Re: ODBC FROM iSeries - huh? -- MIDRANGE-L

As I understand it, SQL CLI is a facility for communicating with any server
that supports the X/Open standard.  The AS/400 is one such server, so your
SQL CLI code could access data on any AS/400 it could talk to over the
network.

Taking that further, it could also talk to other databases, provided that
database had an X/Open compliant "server" listening for and processing the
requests.  I have no idea what databases (Oracle, SQL Server etc.) provide
such a server in their base product, perhaps none of them?

Here is one company, however, that does appear to provide this:

http://www.easysoft.com/products/products.phtml

Looking at the literature for their ODBC to ODBC bridge product it appears
that they run a "server" that accepts the requests, processes them by
talking to a locally installed ODBC driver (such as MS Access) and passes
the results back.

I did some Usenet searches in the Linux groups for MS Access, and was able
to find references to this product.

So getting back to your original question, the AS/400 provides a
"universal" driver that would require an appropriate server on the other
end of the connection to process the requests.  Since Access does not
provide a true "server" mode, I think the only way to talk to it would be
through some third party.  It is conceivable to me, however, that something
like SQL Server could in theory support this.

It is pretty interesting, I wish I had the time to really pursue it and
perhaps try that Easysoft product.

Mark






                      "Walden H.
                      Leverich"                  To:      
"'midrange-l@midrange.com'" <midrange-l@midrange.com>
                      <WaldenL@TechSoftI         cc:
                      nc.com>                    Subject: ODBC FROM iSeries - 
huh?
                      Sent by:
                      midrange-l-admin@m
                      idrange.com


                      04/09/02 10:54 AM
                      Please respond to
                      midrange-l






OK, I've seen several posts like the following:

>However, the iSeries can access outside data sources through DDM or ODBC.

which claim that the iSeries can use ODBC to access data on another
machine.
IIRC there was even a thread about this the other week. However, can
someone
please explain this to me? I'm familiar with the SQL CLI, but that is a
method for interfacing with the database layer in a platform independent
manner, NOT a facility for accessing data on another machine.

As I understand the SQL CLI I could write a C program on the iSeries that
used the SQL CLI to access the database. In theory I could then take that C
source code and compile it in Windows and it would access ODBC. Fine, but
that is not the same as saying that the iSeries can access data using ODBC.

What I want to know is the following: Can I take my SQLServer or Oracle or
MySQL or ... ODBC drivers and load them on the iSeries so my programs can
access data on these remote machines. I think not, but others seem to feel
differently, please explain.

-Walden


------------
Walden H Leverich III
President
Tech Software
(516) 627-3800 x11
(208) 692-3308 eFax
WaldenL@TechSoftInc.com
http://www.TechSoftInc.com

Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.
(Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.)

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