Testing the Connection

To test the connection, you can use an ODBC-enabled client application. For a basic connection test, you can also use the test utilities that are packaged with your driver manager installation. For example, the iODBC driver manager includes simple utilities called iodbctest and iodbctestw. Similarly, the unixODBC driver manager includes simple utilities called isql and iusql.

Using the iODBC Driver Manager

You can use the iodbctest and iodbctestw utilities to establish a test connection with your connector. Use iodbctest to test how your connector works with an ANSI application, or use iodbctestw to test how your connector works with a Unicode application.

Note:

There are 32-bit and 64-bit installations of the iODBC driver manager available. If you have only one or the other installed, then the appropriate version of iodbctest (or iodbctestw) is available. However, if you have both 32- and 64-bit versions installed, then you need to make sure that you are running the version from the correct installation directory.

For more information about using the iODBC driver manager, see http://www.iodbc.org.

To test your connection using the iODBC driver manager:

  1. Run iodbctest or iodbctestw.
  2. Optionally, if you do not remember the DSN, then type a question mark (?) to see a list of available DSNs.
  3. Type the connection string for connecting to your data store, and then press ENTER. For more information, see Using a Connection String.

If the connection is successful, then the SQL> prompt appears.

Using the unixODBC Driver Manager

You can use the isql and iusql utilities to establish a test connection with your connector and your DSN. isql and iusql can only be used to test connections that use a DSN. Use isql to test how your connector works with an ANSI application, or use iusql to test how your connector works with a Unicode application.

Note:

There are 32-bit and 64-bit installations of the unixODBC driver manager available. If you have only one or the other installed, then the appropriate version of isql (or iusql) is available. However, if you have both 32- and 64-bit versions installed, then you need to make sure that you are running the version from the correct installation directory.

For more information about using the unixODBC driver manager, see http://www.unixodbc.org.

To test your connection using the unixODBC driver manager:

  • Run isql or iusql by using the corresponding syntax:
  • isql [DataSourceName]
  • iusql [DataSourceName]

[DataSourceName] is the DSN that you are using for the connection.

If the connection is successful, then the SQL> prompt appears.

Note:

For information about the available options, run isql or iusql without providing a DSN.

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