Re: No Oracle Client

Let me dispel some myths about ODBC. All MS supplies with ODBC is a thin layer to manage ODBC drivers. So when you want to use ODBC all you are doing is calling the ODBC manager (MS) and asking it to load the ODBC driver(the database vendor's driver). ODBC is just a specification on how to call an ODBC driver (and the driver talks to the database in whatever manner the database knows how to talk to native clients). So in Oracle's case here is what happens.

Let's say MS Access wants to issue a query to an Oracle database via ODBC.(in a high level description)
Access calls the MS ODBC manager and asks to use the Oracle ODBC driver. The MS ODBC manager loads the Oracle ODBC driver. Access issues a command to the ODBC layer (eg select * from emp) for the Oracle ODBC driver.
MS ODBC manager directs the call to the specified ODBC driver - in this case Oracle's ODBC driver.
Oracle's ODBC driver translates what it got to its native API (in this case OCI - Oracle call interface - their public interface) Then the OCI calls talk to UPI - I think- which is Oracle's internal interface and is not public.
These calls go out over sqlnet to the database that was specified in the connection.

So you see ODBC is just a high level api and not a method of how the middleware works.
The concequence is that many people could write an ODBC driver that connects to Oracle. In fact, Oracle does, MS does, Merant or Intersolve does just that. But they all need the middle ware that Oracle does supply. Okay, I did know of one company that did not need the Oracle middleware on the client. Their drivers were very expensive. Why? You needed to install their middleware. They had a process running on the Oracle server. It was this process that used Oracle's middleware on the server. So they were reproducing the functionality that Oracle shipped in the box. So from the client to the server they had written their own type of sqlnet.

So ODBC does not supply the middleware. It seems that way with MS because the bundle in the OS installation the middleware for their database. So it seems like you don't need to install middleware for MS Sqlserver, but it is becasue it is already installed as part of installing a MS windows OS. I don't think Oracle or IBM could convince MS to allow Windows to be shipped with their middleware already installed as part of the OS.

Jim

"Johan Mårtensson" <johan7204_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message news:a6bjs9$e8b$1_at_green.tninet.se...
> How about using ODBC?
>
>
> Jim Kennedy <kennedy-family_at_attbi.com> wrote in message
> news:%xAh8.13919$L7.19287_at_rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
> > While 0040 is good it still needs all the rest of the stuff. (tnsnames
 etc.)
> > Jim
> > "Edwin" <vanmeerendonk_at_wxs.nl> wrote in message
> > news:31354201.0203060655.6bce9436_at_posting.google.com...
> > > I think with ado you can "just" install Oracle Objects for Ole (OO4O).
> >
> >
>
>
Received on Sat Mar 09 2002 - 20:34:05 CET