MDAC 2.5 SDK - ODBC Programmer's Reference
Chapter 16: Interoperability
Assuming the application will use ODBC, the next step is to determine what level of interoperability is required. The basic level of interoperability is usually a function of the application type: Custom applications tend not to be interoperable, vertical applications tend to be interoperable among a limited number of DBMSs, and generic applications tend to be interoperable among all DBMSs.