The ODBC Solution : Open Database Connectivity in Distributed Environments

Now you can learn how to tap the power of open systems quickly and easily! This practical book/disk package gives you everything you need to write consistent applications that communicate readily with any ODBC data source in a client/server environment. In a hands-on tutorial format with extensive examples, this easy-to-use guide shows you exactly how to use all ODBC features to maximize connected database functionality.
This is the first book to cover ODBC in such depth - you'll find all the tools and techniques you need to achieve true open connectivity across a wide array of platforms and products. You'll learn how to reach different data sources, how to maximize the functionality of every connected database, and all the proven techniques you need to become a proficient ODBC programmer.
The accompanying disk contains all of the source code in C, which makes ODBC applications easy to create. With the tutorial and the disk, you can create a full-featured database application for Windows, UNIX, Macintosh, or OS/2 that can reach any ODBC data source.

This textbook is designed for use in a college-level computer-science class. As such, The ODBC Solution has the characteristics, both good and bad, of an academic work. On the positive side, this book does a superior job of clearly showing how to open a connection to a database, perform operations upon the database, and close the connection. That is what ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) is all about, after all, and any book that communicates the concepts and procedures involved in ODBC database transactions deserves praise. The authors do a fine job of explaining the ins and outs of the various API (application programming interface) calls, as well as SQL (structured query language) statements and the basics of transaction processing. All the relevant source code (in C) appears on the companion diskette.

Negatively, this book covers only the outmoded ODBC 2.0 API, and the authors fail to say much about networked database applications, particularly as they apply to the Internet and intranets. (There's no coverage of three-layer database architecture, for instance.)

Taken as a whole, The ODBC Solution is appropriate if you're brand-new to ODBC; particularly if you need to work with a legacy system that employs ODBC 2.0.