What is an ODBC connection?

An ODBC connection is a database access method which allows a user to access data without having to consider the type of database management system overseeing the data. Data can then be accessed by the user through any application, as the data is first placed through a database driver.

The database driver in the ODBC connection process translates data queries generated by the application into a command that the specific DBMS can process. For this process to work, both the DBMS and the accessing application must be capable of understanding and generating ODBC commands. The ODBC access method was developed in 1992 by the SQL Access group.