additional APIs besides just ODBC. Two such tools are OpenLink's Data Access Driver Suite 3.0 and ISG's Navigator 1.1.
Each package is available for a variety of operating systems and database management systems, as detailed
in the table
. Note that both products can now connect to mainframe DB2, but only through gateways such as IBM's DDCS. OpenLink is developing an MVS-based server agent to eliminate the gateway, while ISG is just beginning its MVS efforts. In addition, ISG plans Navigator support for VSAM, Adabas, Mumps, and IMS/DB. OpenLink supports the IPX/SPX, DECnet, and TCP/IP transport protocols, while ISG concentrates on TCP/IP.
I tested both sets of tools on a TCP/IP-based Ethernet LAN consisting of multiple NT Servers running Oracle7.3, SQL Server 6.5, and DB2 Universal Database 5.0, plus various clients (OS/2, Win 95, and Mac System 7). Evaluation criteria included the variety of available APIs, speed, robustness, and security.
I found OpenLink's suite the better tool for most applications. Its drivers are faster and run on more diverse platforms and connect to more databases. For instance, OpenLink's Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) drivers are small (the class file is about 45 KB) and quite speedy. But the key difference between the two products is the APIs each offers. While OpenLink provides JDBC (Types 1, 2, and 3), ODBC, and X/Open SQL CLI programming interfaces, ISG supplies OLE DB and ODBC interfaces. ISG says it'll have a JDBC Type 2 driver sometime in 1998, as well as an XA interface, and OpenLink says an OLE DB interface to its product will be ready in the same time frame.
Such promises aside, choosing between the two tools is easy. If I were developing an application using Microsoft tools and technologies, I'd use ISG Navigator. For non-Microsoft-centric development efforts, especially those based on Java, I'd pick OpenLink's Driver Suite.
Drive Your Data Through the Middle(ware)
