open database connectivity (ODBC)

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an application interface developed by Microsoft that defines how a database client can access relational and non-relational databases in Windows environments.

ODBC was one of the first standardized database access technologies and is comparable to the database query language SQL. ODBC accesses the ODBC Driver Manager application-controlled by means of the ODBC code and this accesses the Relational Database Management System( RDBMS) via the ODBC driver.

Originally ODBC was only available for Windows, in the meantime there are also implementations for Unix and Apple interfaces.