INFO: OLE DB Provider for ODBC Now an ODBC 3.5 Core Component

• Microsoft Open Database Connectivity, version 3.5
• Microsoft OLE DB, version 1.5

SUMMARY

With the release of ODBC 3.5, the OLE DB Provider for ODBC version 1.5 is now a required core component of ODBC.

MORE INFORMATION

OLE DB provides support for both traditional relational data sources and non-relational data stores. OLE DB implicitly uses UNICODE strings. With version 3.5, ODBC now offers UNICODE support.

The 1.1 version of the OLE DB Provider for ODBC was written to specific UNICODE specifications within ODBC 3.0. Because these specifications have changed in ODBC 3.5, you must have version 1.5 of the OLE DB Provider for ODBC when using ODBC 3.5.

If you install or redistribute ODBC 3.5 onto a computer with OLE DB 1.1 and ODBC 3.0, you will have problems with any OLE DB application on that computer that uses the OLE DB Provider for ODBC, unless you also install the OLE DB Provider for ODBC, version 1.5. Version 1.1 of the ODBC Provider will not work with ODBC 3.5 because it relies on ODBC 3.0 code that is no longer present in ODBC 3.5.

While applications based on ODBC 3.5 can run without the presence of the OLE DB Provider for ODBC, distributing ODBC 3.5 without including the provider means installation of your application could cause problems with pre-existing OLE-DB-based applications that use that provider.