Manpages - odbc.ini.5

Where possible, install ODBC DSNs using the odbcinst utility from a template .ini file. Many drivers supply templates.

odbc.ini follows the pesudo-standard /ini file/* syntax convention of* one or more [section headings], each followed by zero or more key = value attributes.

[ODBC Data Sources] section

The required section [ODBC Data Sources] lists each data source name (DSN) as a key. The associated values serve as comments. Each entry must be matched by an ini file [section] describing the data source.

[dsn] sections

Each data source is identified by a [section header], which is the DSN name used by applications. Each DSN definition section may contain values for the keys:

· Driver (REQUIRED)

Name of the ODBC driver to use for this DSN. The name must exactly match the [section name] of the driver definition in odbcinst.ini as listed by odbcinst -q -d.

· Description

Human-readable data source description.

· Database

Database name or identifier. Meaning is driver-specific. May specify a file path, unix socket path, identifier relative to a server name, etc.

· Servername

Server name. Meaning is driver specific, but generally specifies a DNS name, IP network address, or driver-specific discovery identifier.

For a full list of supported parameters see the HTML-format “Administrator Manual” shipped with unixODBC, the documentation for your driver, and any datasource templates supplied by your driver.