REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 12, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) version 3.0 Software Development Kit (SDK). ODBC is an open-standard API that allows applications to access heterogeneous SQL data. Using ODBC, applications are insulated from underlying network and database implementations. With this new version of ODBC, Microsoft is fully aligned with both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
“Microsoft is more excited than ever about the growing success of ODBC as the open standard for database access,”
said David Vaskevitch, vice president of database and transaction products at Microsoft.
“We are gratified by its adoption by the key standards bodies, and we are even more pleased that communities of third-party ODBC suppliers are building successful businesses around ODBC on Microsoft® and other platforms. There can be no greater success for a technology, and this is a win-win situation for customers and the industry.”
Enhanced Performance and Functionality
Many new features have been added to ODBC 3.0, including a faster and more flexible way to bind to multiple sets of data, capability for better error diagnostics and the ability to process bulk operations. These features continue to advance ODBC’s performance and flexibility when accessing a range of SQL-based data sources.
“Our goal with ODBC 3.0 was to eliminate any need for a developer to use a proprietary API to get to a specific SQL data source,”
said Bill Baker, general manager in the desktop and business systems division at Microsoft.
“With the extensible application programming model, richer exception and status reporting, new data binding enhancements, and better support for bulk operations and extended data types found in this release, we feel we’ve really accomplished that goal. A key part of our success is our close work with the ODBC software vendors that base their business on this technology.”
Specification Driven Through Leading Industry Vendors
The ODBC 3.0 specification was developed in conjunction with a number of leading industry vendors through the SQL Access Group. This process has established a vendor-neutral standard for SQL data access that has become both a widely accepted and heavily used technology.
“The release of the Microsoft ODBC 3.0 specification signifies the maturation and market acceptance of the ODBC standard,”
said Ed Peters, vice president and general manager of DataDirect at INTERSOLV Inc.
“By aligning ODBC 3.0 with open standards such as X/Open and ISO, Microsoft has strengthened users’ ability to access data both easily and universally. As one of the early proponents and pioneers of data access, INTERSOLV is pleased to work with Microsoft to deliver robust ODBC 3.0 technology.”
Pricing and Availability
The ODBC version 3.0 SDK is available for immediate download from the Microsoft ODBC Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/odbc/ and is scheduled to be available to Microsoft Developer Network Professional, Enterprise and Universal subscribers later this year.
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