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Access Service User's Guide DirectConnect for DRDA

Chapter 1 Introducing DirectConnect for DRDA

Chapter 1

Introducing DirectConnect for DRDA

This chapter introduces basic DirectConnect concepts and outlines the globalization process.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• DirectConnect for DRDA overview

• Related Components

• DirectConnect for DRDA environment

• Globalization

DirectConnect for DRDA is a component of the Enterprise Connect Data Access IPS, which consists of components that provide access to distributed data. For more information about the Enterprise Connect Data Access IPS, see the Overview Guide for the Enterprise Connect Data Access IPS.

DirectConnect for DRDA overview

DirectConnect for DRDA is a Sybase product that provides basic connectivity to non-Sybase data sources. In particular, it provides access management, copy management, and remote systems management.

The DirectConnect Server routes incoming client requests and provides a set of support functions that includes logging, tracing, and message handling. You can use it to add and delete services, configure service properties, and manage other features.

Related Components

In addition to DirectConnect for DRDA, the Enterprise Connect IPS includes the following components:

• DirectConnect Manager

• DirectConnect Anywhere

• DirectConnect for AS/400

• DirectConnect for Informix

• DirectConnect for Microsoft SQL Server

• DirectConnect for Oracle

• Adaptive Server Enterprise

Following is a brief description of each DirectConnect component in the the Enterprise Connect product set.

DirectConnect Manager

DirectConnect Manager is a graphical user interface (GUI) systems management tool for administering the DirectConnect configuration.DirectConnect Manager runs only on Windows 95 or Windows 98. It provides the following capabilities:

• Remote start, stop, and configuration of DirectConnect services

• Dynamic configuration of services

• Drag-and-drop service creation and copying

• Remote log filtering and downloading

• Heartbeat services - for monitoring and troubleshootings

DirectConnect Anywhere

DirectConnect Anywhere consists of a server and one or more service libraries. The server provides the framework in which the service libraries operate. Each access service library accesses data from a particular target database, such as AS/400, DB2, Informix, ODBC, and others.The DirectConnect Anywhere Access Service Library accesses ODBC-accessible data. It consists of one or more access services that have specific sets of configuration properties.

DirectConnect for AS/400

DirectConnect for AS/400 consists of a server and one or more service libraries. The server provides the framework in which the service libraries operate. The access service library, the program component of DirectConnect for AS/400, accesses AS/400 data.

DirectConnect for Informix

DirectConnect for Informix consists of a DirectConnect Server, DirectConnect for Informix Service Libraries, and DirectConnect for Informix Services.

Each DirectConnect for Informix Service Library provides a specific function. The server provides the framework within which the service libraries operate.

DirectConnect for Microsoft SQL Server

DirectConnect for Microsoft SQL Server consists of a server and one or more service libraries. The server provides the framework in which the service libraries operate. Each access service library accesses data from a particular target database, such as AS/400, DB2, Informix, ODBC, and others. It consists of one or more access services that are specific sets of configuration properties.

DirectConnect for Oracle

DirectConnect for Oracle provides Open Client(TM) access to Oracle databases. It operates as a stand-alone gateway, in conjunction with the Component Integration Services feature of Adaptive Server Enterprise (with the Extended Enterprise Option), and with the CIS functionality in Adaptive Server Enterprise (formerly OmniConnect and now referred to as ASE/CIS).

In stand-alone mode DirectConnect for Oracle provides client applications with an Open Client interface to Oracle databases. To the client it appears as an Open Server(TM) application that understands Oracle SQL.

DirectConnect for Oracle can also be used with Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) or ASE/CIS. This combination offers clients a Transact-SQL® interface to external Oracle data.

Adaptive Server Enterprise

Adaptive Server Enterprise is an integrated set of software products for designing, developing, deploying, and managing relational database applications. It consists of a high-performance relational database management system, which runs database servers, and a collection of applications and libraries, which run on servers and database clients.

DirectConnect for DRDA environment

DirectConnect for DRDA consists of a server and one or more service libraries. The server provides the framework in which the service libraries operate. Each access service library accesses data from a particular target database, such as AS/400, DB2, Informix, and others.

The DirectConnect for DRDA Access Service Library accesses DRDA-accessible data. It consists of one or more access services that contain specific sets of configuration properties.

Globalization

Globalization consists of internationalization and localization of messages.

Internationalization

Internationalization consists of character codeset conversion and cultural formatting.

Codeset conversion is converting the hexadecimal representation of a character from a codeset in a target database to a codeset in a client application or the reverse. DirectConnect for DRDA automatically detects the DirectConnect and DB2 codepages and performs codepage translations.

Cultural formatting concerns designating decimal separators, monetary signs, date and time separators, and a three-digit grouping symbol. Cultural formatting in DirectConnect for DRDA is performed through the use of configuration properties.

To facilitate internationalization, the access service can be set to return dates and time in any one of the following formats:

• char_iso: yyyy-mm-dd-hh.mm.ss.nnnnnn

• char_usa: mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm (AM or PM )

• char_eur: dd.mm.yyyy hh.mm.ss

• char_jis: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

• char_odbc: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.nnnnnn

Two configuration properties control whether the DirectConnect for DRDA supplied translator library is loaded. The choices are as follows:

Warning!

Do not supply different values for the DefaultClientCodeset and the DefaultTargetCodeset. Supplying different values causes incorrect code translations to occur.

• If you supply different values for the DefaultClientCodeset and the DefaultTargetCodeset properties, the Sybase Unicode Infrastucture Library (Unilib) translation library is loaded.

• If you supply the same values for the DefaultClientCodeset and the DefaultTargetCodeset,and the DSN is configured to perform translations, the DRDA Driver's translation library is used.

  For Windows NT, the ODBC driver will automatically handle the codeset translations.

  For UNIX, the ODBC driver will perform ASCII to EBCDIC translations. Translations from non-ASCII are not supported.

For information about the DefaultClientCodeset and DefaultTargetCodeset configuration properties, see Chapter 2, "Configuring the DirectConnect Access Service library" .

The translation library is required for multi-byte codeset translation.

Localization

Two sets of messages can be localized:

• Messages generated by the target database manager and passed to the client application without change

• Messages generated in DirectConnect for DRDA

Database manager messages are not localized by DirectConnect for DRDA. For information on how to set up localization of such messages, see your database manager documentation

Messages generated in DirectConnect for DRDA are always localized.