About the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM Guide

The Microsoft OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM Programmer's Guide provides information required to develop applications that use the OLE DB programming interfaces or ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) with Microsoft® SNA Server to access data files in a Systems Network Architecture (SNA) environment.

This guide is intended for programmers writing C or C++ applications that use OLE DB or for programmers writing Microsoft® Visual Basic® applications that use ADO. It provides conceptual information and detailed reference information.

To use this guide effectively, you should be familiar with:

Microsoft SNA Server
One of the following operating environments:
Microsoft® Windows NT®
Microsoft® Windows® 95
SNA concepts

This guide covers the following topics about the Microsoft® OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM:

Using the OLE DB Provider: Describes the value to organizations of integrating OLE DB with host data access.
Goals of the OLE DB Provider: Provides an overview of the goals of the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
The OLE DB Environment: Contains general information about the OLE DB environment.
DDM Record-Level Access: Describes the record-oriented access to host files provided by the Distributed Data Management (DDM) architecture.
Supported Platforms: Contains information on the platforms and host OS/400 and mainframe data set types supported by the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
File and Record Attributes: Describes how file and record attributes are supported using the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
SNA OLE DB Management: Describes the SNA OLE DB Management Console Snap-in used for configuring the OLE DB Provider, Data Sources, and Data Descriptions.
Registry Settings: Describes the registry settings used by the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
OLE DB Programming Considerations: Contains information on some specific programming issues including record locking, client cursor engines, single sign-on, and error codes.
OLE DB Object and Interface Support: Describes in detail the OLE DB objects and interfaces supported by the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
ADO Object, Method, Property, and Collection Support: Describes the ADO objects, methods, properties, and collections supported by the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
ADO Reference: Contains detailed reference information on ADO methods and properties when using the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
Host Column Description: Describes the host column description (HCD) files stored on the PC that allow administrators to describe the host record format.
Character Code Conversions: Describes the hierarchy of parameters that control how characters are converted by the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM based on the host Character Code Set Identifier (CCSID).
Architecture: Describes the architecture used by the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
SDK Components: Describes the SDK components included with the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM.
Sample Programs: Describes the OLE DB and ADO sample programs included with the Microsoft SNA Server SDK.