Question : SQL Anywhere ODBC Drivers

Hi,

I work for a software company that provides membership and member data management software. When we get new clients, I take what ever data sources they have, be they simple excel documents or CSV files or a completely unheard of yet comprehensive database solution, and then convert/migrate the data into our web based database.

One database solution that rarely comes up, ReMEMBER, uses a Sybase database for the data backend. Previously, I have managed to get open the remember.db database file via either an SQL Anywhere 10 or 11 ODBC driver I managed to get by downloading trial version sof SQL Anywhere 10 and 11.

Installing those gave me the needed ODBC drivers, and I was able to access the database and extract the raw tables for use in migrating to our database schema.

The problem now, is that neither the SQL Anywhere 10 or 11 ODBC drivers work for this current remember.db database file; both ODBC drivers fail on the Test Connection while setting up the new User Data Source in the Data Sources (ODBC) tool. (I am using XP Pro)

The only error message I have to go off of simply tells me it can't access the data source because it was made with another version of the software.

On the few other times I have had to rip raw data from ReMEMBER datafiles, sometimes SQL Anywhere 10 would work, sometimes SQL Anywhere 11 would. Now both tell me the database file was made with a different version of the software.

So I guess my question is, is there any easy way to tell, or any easy tool to tell what version of ODBC driver I would need to use given the remember.db file? Any idea where I might be able to find bundled group of ODBC drivers for the various versions and flavors of Sybase products?

Thank you for any help you guys can lend my way,
Fearezen

Answer : SQL Anywhere ODBC Drivers

Bad news first - I'm not actually certain the TOS of Experts Exchange allows us to help you here - you've just told us you (mis?)use free trials for commercial use. Not having a trial EULA for SQL Anywhere in front of me I'm not sure if it prohibits commercial use. If so then what you've done is piracy and stealing from Sybase. Even if the trials are allowed for commercial use it's a bit... shabby of you that you keep downloading trials rather than paying for software you clearly are using to make money. The licenses are expensive. You should buy one.

Open up a hex editor on the .DB file, there might be a header that tells you the version. I think you either have a very recent release (12?) or a very ancient vintage (6 or earlier), if 10 and 11 can't deal with it.

Also to correct a mistake you seem to be making - the ODBC drivers are not what's letting you connect to the .DB file. This is not like a .PDF or .RTF which can be read by many programs; the .DB file is the area of disk storage used by a database engine, and only that database engine can meaningfully read it. The only thing you can do with the SQL Anywhere ODBC file(s) is to talk to the SQL Anywhere engine, and that is what's reading your .DB file for you.

Hence my statements above, you are not just "installing the ODBC driver", you are installing an application that requires a paid license and using it to do work that is commercially valuable to you.

Whatever the version of .DB file you have, you will also have to install the full SQL Anywhere database engine of the correct vintage. Do please think about paying for it this time.