Database driver specification (driver)

In database connection parameters, the driver parameter identifies the type of database driver to be used.

The driver must correspond to the database client software.
Important: Pay attention to the binary architecture of the database client software: Genero runtime system and database client binaries must match. For example, a 32 bit Oracle® client can not be used with a Genero 64 bit runtime system.

We distinguish two types of database driver names:

  • Generic driver names ("dbmora", "dbmsnc"), and aliases ("oracle", "sqlserver")
  • Version-stamped driver names ("dbmora_12", "dbmsnc_17", "dbmmys_8_0")

A driver name "dbmxxx" identifies a generic driver name for the database server identified by the code xxx.

For example, in FGLPROFILE, to define the database driver for the Oracle OCI client (code "ora"), use the name "dbmora":

dbi.database.stores.driver = "dbmora"
Note: For convenience, it is also possible to specify a long name (alias) such as "oracle" or "sqlserver", as defined in the database driver table below.

The generic driver names (like dbmora) require the latest database client software available on the platform. This can change from one Genero BDL release to another, when supporting a new database client version. Use the version-stamped driver name (like dbmora_12), to point to a specific database client version, for example when the most recent database client software is not available on the platform.

Check for library dependency on your system, to identify the database client library required by the driver with the generic name. The driver definition table below lists the driver names for each supported database client types and versions. For example, on Linux® platform, use the ldd command:
$ ldd $FGLDIR/dbdrivers/dbmmys.so
      ...
      libmysqlclient.so.21 => ...
      ...

Drivers with generic names are compatible with the latest database client version available on the platform. Depending on the platform, the same generic driver name can refer to different database client software versions. For example, on an old platform where only MySQL 5.7 client is available, dbmmys will identify the dbmmys_5_7 driver, depending on libmysqlclient.so.20. On a more recent platform where MySQL 8.0 is available, dbmmys will identify the dbmmys_8_0 driver, depending on libmysqlclient.so.21.

To limit the number of drivers, if the database client software is ABI compatible across several versions, the ODI drivers are build with the oldest database client version that is compatible with the latest available database client versions. For example, the dbmpgs_9 driver is linked to libpq.so.5, which is supported by various PostgreSQL client versions 9 to 12 (and more, if the ABI compatibility does not change).

Note: A given driver (combined with the corresponding database client software library) can connect to a database server of an older version, if the database vendor client/server protocol supports the combination. For example, you can use a PostgreSQL client version 12 to connect to a PostgreSQL 11 server. The ODI driver will then adapt SQL translations and emulations to the target database server version.

A default driver can be specified with the dbi.default.driver FGLPROFILE entry. This driver will be used for all database connections that do not specify the driver explicitly:

dbi.default.driver = "dbmora"

If this entry is not defined, and if no driver parameter is specified for the data source, the driver name defaults to dbmdefault. This default driver is a copy of the database driver that was chosen during installation.

Table 1. Database driver names
Versionned name / Generic name / Alias Code Database client software version UNIX™ shared objects Microsoft™ Windows® DLLs macOS® dynamic libraries
dbmdb2_10 / dbmdb2 / db2 db2 IBM® DB2® LUW Client 11.x libdb2.so.1 db2cli.dll N/A
dbmesm_1 / dbmesm / easysoft_sqlserver esm Easysoft ODBC 2.x + for SQL Server libessqlsrv.so N/A N/A
dbmhdb_2 / dbmhdb / sap_hana hdb SAP HANA® ODBC 2.x libodbcHDB.so libodbcHDB.dll N/A
dbmifx_9 / dbmifx / informix ifx IBM Informix® CSDK 4.10 and higher libifsql.so, libifasf.so, libifgen.so, libifos.so, libifgls.so, libifglx.so isqlt09a.dll libifsql.dylib, libifasf.dylib, libifgen.dylib, libifos.dylib, libifgls.dylib, libifglx.dylib
dbmmdb_10_2 / dbmmdb / mariadb mdb MariaDB Client 10.2.x and higher libmariadb.so.3 libmariadb.dll libmariadb.3.dylib
dbmmys_5_7 mys Oracle MySQL Client 5.7.x libmysqlclient.so.20 libmysql.dll libmysqlclient.20.dylib
dbmmys_8_0 / dbmmys / mysql mys Oracle MySQL Client 8.0.x and higher libmysqlclient.so.21 libmysql.dll libmysqlclient.21.dylib
dbmntz_6 / dbmntz / netezza ntz IBM Netezza Performance Server® (7.x, 11.x) libnzodbc.so odbc32.dll / NSQLODBC.DLL N/A
dbmodc_3 / dbmodc / odbc odc Generic ODBC (ODBC 3.x) libodbc.so odbc32.dll / ? libodbc.dylib
dbmora_12 ora OCI Client 12 libclntsh.so.12.1 oci.dll libclntsh.dylib.12.1
dbmora_18 / dbmora / oracle ora OCI Client 18, 19, 21 libclntsh.so.18.1 oci.dll libclntsh.dylib.18.1
dbmpgs_9 / dbmpgs / postgresql pgs PostgreSQL Client 11, 12, 13 and 14 libpq.so.5 libpq.dll libpq.5.dylib
dbmsnc_17 / dbmsnc / sqlserver snc Microsoft ODBC 17 for SQL Server libmsodbcsql-17.so odbc32.dll / MSODBCSQL17.DLL N/A
dbmftm_0 / dbmftm / freetds_sqlserver ftm FreeTDS ODBC version 1.00+ libtdsodbc.so.0 N/A N/A
dbmsqt_3 / dbmsqt / sqlite sqt SQLite 3.x libsqlite3.so.0 N/A (statically linked) libsqlite3.dylib