3.2 ODBC Driver Managers

An ODBC Driver Manager is a library that manages communication between the ODBC-aware application and any drivers. Its main functionality includes:

• Resolving Data Source Names (DSN).

• Driver loading and unloading.

• Processing ODBC function calls or passing them to the driver.

Most ODBC Driver Manager implementations also include an administration application that makes the configuration of DSN and drivers easier. Examples and information on ODBC Driver Managers for different operating systems are listed below:

• Windows: Microsoft Windows ODBC Driver Manager (odbc32.dll). It is included in the Windows operating system. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/110093 for more information.

• macOS: ODBC Administrator is a GUI application for macOS. It provides a simplified configuration mechanism for the iODBC Driver Manager. You can configure DSN and driver information either through ODBC Administrator or through the iODBC configuration files. This also means that you can test ODBC Administrator configurations using the iodbctest command. See http://support.apple.com/kb/DL895 for more information.

• Unix:

  • unixODBC Driver Manager for Unix (libodbc.so). See http://www.unixodbc.org, for more information.

  • iODBC Driver Manager for Unix (libiodbc.so). See http://www.iodbc.org, for more information.