iODBC is an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

initiative managed by OpenLink Software. It is a platform-independent

ODBC In computing, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard application programming interface (API) for accessing database management systems (DBMS). The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of database systems and operating systems. An ...

SDK and runtime offering that enables the development of ODBC-compliant applications and drivers outside the

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

platform. The prime goals of this project are as follows: *Simplify the effort of porting ODBC applications from Windows to other platforms *Simplify the effort of porting ODBC drivers from Windows to other platforms *Create consistent ODBC-utilization experience across all platforms

History

iODBC emerged from a cooperative effort between OpenLink Software and Ke Jin. OpenLink Software produced a Driver Manager-less ODBC SDK that it branded as Universal DataBase Connectivity ( UDBC) in 1993, because of the sporadic nature of shared library implementations across

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

platforms. Ke Jin used UDBC as inspiration for building a Driver Manager for ODBC outside the windows platform. Over time Ke Jin and OpenLink Software decided to merge this effort into a single

offering under the

LGPL The GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) is a free-software license published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the LGPL into their own ...

license. This process occurred at a time when the

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

sought to have iODBC as a

GPL The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general us ...

offering. The delay in determining final licensing status for iODBC led to the emergence of

UnixODBC {{Portal, Free and open-source software unixODBC is an open-source project that implements the ODBC API. The code is provided under the GNU GPL/LGPL and can be built and used on many different operating systems, including most versions of Unix, ...

and led to a

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ei ...

in the platform-independent ODBC SDK and runtime that exists today. Drivers and applications written using either SDK have remained compatible (a tribute to both projects).

External links

iODBC homepage

References

{{reflist SQL data access Middleware Database APIs