odbc.ini(5)

NAME
/etc/odbc.ini, $HOME/.odbc.ini - unixODBC data sources configuration

DESCRIPTION
/etc/odbc.ini is text configuration file for the system wide ODBC data sources (i. e. database connections). $HOME/.odbc.ini contains the configuration for user-specific data sources. Both paths may be overridden by unixODBC build options, see odbcinst -j for the definitive paths on your system.

NOTES

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

  FILE FORMAT
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.

EXAMPLES
An example odbc.init is shown in the "Administrator Manual" shipped with unixODBC.

SEE ALSO
unixODBC(7), odbcinst(1), isql(1), iusql(1), odbcinst.ini(5) The unixODBC Administrator Manual (HTML)

AUTHORS
The authors of unixODBC are Peter Harvey <pharvey@codebydesign.com> and Nick Gorham <nick@lurcher.org>. For the full list of contributors see the AUTHORS file.

COPYRIGHT
unixODBC is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License. For details about the license, see the COPYING file.