====================================== RELEASE NOTES FOR INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver 3.01.UC1 PRODUCT RELEASE DATE: 09 Feb 1998 ====================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS I. What's New in Version 3.01 II. Supported Informix Database Servers III. Files Installed IV. Migrating from 2.x to 3.01 V. Configuring Data Sources VI. Driver Options VII. Microsoft Access and Visual Basic Users (Windows-only) VIII. Notes and Known Problems =============================== I. What's New in Version 3.01 Version 3.01 has the following new features: ODBC 3.0 Compliance ------------------- * Extended Diagnostic capabilities * Catalog function enhancements * Named parameter support for stored procedure execution * Vastly extended metadata information * Numerous performance enhancing options * Granular access to parameter/result information Additional ODBC 3.0 Compliance Features for UNIX ------------------------------------------------ * Cursor library support for Solaris and HP-UX 10.20 * Double-byte character support Additional ODBC 3.0 Compliance Features for Windows --------------------------------------------------- * Support for FileDSNs * Connection pooling The Driver ---------- * Thread safe on all platforms * Thread tuning options to provide for maximum performance * SQLBulkOperations/SQL_ADD (formerly SQLSetPos/SQL_ADD) * SQLProcedureColumns supported * SQLForeignKeys supported * INTERVAL data type support * Ability to dynamically change the current catalog * SQLSetPos support * New connection management options Additional Driver Features for Windows -------------------------------------- * Supports both NT and 95 * Configuration enhancements including Tab dialogs * Windows NT 4.0 certification * Support for bookmarks * Support for SQLCancel in multi-threaded applications =============================== II. Supported Informix Database Servers Version 3.01 supports the following Informix database servers: 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x. =============================== III. Files Installed In addition to the INFORMIX-CLI 2.8 files, the following INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver 3.01 files are installed. Files Intalled on UNIX ---------------------- IVODBC.LIC ODBC 3.01 Driver Licence file informix_connect.txt Help text for the Informix SQLDriverConnect dialog ivif7912.xx INTERSOLV Informix ODBC driver libivbas12.xx INTERSOLV ODBC shared library libivflt12.xx INTERSOLV ODBC shared library libivutl12.xx INTERSOLV ODBC shared library libivmfront.xx SQLDriverConnect library libivmback.xx SQLDriverConnect library libodbc.xx ODBC Driver Manager [.a on AIX] libodbcinst.xx ODBC Installer [.a on AIX] odbccurs.xx ODBC Cursor library [odbccurs.sl on HP-UX 10.20, not available on HP-UX 10.10 or AIX] odbctrac.xx ODBC Tracing library [odbctrac.sl on HP-UX] vscnctdlg.xx.1 ODBC library for operations on HP-UX 10.20, --not available on HP-UX 10.10 or AIX sql.h Header files sqlext.h sqlunix.h sqltypes.h odbcinst.h odbcver.h In /locale/en_US/LC_MESSAGES: ivbas12.mo INTERSOLV ODBC driver shared library message file ivbas12.po INTERSOLV ODBC driver shared library message source ivflt12.mo INTERSOLV ODBC driver shared library message file ivflt12.po INTERSOLV ODBC driver shared library message source ivif7912.mo Informix driver message file ivif7912.po Informix driver message source ivutl12.mo INTERSOLV ODBC driver shared library message file ivutl12.po INTERSOLV ODBC driver shared library message source In /messages/default: odbc.m ODBC driver manager message file Files Installed on Windows -------------------------- Setup copies the following files to your system directory (by default, the Windows SYSTEM32 directory for Windows NT or SYSTEM for Windows 95): CTL3D32.DLL MSVCRT40.DLL Visual C 5.0 Runtime Library MSVCRT.DLL Visual C 5.0 Runtime Library MTXDM.DLL Microsoft ODBC Connection Pooling Library Setup installs the following files in a custom install where the ODBC Driver Manager 3.0 is selected: ODBC32.DLL Microsoft 3.0 ODBC Driver Manager ODBCAD32.EXE ODBC Administrator ODBCCP32.DLL Microsoft ODBC driver Installation DLL for Windows NT ODBCCP32.CPL ODBCCR32.DLL Microsoft ODBC Cursor Library DLL ODBCINT.DLL Microsoft ODBC support DLL ODBCTRAC.DLL Microsoft ODBC trace DLL Setup copies the following files to the driver directory you have selected (by default, the Windows SYSTEM32 directory for Windows NT or SYSTEM for Windows 95): IVIF7912.DLL INTERSOLV Informix ODBC driver IVINF12.HLP DataDirect ODBC Informix Driver Help IVDRV12.HLP DataDirect ODBC Drivers Help IVDRV12.CNT IVBAS12.DLL INTERSOLV Base ODBC DLL IVUTL12.DLL Q+E Software Utilities DLL IVODBC.LIC INTERSOLV ODBC driver license file Setup installs the following header files in %INFORMIXDIR%\headers: sql.h sqlext.h sqltypes.h sqlucode.h odbcinst.h =============================== IV. Migrating from 2.x to 3.01 The TranslationDLL connection string option has been changed to TranslationSharedLibrary. The ODBC_INI enviroment variable has been replaced by the ODBCINI environment variable. If you are using an existing 2.5 DSN you must modify the library or dll name in either the registry or in the odbc.ini file. The name must be changed from ivinif12.xx to ivif7912.xx. Migrating on UNIX (HP-UX) ------------------------- For HP-UX 10.20 (aCC++), the ODBC driver manager has been rebuilt using the HP aC++ compiler. Because aC++ libraries are not backwardly compatible with cfront-compiled libraries, C++ applications are required to recompile their main with the HP aC++ compiler, C applications are required to re-link the application with the HP aC++ linker. An error such as the following is a symptom of not following these steps: /usr/dld.sl: Unresolved Symbol: __shlimit from /opt/odbclibodbc.sl Migrating on UNIX (Solaris) --------------------------- For Solaris, the ODBC Driver Manager is not linked with libnsl.so. Most ODBC drivers require that this library be initialized before the drivers are invoked. To insure maximum ODBC compatibility, applications should link to libnsl.so. =============================== V. Configuring Data Sources Data sources are configured through the .odbc.ini file. For details on configuring this file, see the sample .odbc.ini file supplied with the 2.8 release of the driver. A Sample of Data Source Entry section in .odbc.ini is given below. Note: the Password entry is different than INFORMIX-CLI 2.8 specifications. [Informix] Driver=/opt/informix/lib/ivinf7912.so Description=Informix9 Database=odbc HostName=informixhost LogonID=odbc01 Password=odbc01 =============================== VI. Driver Options The driver has non-standard options for that enable you to take full advantage of packaged ODBC-enabled applications requiring nonstandard or extended behavior. To use these options, we recommend that you create a separate data source for each application. On UNIX, use a text editor to open the .odbc.ini file. In the section for the data source you created, add the key WorkArounds with a value of n (e.g., WorkArounds=n). The value n is the cumulative value of all options added together. In the Windows environment, use the registry editor (regedit on Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, or regedt32 on Windows NT 3.5x), to open the ODBC.INI section in the registry. In the section for the data source you created, add the key WorkArounds with a value of n (e.g., WorkArounds=n). The value n is the cumulative value of all options added together. Key and Value Description ------------- ----------- WorkArounds=1 If an ODBC driver reports that its SQL_CURSOR_COMMIT_BEHAVIOR or SQL_CURSOR_ROLLBACK_BEHAVIOR is 0, then return 1 instead and force statements to be prepared again by the driver. WorkArounds=2 Some applications cannot handle database qualifiers. If this option is on, the driver reports that qualifiers are not supported. WorkArounds=4 Some applications require two connections to an Informix database. Since Informix databases support only one connection, the second connection attempt fails. Turning this option on causes the driver to detect this condition and have the two ODBC connections share a single physical connection to the database. WorkArounds=8 If the driver cannot deduce the number of rows affected by an INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE, it may return -1 in SQLRowCount. Some applications may not be able handle this. Turning this option on causes the driver to return 1 instead. WorkArounds=16 For SQLStatistics, if the driver reports an INDEX_QUALIFIER that contains a period, some applications raise a "tablename is not a valid name" error. Turning this option on causes the driver to return no INDEX_QUALIFIER. WorkArounds=64 This option results in a column name of C where is the ordinal position in the result set. For example, "SELECT col1, col2+col3 FROM table1" produces the column names "col1" and C2. SQLColAttributes/SQL_COLUMN_NAME returns for result columns that are expressions. Use this option for applications that cannot handle column names. WorkArounds=256 Forces SQLGetInfo/SQL_ACTIVE_CONNECTIONS to be returned as 1. WorkArounds=512 To prevent ROWID results, this option forces the SQLSpecialColumns function to return a unique index as returned from SQLStatistics. WorkArounds=65536 This option strips trailing zeros from decimal results. WorkArounds=131072 This option turns all occurrences of the double quote character ("") into the grave character (`). Some applications always quote identifiers with double quotes. Double quoting causes problems for data sources that do not return SQLGetInfo/SQL_IDENTIFIER_QUOTE_CHAR = . WorkArounds=1048576 Some applications incorrectly specify a precision of 0 for character types when the value will be SQL_NULL_DATA. This option overrides the specified precision and sets the precision to 256. WorkArounds=2097152 Some applications incorrectly specify a precision of -1 for character types. This option overrides the specified precision and sets the precision to 2000. WorkArounds=4194304 For PowerBuilder users, this option converts all catalog function arguments to upper case unless they are quoted. WorkArounds=536870912 This option allows for re-binding parameters after calling SQLExecute for prepared statements. =============================== VII. Microsoft Access and Visual Basic Users (Windows-only) We recommend that users of Microsoft Access and Visual Basic add the value pair WorkArounds=25 (1+8+16) for each data source they use with Access and Visual Basic. For data sources that support a single connection, add the line WorkArounds=29 (1+4+8+16). =============================== VIII. Notes and Known Problems SQLColAttribute(s) ------------------ The column attributes 1001 and 1002, which were assigned as INTERSOLV specific attributes, were inadvertently used as system attributes by the Microsoft 3.0 ODBC implementation. Applications using those attributes should now use 1901 and 1902 respectively. SQL_C_NUMERIC ------------- Because of inconsistencies in the ODBC specification, users attempting to use SQL_C_NUMERIC parameters should set the precision and scale values of the corresponding structure, and the descriptor fields in the APD. Error Messages ------------------ Restriction: Some INFORMIX error messages may contain more than one error. It is unclear whether all errors displayed will be valid. Additional Notes and Known Problems on UNIX ------------------------------------------- ODBC Driver Manager (UNIX-only) ------------------------------- The driver requires the 3.0 version of the ODBC Driver Manager (libodbc.xx). The user needs to purchase the Driver Manager from a third party vendor who develops ODBC Driver Manager for the required UNIX platform. ODBC Driver Manager On Solaris (UNIX-only) ------------------------------------------ For Solaris, the ODBC Driver Manager is not linked with libnsl.so. Most ODBC drivers require that this library be initialized before the drivers are invoked. To insure maximum ODBC compatibility, applications should link to libnsl.so. SQLDriverConnect (UNIX-only) ---------------------------- SQLDriverConnect using options other than SQL_DRIVER_NOPROMPT is supported only on systems that include the Motif library. Additional Notes and Known Problems on Windows ---------------------------------------------- ODBC Driver Manager (Windows-only) ---------------------------------- ODBC 3.0 drivers require the 3.0 version of the ODBC Driver Manager (ODBC32.DLL and ODBCCP32.DLL). Because the ODBC 3.0 Driver Manager is compatible with 2.x compliant drivers, all 2.x versions of the Driver Manager should be removed from your access path to ensure application stability. Failing to remove older versions of the Driver Manager may result in application errors and abnormal terminations. ODBC Driver Manager Bugs (Windows-only) --------------------------------------- Please review the release notes file included with the Client SDK for all known ODBC Driver Manager bugs. In addition to the bug list included in the RELNOTES.WRI file, the following problem exists: Calling SQLRowCount after receiving a SQL_NO_DATA return from an executed statement results in a HY010 Function Sequence Error. This error should not occur. Microsoft Query and INTERVAL (Windows-only) ------------------------------------------- Attempting to use Microsoft Query '95 with the Informix driver will result in a protection fault from Query. This is because Query does not recognize the INTERVAL data types supplied by the driver. Users will need to obtain Microsoft Query '97 to obtain the fix. INTERSOLV Informix ODBC Driver Help File (Windows-only) ------------------------------------------------------- Intersolv DataDirect ODBC Help file needs to be renamed from ivinf12.hlp to ivif7912.hlp. This file is installed in Windows\system32 directory. This will enable you to use help for this driver in ODBC Data Source Administrator for this driver.