INFO: Using Visual Basic 5.0 and RDO 2.0 With SQL Server 7.0

ID: Q218992

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 5.0

SUMMARY

When RDO 2.0 was developed for Visual Basic 5.0, SQL Server 7.0 was not yet in development. If you have created an application that uses the version of RDO 2.0 that shipped with Visual Basic 5.0, you may encounter some problems when you use your application to communicate to SQL Server 7.0 with the 3.70 version of the SQL Server ODBC driver. The most common error is:

"Runtime error '5': - Invalid Procedure Call or Argument".

Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise users will not encounter this error. The version of RDO 2.0 that is included with Visual Basic 6.0 supports these Unicode data types.

MORE INFORMATION

SQL Server 7.0 added Unicode data types. Starting with version 3.70 of the SQL Server ODBC driver, Unicode data can be passed to your application. This driver is included with SQL Server 7.0, SQL Server 6.5 Service Pack 5, and ADO 2.1. Previous versions of the SQL Server ODBC driver will not retrieve Unicode data.

Even if you have not modified the structure of the tables to use these new data types, you may encounter problems when using a query such as "SELECT * FROM MyTable." Queries against system tables are most likely to fail because those tables now use Unicode data types in SQL Server 7.0.

There are two ways to continue to develop with RDO 2.0 and SQL Server 7.0.

The first way is to use the ODBCCmpt utility that ships with SQL Server 7.0. This command line utility accepts an application name and creates a registry entry for the SQL Server ODBC driver that tells the driver to communicate with SQL Server 7.0 with SQL Server 6.5 compatibility enabled. For more information on this utility and SQL Server 6.5 compatibility, please see the SQL Server Books OnLine.

You can also place ODBCCmpt in a directory that is part of your Path statement and therefore invoke it from any directory. Do not include the path to your application or its extension:

If you want to run your project in the Visual Basic 5.0 IDE, you will need to specify "VB5" as the application file name for ODBCCmpt.

If you have developed an application called MyRDOApp.Exe, you would execute "ODBCCMPT MyRDOApp" from the command line from the directory where ODBCCmpt resides.

If you have developed an in-process component, you will need to specify the client application that will invoke that component rather than the component.

If your in-process component will be run in Microsoft Transaction Server, then "MTX" is the application file name that you would provide to ODBCCmpt.

If your in-process component will be run in Microsoft Internet Information Server, the application file name to use is "INetInfo."

Keep in mind that using these settings for components run in MTS, IIS, and SQL Server will affect all other components for those servers that use the SQL Server ODBC driver.

The second way to use RDO 2.0 with SQL Server 7.0 is to use the version of RDO 2.0 that shipped with Visual Basic 6.0. This version of RDO supports the new Unicode data types.

You can install the Visual Basic 6.0 version of RDO 2.0 by downloading and installing the following file:

http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vb6/MSRdo20.cab

You can install the Visual Basic 6.0 version of the RemoteData Control by downloading and installing the following file:

http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vb6/MSRdc20.cab

You can install the Visual Basic 6.0 version of the UserConnection Designer run-time library by downloading and installing the following file:

http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vb6/MSCDRun.cab

If you are currently developing an application with Visual Basic 5.0 and RDO 2.0, Microsoft recommends downloading the version of RDO 2.0 that shipped with Visual Basic 6.0 and using that version to develop your application.

If you have already developed and deployed an application using Visual Basic 5.0 and RDO 2.0 that will communicate with SQL Server 7.0, Microsoft recommends using the ODBCCmpt utility if possible. While your code should not encounter any problems as the result of installing the Visual Basic 6.0 version of RDO 2.0, third-party bound controls may not function properly if they were not tested with Unicode data. If you wish to use the Visual Basic 6.0 version of RDO 2.0 with your application, you should test your application to make sure it will not encounter any problems with this newer version of RDO before installing that version onto your users' machines.

NOTE: There are two versions of RDO 2.0 on the SQL Server 7.0 CD. The older of the two versions is located in the \x86\System directory and initially shipped with Visual Basic 5.0 SP2. The newer of the two versions is located in the \x86\RDO directory and is actually a pre-release drop of the version that shipped with Visual Basic 6.0. Do not install this version of RDO 2.0 onto your machines.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbRDO200 kbSQLServ kbVBp500
Version : WINDOWS:5.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo