Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC) technology provides a common interface for accessing
heterogeneous SQL databases. ODBC is based on Structured
Query Language (SQL) as a standard for accessing data.
This interface provides maximum interoperability: a single
application can access different SQL Database Management
Systems (DBMS) through a common set of code. This
enables a developer to build and distribute a client/server
application without targeting a specific DBMS. Database
drivers are then added to link the application to the
user's choice of DBMS.
Benefits:
ODBC Applications are not tied to a proprietary
vendor API.
ODBC 3.0 aligns with, and is a
superset of, the X/Open and ISO Call Level Interface
(CLI) standards.
MySQL was created by Michael Widenius,
(monty@analytikerna.se). It is a small, fast and capable
relational database in the tradition of Hughes Technologies
Mini SQL database. (NOTE that the MySQL database package
contains no Mini SQL source code, it does however share some
of the same look and feel both in the C API and in the names
and function of many of its programs. This has been done
to make it relatively easy to port Mini SQL applications
and utilities to MySQL.)
The client portion of MySQL has been placed in the public domain while most
of the rest of MySQL is distributed under the license listed in appendix A
of this document. Small portions are covered by either Berkeley style copyright,
or GNU licenses.
David Axmark created and maintains the autoconf portion of MySQL, along with
maintaining the MySQL FAQ.
The MySQL database system is free for most uses, but if support is an issue
for you, that is an option as well. Having said that, I urge people to register
MySQL if they can afford it, even if the license would not require that they
do so. Everyone benefits by supporting this sort of product. At this point
I know a lot of people out there are making money off of MySQL. If you are
one of them than I ask you as a favor to me for writing the manual, and to
Monty for writing MySQL PLEASE register. If you need a pragmatic reason, how
are you going to feel if MySQL goes away? How are your customers going to feel?
MySQL is ODBC Compliant, which
means once you setup a DSN (data source name) on your local
PC that points to an online mySQL database, you can actually
add/delete and update records from your local PC. Furthermore
more, you may also use programming languages such as Visual
Basic to open and manipulate this database.
Note: In order to connect to and manipulate
an online mySQL database, you must be connected to the Internet.
Why: MySQL with
ODBC can potentially cut information management costs considerably
Who: Businesses
with an existing offline database can migrate it to the
Internet and eliminate the need for two separate online/offline
databases.
How:
Existing windows programs can be still be used to
access the same database,
as long as ODBC is used.
Separate CGI and Visual Basic programs can manipulate
the same database.