Understanding ODBC

ODBC stands for Open Data Base Connectivity. An ODBC data source is a set of configuration information that specifies at least the following:

• An ODBC driver designed to read from a particular database format.

• Depending on the database format, the name of either a directory or file containing one or more tables.

• A name for this set of information.

It is a technology that allows programs to read information from different data sources without having to understand specific details of the particular database format. This is done through the use of ODBC drivers. Because of the large number of available ODBC drivers, BarTender is able to read data from an enormous variety of data sources. These include every major database and spreadsheet format, as well as text files other than standard delimited text files or fixed-width fields text files.

Setting the Database Platform option of the Add Database Connection Wizard to ODBC Data Source allows BarTender to import data from any data source for which you have an ODBC driver. Although using a named ODBC data source does not require advanced knowledge of ODBC or the ODBC Administrator, understanding the basics of ODBC may be helpful.

Related Topics

• ODBC Drivers
• ODBC Data Source Administrator
• Connecting to an ODBC Data Source

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