Knowledge Center

What is ODBC?

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an open standard Application Programming Interface (API) for accessing a database. In 1992, Microsoft contracted Simba to build the world's first ODBC driver; SIMBA.DLL, and standards-based data access was born. By using ODBC statements in a program, you can access files in a number of different common databases. In addition to the ODBC software, a separate module or driver is needed for each database to be accessed.

What is JDBC?

Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is an API specification for connecting programs written in Java to the data in popular databases. The API lets you encode access request statements in Structured Query Language (SQL) that are then passed to the program that manages the database. It returns the results through a similar interface. JDBC is very similar to ODBC, and with a small "bridge" program, you can use the JDBC interface to access databases through the ODBC interface. For example, you could write a program designed to access many popular database products on a number of operating system platforms. For example, when accessing a Microsoft Access database on a PC running Microsoft's Windows 2000, your program with JDBC statements would be able to access the Microsoft Access database.

What is OLE DB?

OLE DB is Microsoft's strategic low-level application program interface (API) for access to different data sources. OLE DB includes not only the Structured Query Language (SQL) capabilities of the Microsoft-sponsored standard data interface Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), but it also includes access to data other than SQL data.

What is OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO)?

OLE DB for Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a set of objects and interfaces that builds on OLE DB to provide access to multi-dimensional data stores. OLAP applications typically handle huge volumes of complexly interrelated data, and OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO) enables users to perform sophisticated data analysis through fast, consistent, and interactive access to a variety of possible views of the underlying information (MSDN, Microsoft, 2003). OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO) is a freely published Microsoft specification in the area of multi-dimensional data processing. Learn more at XMLforAnalysis.com and OLE DB for OLAP Data Access Information.

What is XML for Analysis?

XML for Analysis (XMLA) is a specification for a set of XML message interfaces that use the industry standard Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to define data access interaction between a client application and an analytical data provider working over the Internet. The XMLA Council has jointly published the XMLA Specification that allows corporate developers, third party tool vendors and other parties to query analytical data providers in a standard way. This new standard is expected to accelerate the adoption of Internet business intelligence software and increase the market for those technologies. Hyperion Solutions Corporation, Microsoft Corp. and SAS Institute Inc. co-chair the XMLA Council. To learn more about XMLA, visit XMLforAnalysis.com.

What is ADO?

ADO is the data access model provided for Visual Basic users to write applications for the Microsoft Windows platform. ADO is also used by VBScript, which is a specialized language that is used primarily to program functionality for web pages. ADO provides a relational view of data through the Connection, Command and Recordset objects.

What is ADO.NET?

ADO.NET provides a clean data access model for .NET that is both familiar to the users of ADO and addresses the .NET world with new objects like the ADO.NET DataSet. ADO.NET has been designed to be the single data access model used by all server processes and applications running on the Microsoft platform.

What is ADO MD?

ADO MD provides easy access to multi-dimensional data from Visual Basic. New objects like the CubeDef, Dimension, Cellset, Axis, Level, and Member allow VB programmers to browse schemas, query a cube and retrieve the results.

What is ADO MD.NET?

While ADO MD can be used with .NET through compatibility mechanisms, ADO.NET needs to be extended to incorporate multi-dimensional data concepts. To this end, Microsoft has been working on ADO MD.NET, which was released for public beta on 31 July, 2003.