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Documentation on ODBC connect to Alpha and use Stored Procedures to return data

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    Documentation on ODBC connect to Alpha and use Stored Procedures to return data

    Hello all. I am working on connection my Alpha5 DB with another companies software. They want to connect to my Alpha5 DB using ODBC and use a stored procedure to retrieve information from my DB.

    I am just now getting into this. Is there any documentation on how to open an odbc connection to the Alpha5 database?


    Thanks for your time,
    Mike

    #2
    Re: Documentation on ODBC connect to Alpha and use Stored Procedures to return data

    Mike

    I read your posting a couple of times.

    What I think you are trying to do is to open an Alpha 5 database from another programming language (within a stored procedure within the 'other' database) to read data from the Alpha 5 database.

    To read Alpha tables, use the Foxpro ODBC. It's available from Microsoft.

    Or use the 'other' database to import the table from Alpha and make a local table in the 'other' database. Refresh the data as needed. This allows you to stay 'native' in the 'other' database system.

    There are lots of ways to work this. Try a few and see which one works the best for you. I've found that the reality of some systems is a lot different from my epectations. And usually it's better. ie, imports into MS SQL are much faster than I anticipated - and sometimes trickier and sometimes easier...
    Al Buchholz
    Bookwood Systems, LTD
    Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

    Occam's Razor - KISS
    Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
    Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
    When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
    "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
    Albert Einstein

    http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Documentation on ODBC connect to Alpha and use Stored Procedures to return data

      Thank you Al for taking the time to reply.

      Let me clarify my situation.

      I converted a Alpha4 database to an A5 database for a trucking company. Whenver we (the trucking company) haul a load for a customer we assign a unquie identifier to that load called a "Load Number". Clever huh? :). Anyway so in my table the key/unquie identifier is the Load Number.

      I am starting the process of integrating another companies 'paperless office' software with my Alpha Database. Maybe integrating is the wrong word . Communicating is probably better. So they have told me that they are going to connect to my database using ODBC and then call I stored procedure (that I have written for them) to retrieve information about that load.

      So my assumption is they are going to connect to my Database using an ODBC connection and then call a stored procedure with the proper parameters and then the stored procedure will return the proper information to them.

      I am just getting into this and just now starting my research. So my big concern is that you connect to the "Tables" and not the "Database" using the Foxpro ODBC driver. If you connect to the tables then it would seem to me that you may not be able to use a stored procedure. ** Keep in mind this is just a guess **. I still have to research all of this :).

      After I put out a rather crappy post I felt I should clarify. I was just wondering if there was any documentation on any aspects of this.

      Thanks again Al. Maybe as I talk with the developers of the other application maybe an import is a better solution than a stored procedure.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Documentation on ODBC connect to Alpha and use Stored Procedures to return data

        Originally posted by mbmonk View Post
        So my assumption is they are going to connect to my Database using an ODBC connection and then call a stored procedure with the proper parameters and then the stored procedure will return the proper information to them.

        I am just getting into this and just now starting my research. So my big concern is that you connect to the "Tables" and not the "Database" using the Foxpro ODBC driver. If you connect to the tables then it would seem to me that you may not be able to use a stored procedure. ** Keep in mind this is just a guess **. I still have to research all of this :).
        There are no stored procedures in the Alpha database.

        You can pass information to the ODBC driver for the ODBC driver to select a record(or records), but you have a lot of issues to look at beyond this.
        Al Buchholz
        Bookwood Systems, LTD
        Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

        Occam's Razor - KISS
        Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
        Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
        When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
        "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
        Albert Einstein

        http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Documentation on ODBC connect to Alpha and use Stored Procedures to return data

          Thank you Al for your help :)

          Comment

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