Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)

Introduction

ODBC allows an ODBC aware application to interface to a data source directly without any special programming. You can use ODBC to link Fernhill SCADA to any of the following:

Microsoft Office applications
OpenOffice applications
SAP Crystal Reports
Microsoft SQL Server
Any other ODBC aware application

Use Cases

Examples of how you can use ODBC aware applications with Fernhill SCADA include:

Application	Use(s)
Microsoft Excel	Retrieve tag values into a spreadsheet. See Link to Microsoft Excel for a detailed walkthrough.
Microsoft Access	Import tag data into a table in Microsoft Access. See Link to Microsoft Access for a detailed walkthrough.
Microsoft SQL Server	Link tag data into a table in SQL server. See Link to Microsoft SQL Server for a detailed walkthrough.
SAP Crystal Reports	Generate reports using data extracted from Fernhill SCADA. See Link to SAP Crystal Reports for a detailed walkthrough.
Using ODBC From C/C++	Retrieve data or update tag values from a custom application written in the C/C++ language. See Using ODBC from C/C++ for further information.
Using ODBC From Python	Retrieve data or update tag values from a custom application written in the Python language. See Using ODBC from Python for further information.
Using ODBC From CLR	Retrieve data or update tag values from a custom application written in a common runtime language (C#, VB.NET, ...). See Using ODBC from CLR for further information.

DSN

Most ODBC aware applications connect to a database using a DSN. The DSN defines:

Which driver is used.
The database location.
Any other parameters required by the driver.

For further information see Setting up an ODBC DSN.

Schema Information

You can explore the data schema in Fernhill SCADA using the SQL Test Tool. Choose an option from the File, Open Schema menu to browse the schema information.

ODBC API Functions

The Fernhill SCADA ODBC Driver supports these ODBC Version 3 API functions:

Feature	Functions
Manage handles	SQLAllocHandle, SQLFreeHandle, SQLFreeStmt
Manage connections	SQLConnect, SQLDisconnect, SQLDriverConnect, SQLBrowseConnect
Query metadata	SQLTables, SQLColumns, SQLPrimaryKeys, SQLGetTypeInfo, SQLStatistics, SQLSpecialColumns
Access result set metadata	SQLColAttribute, SQLDescribeCol, SQLNumResultCols, SQLRowCount
Bind result set columns	SQLBindCol
Manage parameters	SQLBindParameter, SQLNumParams, SQLDescribeParam
Prepare and execute statements	SQLPrepare, SQLExecute, SQLExecDirect
Fetch result set rows	SQLFetch, SQLFetchScroll, SQLMoreResults
Retrieve column data	SQLGetData
Get and set attributes	SQLGetEnvAttr, SQLSetEnvAttr, SQLGetConnectAttr, SQLSetConnectAttr, SQLGetStmtAttr, SQLSetStmtAttr
Manipulate descriptors	SQLGetDescField, SQLSetDescField, SQLGetDescRec, SQLSetDescRec
Obtain diagnostic information	SQLGetDiagField, SQLGetDiagRec
Obtain driver capabilities	SQLGetFunctions, SQLGetInfo

Further Information

Setting up an ODBC Data Source Name (DSN)

For instructions on setting up an ODBC DSN to Fernhill SCADA.

Data Access

To learn about all the different ways of accessing data from Fernhill SCADA.

SQL

To learn about the SQL statements supported by Fernhill SCADA.

Glossary

For the meaning of terms used in Fernhill SCADA.