ODBC

Open DataBase Connectivity is a database programming interface from Microsoft that provides a common language for Windows applications to access databases on a network. ODBC contains function calls that programmers write into their applications, and the ODBC drivers that communicate with the databases.

ODBC drivers can provide links to client/server databases (such as Oracle and SQL Server), or manipulate data for desktop databases (such as FoxPro, Access, and dBASE). An application communicates to ODBC in SQL, but ODBC communicates to the database in the databaseÆs language, supporting SQL and non-SQL databases.