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From: [e-mail] (David Owen)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.sybase,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: Sybase FAQ: 15/19 - Open Client
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Archive-name: databases/sybase-faq/part15
URL: http://www.isug.com/Sybase_FAQ
Version: 1.7
Maintainer: David Owen
Last-modified: 2003/03/02
Posting-Frequency: posted every 3rd month
   A how-to-find-the-FAQ article is posted on the intervening months.

                                  Open Client



    7.1    What is Open Client?
    7.2    What is the difference between DB-lib and CT-lib?
    7.3    What is this TDS protocol?
    7.4    I have upgraded to MS SQL Server 7.0 and can no longer connect from
    Sybase's isql.
    7.5    The Basics of Connecting to Sybase
    7.6    Connecting to ASE using ODBC
    7.7    Which version of Open Client works with which ASE?
    7.8    How do I tell the version of Open Client I am running?

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7.1: What is Open Client?

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Open Client is the interface (API) between client systems and Sybase servers.
Fundamentally, it comes in two forms:

Runtime

The runtime version is a set of dynamic libraries (dlls on W32 platforms) that
allow client applications to connect to Sybase and Microsoft servers, or, in
fact, any server that implements the Tabular Data Streams (TDS) protocol.  You
need some form of Open Client in order to be able to connect to ASE in any way,
shape or form.   Even if you are running isql on exactly the same machine as
ASE itself, communication will still be via Open Client.  That is not to say
that client to server communication on the same machine will go via the
physical network, that decision is left entirely to the protocol implementation
on the machine in question.

Development

The development version contains all of the libraries from the runtime version,
plus the header files and other files, library files etc, that enable
developers to build client apps that are able to connect to Sybase servers.

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7.2: What is the difference between DB-lib and CT-lib?

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Both DB-lib and CT-lib are libraries that implement the TDS protocol from the
client side.

DB-lib

DB-lib was Sybase's first version.  It was a good first attempt, but has/had a
number of inconsistencies.  There are, or possibly were, a lot of applications
written using DB-lib.  If you are about to start a new Open Client development,
consider using CT-lib, it is the preferred choice.  (What version of TDS does
DB-lib, is it only 4.2?)

Having said that you should use CT-lib for new developments, there is one case
that this may not be true for and that is 2 phase commit.  2 phase commit is
supported directly by DB-lib but is not supported directly by CT-lib.

CT-lib

CT-lib is a completely re-written version of Open Client that was released in
the early '90s.  The API is totally different from DB-lib, and is much more
consistent.  Applications written using DB-lib cannot simply be compiled using
CT-lib, they need a significant amount of porting effort.   CT-lib is newer,
more consistent and, in several people's opinions, including mine, slightly
longer winded.  Having said that, the future of DB-lib is uncertain and is
certainly not being developed any more, as a result all new apps should be
written using CT-lib.

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7.3: What is this TDS protocol?

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Tabular Data Streams or TDS is the name given to the protocol that is used to
connect Sybase clients with Sybase servers.  A specification for the protocol
can be obtained from Sybase, I had a copy but cannot seem to find it now.

The is a project that is reverse engineering the protocol and building a set of
libraries independent of either Sybase or Microsoft, but able to connect to
either of their servers.  FreeTDS is a considerable way down the line, although
I do not believe that it is production ready yet!

As part of the project, they have started to document the protocol, and a view
of TDS 5.0 can be seen here.

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7.4: I have upgraded to MS SQL Server 7.0 and can no longer connect from
Sybase's isql.

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Microsoft SQL Server has always supported the TDS protocol, and up to release 7
it has been the primary means of communication between clients and servers.
With release 7, TDS has been reduced to being a "legacy" protocol.  (I do not
know what the communication protocol/mechanism with release 7 is, you will need
to talk to someone from Microsoft or search comp.databases.ms-sqlserver .)

In order to connect to MS Sql Server 7 using Sybase's Open Client you will need
to install Service Pack 2 of SQL Server 7, available from http://
www.microsoft.com.

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7.5:    The Basics of Connecting to Sybase

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The following describes how to connect to Sybase ASE on a UNIX machine from a
windows client with isql etc.  The specific example is Sybase ASE 11.9 on
Redhat Linux 6.1, using Windows 95 and NT.  (Have both on partitions and the
process was the same... This is not a technical review or an in-depth
discussion (there are people far more qualified than me for that ;-) ).  Rather
it is more along the lines of "This is how I managed it, it should work for
you". As always there are no guarantees, so it if goes wrong, it's your fault
[<g>].

The starting point for this discussion has to be, you've downloaded (or
whatever means you used to acquire it) both Sybase ASE for Linux and the PC
Client software (a big zip file) and are ready to install. I'm not going to
discuss the install process as Sybase managed to do a good job of that, so
I'm leaving well alone. The bit you have to take notice of is when you run
srvbuild. This should happen the first time you log on as the user sybase after
the install.  If it doesn't then you can run it by hand after, it line in the
$SYBASE directory under bin. The reason why I'm mentioning this is that
srvbuild defaults to installing your database using the name "localhost". Now
the problem with localhost is that it is kind of a special case and would mean
that you could not connect to your database from anywhere other that the server
itself. This would defeat the object of this
discussion, so simply name it something else, bob, george, albert, mydatabase,
whatever, the choice is yours.

Having done this (it takes a while to complete) you should now have a running
database. so try to connect to it on the local machine with something like isql
-SServerName -Usa, (where ServerName is whatever you called it when you ran
srvbuild) when it asks for a password, just press enter and you should be
greeted by the monumentous welcome

1>

Not a lot for all the work you have done to get to this point, but you've
connected to your database and that's the main thing. This is very important as
not only does this mean that your database is working, but it also means that
the server half of Open Client is working. This is because even isql on the
server connects to the database using Open Client and you've just proved it
works, cool. Next run dsedit on the server and make a note of the following 3
things:

    1: The server name
    2: The IP address
    3: The port

Your going to need these to get connected from windows.

Now switch to you windows machine, did I remember to tell you to shut down
dsedit on the server?, consider it said ;-). Unpack the PC Client software zip
file and install it using the instructions that came with it. They worked fine
for me and I'm an idiot, so they should work for you. When you've finished, go
to the start menu and start dsedit (on my machine it's under programs ->
sybase). When it runs, it begins with a dialog asking you which Interface
driver to open, I've done this 3 times and went with the default every time, so
it should be a safe bet. At this point you can now add your Linux based server.
Select the menu item serverobject->add. Then enter the name of the server you
just got from your Linux box, in the field labeled "server". It is probably a
good idea that it is the same name you got from your Linux based dsedit to
ensure that everyone is referring to the same server with the same name.
Prevents confusion.  This then opens a new window with several fields, one of
which is the server name you just entered. The bottom field is the bit where
you enter the "nitty gritty", the server IP address and port. To do this right
click on the field and select "modify attribute" to open the server address
dialog. When this new dialog opens click add to open yet another dialog (is
there an award for the most gratuitous use of the word dialog???). OK, this is
the last one, honest. Leave the drop down list where it is (hopefully showing
TCP/IP or something similar). Instead move straight to the address field and
enter the following: the Linux servers IP address followed by the port number
(the one from the server dsedit), separated by a comma. On my machine it looks
like this.

192.0.0.2,2501

Now you can "OK" your way back out of the dialogs, back up to where you started
from and exit dsedit. Then launch isql on the windows box and log in.
Personally I did this from a DOS prompt, using exactly the same syntax I did on
the Linux box, but that's just because I like it that way.  Now you should be
happily querying you Linux (or other UNIX for that matter) based Sybase ASE
database. What you do with it now, is covered elsewhere in this FAQ from people
able to tell you, unlike me. Now just one more time for good measure, I'm going
to type the word, wait for it.... Dialog.

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7.6: Connecting to ASE Using OLTP

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To begin with you need to be certain that you can connect to your Linux hosted
Sybase ASE database from your windows based machine. Do this by running isql
from your Linux box and connect to the database, if this works, then your all
set (See Q7.5). You will need the Sybase ODBC driver, this came with the PC
Client package. If you got your Windows Open Client software through some other
means, then you may need to down load the ODBC driver, this will become
apparent later. Right, begin by launching the 32 bit ODBC administrator, either
from the Sybase menu under start -> programs or the control panel. Ensure that
you are displaying the "user DSN" section (by clicking on the appropriate tab).

You can then click on the button labeled add to move to the driver selection
dialog. Select Sybase System 11 and click on finish. You will by now have
noticed that this is Microsoft's way of taunting you and you haven't actually
finished yet, you're actually at the next dialog. What you have actually done
is told windows that you are now about to configure your Sybase ODBC driver.
There are 4 boxes on the dialog with which you are now presented, and they are:

    Data Source Name
    Description
    Server Name
    Database Name

The data source name is the Server name from your interfaces file on your Linux
server. If you are uncertain of any of these values, then log onto your Linux
box, run dsedit and take a look. It will only take you 2 minutes and much
easier than debugging it later. The description field is irrelevant and you can
put anything in there that is meaningful to you.  Server name is the IP address
of the Linux server, that is hosting your database. Database name is the name
of a database to which you want to connect, once your Sybase connection has
been established.  If in doubt, you can stick master in there for now, at least
you'll get a connection.  Now you can click on OK to get back to the starting
screen, followed by another OK to exit ODBC administrator. We will now test the
connection by running Sybase Central. I chosen this because I figure that if
you downloaded the PC Client package, then I know you've got it (at least I'm
fairly sure). When you launch Sybase administrator from start->programs->
Sybase, you are presented with a connection dialog. There are 3 fields in this
box

    User ID
    Password
    Server Name

In the field labeled UserID, you can type in sa. If you've been doing some work
on Sybase through other means and you have already created a valid user, then
you can use him (her, it, whatever). In the password field, type in the
appropriate password. Assuming you have changed nothing from the
original Sybase install and you are using sa, then you will leave this blank.
The final field is a dropdown list box containing all the Sybase remote
connections you have. Assuming you only have the one, then you can leave this
alone. If you have more than one, stick to the one that you know works for now
and that allows access to the user you've used. In simple English (and if you
don't speak English, then I hope somebody has translated it :-) ). If this is a
clean install and you have altered nothing after following the instruction
earlier to establish an Open Client, then the top box should contain simply
"sa", the middle box should be blank, and the bottom list-box should contain
whatever the servername is in your Linux based interfaces file. Clicking on OK
will now connect Sybase Central to the database and "away you go"...

Hope this is of some assistance to you, but if you run into problems then I
suggest you post to the newsgroup, which is where the real experts hang out. I
am unlikely to be able to help you, as I have simply noted down my experiences
as I encountered them, in the hope they may help somebody out.
I take no responsibility for anything, including any result of following the
instructions in this text.
Good luck...

Jim

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7.7: Which version of Open Client works with which ASE?

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The TDS protocol that *is* Open Client is built so that either the client or
server will fallback to a common dialect. I suppose that it is theoretically
possible that both would fallback for some reason, but it seems unlikely. I was
recently working with a client that was using Open/Client 4.2 to speak to a
version 11.5 ASE using Powerbuilder 3 and 4! Amazing, it all worked! The main
problem that you will encounter is not lack of communication but lack of
features. The facility to bcp out of views was added to the 11.1.1 release. You
will still be able to connect to servers with old copies of Open/Client, you
just won't have all of the features.

There is also another fairly neat feature of the later releases of Open/Client,
it has a very good compatibility mode for working with old applications. The
client that was running Open/Client 4.2 with Powerbuilder 3 is now connecting
to the database using version 11.1.1. Which is not bad when you remember that
Powerbuilder 3 only talked 4.2 DBLib!

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7.8: How do I tell the version of Open Client I am running?

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Run

isql -v

from the command line, will return a string like:

Sybase CTISQL Utility/11.1.1/P-EBF7729/PC Intel/1/ OPT/Thu Dec 18 01:05:29 1997

The 11.1.1 part represents the version number.

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