How third-party applications use xfODBC

When a user opens a 32-bit ODBC-enabled application, such as Crystal Reports, and accesses a Synergy database, the following components are called or read: ODBC Driver Manager, the xfODBC driver, your connect file, the system catalog, and the Synergy database.

1. Crystal Reports accessing a Synergy database in a stand-alone configuration.

Crystal Reports accessing a Synergy database in a standalone configuration

The xfODBC process can be summarized by the following steps:

1. The ODBC-enabled application (Crystal Reports in figure 1) makes a request to the ODBC Driver Manager, which loads the xfODBC driver and establishes an interface between the application and xfODBC.
2. xfODBC reads the data environment variables set in the environment setup file (optional).
3. xfODBC reads the information in the DSN.
4. xfODBC prompts the user for any information that’s missing from the DSN.
5. xfODBC reads the connect file and then locates the system catalog and data files.
6. xfODBC reads the system catalog for a road map of the Synergy database and then verifies the username and password against the registered users in the system catalog.
7. The ODBC-enabled application passes the SQL-based request to xfODBC, which then passes it to the Synergy database driver.
8. The Synergy database driver retrieves the requested data and passes it on to xfODBC, which “translates” it into a form recognized by the ODBC-enabled application.