Raising the Standard: Why Choose a Wire Protocol ODBC Driver?

In 2001, DataDirect Technologies introduced an innovative new architecture for ODBC drivers that eliminate the need for the database vendor's client software. These drivers are called "Wire Protocol" because they communicate with the database at the most direct level possible, the database's low-level wire API. This low-level API is the same protocol used by the database vendor's proprietary client libraries. Incorporating the wire protocol design in the ODBC driver increases data access speeds by as much as five times that of other ODBC drivers, and makes applications much easier to configure, deploy and maintain.

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When you're ready to try DataDirect's wire protocol ODBC drivers in your application, download an evaluation version or contact us if you need assistance in evaluating the product.

ODBC - Where are We Today?

The ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) standard is widely accepted in the industry today for implementing database connectivity because it allows applications to work in heterogeneous environments. Because an ODBC application is neither platform- nor database-specific, an ODBC driver enables any ODBC-supported application to access the database. Coding to a standard like ODBC makes applications more portable, reduces support complexity, and improves functionality without compromising performance.

But despite its wide adoption in the software industry, in some places there remain a few misconceptions about the functionality and performance of ODBC as compared to coding natively to the database. (Coding an application natively to the database means writing custom code to an individual database's proprietary API (application programming interface) to access the data.) These misconceptions stemmed from the very early days of ODBC, when the standard was still in development. Today's ODBC drivers not only provide a viable - but also a preferable - alternative to coding natively. ODBC drivers are capable of exposing all of a database's functionality. In fact, DataDirect Technologies' latest generation of "wire protocol" ODBC drivers has been independently proven to actually outperform applications that are coded natively!

Eliminating Database Client Libraries

The latest generation of DataDirect Technologies' drivers raises the ODBC standard to a new level, which doesn't even compare to coding natively when it comes to performance and ease of installation. This new generation of DataDirect drivers are called "Wire Protocol" ODBC drivers because they eliminate the need to install and maintain the database vendor's client libraries, communicating with the database at its low-level wire protocol API.

Until now, whether you coded natively to the database or to the ODBC standard, you still had to install the database vendor's proprietary software on each client to access a particular database server - for example, Oracle Net (formerly Net8 and SQL*Net) for Oracle, OpenClient for Sybase, Informix Connect for Informix, and so forth. Both the client libraries and the ODBC drivers must be obtained, installed, configured, and debugged. Installing and supporting different versions of the client software for different database versions for different applications can become time-consuming and complicated.

How Do Wire-Level ODBC Drivers Work?

DataDirect wire protocol drivers communicate with the database at the most direct level possible - the database's wire protocol. The wire protocol API is what sends low-level commands to the database. It's the same protocol used by database vendor's client libraries. Wire protocol APIs are unwieldy, undocumented, and often not available to the public, so developers do not write to this low-level API. With DataDirect wire protocol drivers, all the software needed to connect to the database is in the driver itself; it generates the required native calls to the database.

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Benefits of Using an ODBC Wire Protocol Driver

Simpler Deployment and Maintenance
Companies deploying applications that use DataDirect wire protocol drivers will find them much easier to implement. DataDirect wire protocol ODBC drivers contain all the software needed to access the database, eliminating the prerequisite of having the client libraries loaded and configured on every computer prior to using the ODBC driver. If an application needs to access three databases that each has their own native API, the benefit is even more obvious. Using wire protocol ODBC drivers reduces the complexity of deploying ODBC applications by one half, compared to the traditional 2-step ODBC drivers that leverage "classic" ODBC architecture.

Smaller Footprint
Using wire protocol drivers also results in a smaller footprint for the application. The larger footprint with the traditional ODBC architecture can directly impact the performance and stability of a system or network. This is especially true where multiple versions of a database or multiple database technologies need to be accessed. Because different client libraries are required to be installed for each version or database technology, each one consumes memory and CPU time. In addition, DLL conflicts are common. This leads to increased support activities and complex upgrades.

By contrast, only one wire protocol ODBC driver per database brand is required. This dramatically reduces overhead on support and upgrades, and DLL conflicts are virtually eliminated because all of the drivers are from the same vendor.

Dramatically Increased Performance
Because wire protocol drivers eliminate a layer of translation between the application and the DBMS, the rate of data access speed is increased so much that independent tests have proven that wire protocol drivers actually outperform applications coded natively. How is this possible? Not only do these new drivers remove a communication layer, they can control which calls are made to the DBMS, and these calls can be optimized to just those required for accessing data.

No "Down-Side"

There is no downside to using DataDirect wire protocol drivers. You get "better than native" performance and all the benefits of coding to a widely adopted, high-level interface like ODBC - without the hassles of installing and maintaining database client middleware. For software vendors that embed ODBC drivers that means:

  • Getting products to market faster, and eliminating one potential source of problems during testing and customer pilots and implementation.
  • Your product isn't dependent on database client software, so you're ensured that the product configurations you test and package with our drivers are the ones that your customers will be using.
  • Eliminating testing time on multiple versions of the database client software.
  • Reduced support requirement.

For corporations and other organizations, using wire protocol drivers translates into considerable savings in time and expense:

  • Developers can focus on core business logic instead of testing and maintaining data access.
  • No time is spent QA testing old applications against the latest database client libraries in order to roll out new applications that need access to the latest database functionality
  • Fewer issues arise during testing and there are fewer areas to check for problems.
  • Organizations retain flexibility in the event that the preferred database vendor changes during the course of the project.

All of this means IT projects get to put into production more quickly, and total cost of ownership is significantly reduced because the need to obtain, install, and support the database vendor's middleware client libraries is eliminated.

The DataDirect Difference

DataDirect Technologies' total focus is on data access middleware. No other company can match our experience or strategic position in the data access market. We helped build the original ODBC specification, and were the first vendor to ship commercial ODBC drivers. DataDirect Technologies is consistently the first vendor to comply with each new revision of the ODBC standard and with each new database version.

DataDirect Technologies is the first and only vendor to offer a full suite of wire-protocol ODBC drivers for Oracle, DB2, MS SQL Server, Sybase, Informix, and MySQL. We have a full line of data connectivity solutions, so you can get all your needs met by working with just one company. Live customer support is available by phone 24x7, along with interactive web services, e-mail and fax. We have the largest knowledgebase in the industry on ODBC, applications, and middleware. Our support consistently ranks above a 95% approval rating from our customers and is one of the main reasons our data connectivity technology has become the industry standard, relied on by 4.5 million users and over 300 software vendors.