Essay - Databases I. Introduction Some of the Many Standards for Accessing...

Databases

*****. Introduction

Some of the many standards for accessing data include Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), OLE DB, Active Data Objects (ADO) and Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). In ***** constantly changing world of standards, it's often difficult to tell if a standard is a replacement, a compliment or ***** competitor. This paper sorts out these efforts by explaining what place each plays as standards have evolved.

II. Open *****base Connectivity Standard (O*****C)

ODBC is an open standard application programming interface (API) for ***** a relational database (Open Database *****, TechTarget). By using ODBC statements in a program, the application can access files in ********** that support ***** standard. ODBC was created by the SQL Access Group and first released in 1992. Although Microsoft Windows ***** the first to provide an ODBC product, versions now ex*****t ***** most platforms.

ODBC is based on *****d closely aligned with The Open Group standard Structured Query Language (SQL) Call-Level ********** (***** Database Connectivity, TechTarget). It allows programs to use SQL requests that will access databases *****out having to know ***** proprietary *****s ***** the databases. ODBC handles the SQL request and converts it into a request the individual database system understands. In addition to the ODBC software, a separate module or driver is needed for each database to be accessed.

III. OLE DB

According to Microsoft, the creator of OLE DB, OLE DB is "a strategic *****-level programming interface to data across the organization. ***** DB is an ***** specification designed to build on the success of ODBC by providing ***** open standard for accessing all kinds of data." (Comparing OLE DB and *****) Whereas O*****C was created ***** access relati*****al databases, OLE DB is designed ***** relational and non-***** information such as mainframe ISAM/VSAM and hierarchical ********** e-mail ***** file system stores; text, graphical, and geographical data; ***** custom business objects, to name a few.

The major differences between OLD ***** and ODBC are (***** OLE DB and *****):

OLE DB is a component b*****sed specification and ODBC is a procedural based specification

SQL is the core of accessing data ***** ODBC but just one of the means of data access through OLE DB

ODBC ***** constrained to relational data stores; ***** DB supports all forms of data stores (relational, hierarchical, etc)

***** ***** typic*****y provides a richer and more flexible interface for data ***** because it is not tightly bound to a comm*****nd syntax such as SQL in ***** c*****e ***** ODBC

Because of the many advantages of OLE DB over O*****C, ***** positioned OLE DB has a clear successor to ODBC.

IV. Active Data Objects (*****)

***** is a set of ActiveX controls th*****t provide programmatic access to Micros*****t's latest underly*****g data access technologies (Chand, 2000). ADO is based on OLE-DB, a set of Component Object Model (COM) interfaces that most of data sources (with the help of ***** *****rs) ***** implement and expose their ***** contents in a uniform w*****y. ***** other words, OLE-DB is a low-level API