate Capital which is correct. That portion of the company is now it's own private company called DataDirect Technologies (www.datadirect-technologies.com) and they are still moving forward with their Mac drivers. They have recently released version 4.0 of their ODBC drivers on Mac (all other platforms are at version 4.1) which include a few 'Wire Protocol' drivers which are a real plus. Wire Protocol drivers speak directly to the database rather than through some client software which cuts out the middle man. This not only allows you to connect to DBs with only one piece of software but also speeds things up.It should be noted that File Maker's drivers are actually embeded DataDirect drivers. The latest version of FileMaker Pro uses the 4.0 drivers. The drivers can be purchased directly from DataDirect Technologies or through DataVisions (formerly Metro). As of now there is a single mac developer working on the drivers. Unfortunately, there is no SequeLink 5.3 driver on mac. 5.3 is the latest version. Hope this info is helpful to you. ps, I have also heard rumors of them porting their existing unix drivers to native Darwin/Unix but have no idea if this is actually going to happen. UPDATE 4: According to reliable sources ;-).... 'Metro Technologies, L.L.C. ceased operations on January 31, 2002. The then current CEO (Gary Dotzlaw) and myself (Russell J. Cerqua) started a new company called Datavations LLC. We were able to get the contract with DataDirect to be the primary distributor of their Mac ODBC drivers. You still have a reference to the Metro Technologies website, which is currently being redirected to www.datavations.com, our new company's website.Secondly, there was a management buy-out of the DataDirect business of Merant. The new company is appropriately known as DataDirect Technologies, Inc. While the names Intersolv and Merant are still out there with regards to ODBC drivers, everything is slowly but surely changing over to DataDirect Technologies, Inc. Thanks for your time, and when you have a moment, check out our website at www.datavations.com.' |
| Visigenic - ODBC for Macintosh. | Have stopped making ODBC driver for all platforms. Was the basis for the 'Apple ODBC' libraries. There are reports that the older versions are starting to fail under MacOS 9. Visigenic was purchased by Intersolv, before the merger that builtMerant. |
| Primebase (uses the visigenic drivers, also has a Mac SQL server) | Very active Mac focussed company. Looks interesting. RB has a native plugin. Go to this web site and you might also find the old Visigenic/Apple ODBC control panel software |
| FileMaker Pro (See also the FM ODBC plugin by Professional Data Management ) | Mac CD has older INTERSOLV ODBC installer. Installer adds drivers for Oracle, text , dBase and FoxDb, Sybase databases (Sybase driver has crashing bug - need to upgrade to SequeLink Drivers). Started to offer FM as an ODBC server via ODBC server plugin. |
| Microsoft Office 98 | MSOffice 98 CD contains 'a Value Pack' with drivers to different dbms including MS SQL, Oracle, etc. |
| Apple MacODBC | Apple have signed a mult-year agreement with MERANT to ensure that ODBC drivers are available. Is this just more MERANT lip-service? Time will tell. v2 ODBC interfaces were marked as unsupported but are now no longer available for download from Apple's web site. |
| REALbasic Various drivers | Allows the creation of powerful client applications that can access ODBC Data Sources. |
JDBC
JDBC is a version of ODBC for Java applications. MacintoshJava applications can have the JDBC libraries included in theruntime application to allow connection to the RDBMS without installationof the ODBC shared libraries. This allows the app to by launchedwithout installing any extra information into the system folderand works very well. For more info on JDBC try Metrowerksand Sun.
Some helpful links:
Glossary:
Free Odbc Driver For Mac Numbers Code
- ODBC - Open Database Connectivity
- API - application programming interface
- DBMS - (Relational) Database Management System
- SQL - Structured Query Language
- Babel fish - A mythical fish that when placed in the ear, translates every spoken language into your native tongue (from Author Douglas Adams).