Connectionstrings

 

 SQL Server

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Driver={SQL Server};Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Uid=sa;Pwd=asdasd;"
    
    
    
  •  Trusted connection:
    
    "Driver={SQL Server};Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;"
    
    
    
  •  Prompt for username and password:
    
    oConn.Properties("Prompt") = adPromptAlways
    oConn.Open "Driver={SQL Server};Server=Aron1;DataBase=pubs;"
    
    
    
•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Provider=sqloledb;Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;User Id=sa;Password=asdasd;"
    
    
    
  •  Trusted Connection:
    
    "Provider=sqloledb;Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;Integrated Security=SSPI;"

    (use serverName\instanceName as Data Source to use an specifik SQLServer instance, only SQLServer2000)

  •  Prompt for username and password:
    
    oConn.Provider = "sqloledb"
    oConn.Properties("Prompt") = adPromptAlways
    oConn.Open "Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;"
    
    
    
  •  Connect via an IP address:
    
    "Provider=sqloledb;Data Source=190.190.200.100,1433;Network Library=DBMSSOCN;Initial Catalog=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;"

    (DBMSSOCN=TCP/IP instead of Named Pipes, at the end of the Data Source is the port to use (1433 is the default))

•  SqlConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;User Id=sa;Password=asdasd;"
       - or -
    "Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;Trusted_Connection=False"
       (both connection strings produces the same result)
    
    
    
    
  •  Trusted Connection:
    
    "Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;Integrated Security=SSPI;"
       - or -
    "Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=True;"
       (both connection strings produces the same result)
    

    (use serverName\instanceName as Data Source to use an specifik SQLServer instance, only SQLServer2000)

  •  Connect via an IP address:
    
    "Data Source=190.190.200.100,1433;Network Library=DBMSSOCN;Initial Catalog=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;"

    (DBMSSOCN=TCP/IP instead of Named Pipes, at the end of the Data Source is the port to use (1433 is the default))

  •  Declare the SqlConnection:
    

    C#:
    using System.Data.SqlClient;
    SqlConnection oSQLConn = new SqlConnection();
    oSQLConn.ConnectionString="my connection string";
    oSQLConn.Open();

    
    
    

    VB.NET:
    Imports System.Data.SqlClient
    Dim oSQLConn As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection()
    oSQLConn.ConnectionString="my connection string"
    oSQLConn.Open()

    
    
    

•  Data Shape
  
  
  •  MS Data Shape
    "Provider=MSDataShape;Data Provider=SQLOLEDB;Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;"

    Want to learn data shaping? Check out 4GuyfFromRolla's great article about Data Shaping >>

•  Read more
  
  
  •  How to define which network protocol to use
    
    
    • Example:
      "Provider=sqloledb;Data Source=190.190.200.100,1433;Network Library=DBMSSOCN;Initial Catalog=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;"
      
      

      Name	Network library
      dbnmpntw	Win32 Named Pipes
      dbmssocn	Win32 Winsock TCP/IP
      dbmsspxn	Win32 SPX/IPX
      dbmsvinn	Win32 Banyan Vines
      dbmsrpcn	Win32 Multi-Protocol (Windows RPC)

      
      
      Important note!
      When connecting through the SQLOLEDB provider use the syntax Network Library=dbmssocn
      and when connecting through MSDASQL provider use the syntax Network=dbmssocn
      
      
  •  All SqlConnection connection string properties
    
    
    • This table shows all connection string properties for the ADO.NET SqlConnection object. Most of the properties are also used in ADO. All properties and descriptions is from msdn.
      
      

      Name	Default	Description
      Application Name		The name of the application, or '.Net SqlClient Data Provider' if no application name is provided.
      AttachDBFilename -or- extended properties -or- Initial File Name		The name of the primary file, including the full path name, of an attachable database. The database name must be specified with the keyword 'database'.
      Connect Timeout -or- Connection Timeout	15	The length of time (in seconds) to wait for a connection to the server before terminating the attempt and generating an error.
      Connection Lifetime	0	When a connection is returned to the pool, its creation time is compared with the current time, and the connection is destroyed if that time span (in seconds) exceeds the value specified by connection lifetime. Useful in clustered configurations to force load balancing between a running server and a server just brought on-line.
      Connection Reset	'true'	Determines whether the database connection is reset when being removed from the pool. Setting to 'false' avoids making an additional server round-trip when obtaining a connection, but the programmer must be aware that the connection state is not being reset.
      Current Language		The SQL Server Language record name.
      Data Source -or- Server -or- Address -or- Addr -or- Network Address		The name or network address of the instance of SQL Server to which to connect.
      Enlist	'true'	When true, the pooler automatically enlists the connection in the creation thread's current transaction context.
      Initial Catalog -or- Database		The name of the database.
      Integrated Security -or- Trusted_Connection	'false'	Whether the connection is to be a secure connection or not. Recognized values are 'true', 'false', and 'sspi', which is equivalent to 'true'.
      Max Pool Size	100	The maximum number of connections allowed in the pool.
      Min Pool Size	0	The minimum number of connections allowed in the pool.
      Network Library -or- Net	'dbmssocn'	The network library used to establish a connection to an instance of SQL Server. Supported values include dbnmpntw (Named Pipes), dbmsrpcn (Multiprotocol), dbmsadsn (Apple Talk), dbmsgnet (VIA), dbmsipcn (Shared Memory) and dbmsspxn (IPX/SPX), and dbmssocn (TCP/IP). The corresponding network DLL must be installed on the system to which you connect. If you do not specify a network and you use a local server (for example, "." or "(local)"), shared memory is used.
      Packet Size	8192	Size in bytes of the network packets used to communicate with an instance of SQL Server.
      Password -or- Pwd		The password for the SQL Server account logging on.
      Persist Security Info	'false'	When set to 'false', security-sensitive information, such as the password, is not returned as part of the connection if the connection is open or has ever been in an open state. Resetting the connection string resets all connection string values including the password.
      Pooling	'true'	When true, the SQLConnection object is drawn from the appropriate pool, or if necessary, is created and added to the appropriate pool.
      User ID		The SQL Server login account.
      Workstation ID	the local computer name	The name of the workstation connecting to SQL Server.

      
      
      Note
      Use ; to separate each property.
      If a name occurs more than once, the value from the last one in the connection string will be used.
      If you are building your connection string in your app using values from user input fields, make sure the user can't change the connection string by inserting an additional property with another value within the user value.

 SQL Server 2005

•  SQL Native Client ODBC Driver
  
  
  •  Standard security:
    
    "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;UID=sa;PWD=asdasd;"
    
    
    
  •  Trusted connection:
    
    "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;"

    Equivalents
    Integrated Security=SSPI equals Trusted_Connection=yes

  •  Prompt for username and password:
    
    oConn.Properties("Prompt") = adPromptAlways
    oConn.Open "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=Aron1;DataBase=pubs;"
    
    
    
  •  Enabling MARS (multiple active result sets):
    
    "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;MARS_Connection=yes"

    Equivalents
    MultipleActiveResultSets=true equals MARS_Connection=yes
    
    Using MARS with SQL Native Client, by Chris Lee >>

  •  Encrypt data sent over network:
    
    "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;Encrypt=yes"
    
    
    
  •  Attach a database file on connect to a local SQL Server Express instance:
    
    "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=c:\asd\qwe\mydbfile.mdf;Database=dbname;Trusted_Connection=Yes;"
       - or -
    "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|mydbfile.mdf;Database=dbname;Trusted_Connection=Yes;"
       (use |DataDirectory| when your database file resides in the data directory)
    

    Why is the "Database" parameter needed? Answer: If the database was previously attached, SQL Server does not reattach it (it uses the attached database as the default for the connection).

    Download the SQL Native Client here >> (the package contains booth the ODBC driver and the OLE DB provider)

    Using SQL Server 2005 Express? Don't miss the server name syntax: SERVERNAME\SQLEXPRESS (Substitute "SERVERNAME" with the name of the computer)

•  SQL Native Client OLE DB Provider
  
  
  •  Standard security:
    
    "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;UID=sa;PWD=asdasd;"
    
    
    
  •  Trusted connection:
    
    "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;"

    Equivalents
    Integrated Security=SSPI equals Trusted_Connection=yes

  •  Prompt for username and password:
    
    oConn.Properties("Prompt") = adPromptAlways
    oConn.Open "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=Aron1;DataBase=pubs;"
    
    
    
  •  Enabling MARS (multiple active result sets):
    
    "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;MarsConn=yes"

    Equivalents
    MarsConn=yes equals MultipleActiveResultSets=true equals MARS_Connection=yes
    
    Using MARS with SQL Native Client, by Chris Lee >>

  •  Encrypt data sent over network:
    
    "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=yes;Encrypt=yes"
    
    
    
  •  Attach a database file on connect to a local SQL Server Express instance:
    
    "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=c:\asd\qwe\mydbfile.mdf;Database=dbname;Trusted_Connection=Yes;"
       - or -
    "Provider=SQLNCLI;Server=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|mydbfile.mdf;Database=dbname;Trusted_Connection=Yes;"
       (use |DataDirectory| when your database file resides in the data directory)
    

    Why is the "Database" parameter needed? Answer: If the database was previously attached, SQL Server does not reattach it (it uses the attached database as the default for the connection).

    Download the SQL Native Client here >> (the package contains booth the ODBC driver and the OLE DB provider)

    Using SQL Server 2005 Express? Don't miss the server name syntax: SERVERNAME\SQLEXPRESS (Substitute "SERVERNAME" with the name of the computer)

•  SqlConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;User Id=sa;Password=asdasd;"
       - or -
    "Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;Trusted_Connection=False"
       (both connection strings produces the same result)
    
    
    
    
  •  Trusted Connection:
    
    "Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;Integrated Security=SSPI;"
       - or -
    "Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=True;"
       (both connection strings produces the same result)
    

    (use serverName\instanceName as Data Source to use an specifik SQLServer instance)

  •  Connect via an IP address:
    "Data Source=190.190.200.100,1433;Network Library=DBMSSOCN;Initial Catalog=pubs;User ID=sa;Password=asdasd;"

    (DBMSSOCN=TCP/IP instead of Named Pipes, at the end of the Data Source is the port to use (1433 is the default))

  •  Enabling MARS (multiple active result sets):
    
    "Server=Aron1;Database=pubs;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true"

    Note! Use ADO.NET 2.0 for MARS functionality. MARS is not supported in ADO.NET 1.0 nor ADO.NET 1.1
    
    Streamline your Data Connections by Moving to MARS, by Laurence Moroney, DevX.com >>

  •  Attach a database file on connect to a local SQL Server Express instance:
    
    "Server=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=c:\asd\qwe\mydbfile.mdf;Database=dbname;Trusted_Connection=Yes;"
       - or -
    "Server=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|mydbfile.mdf;Database=dbname;Trusted_Connection=Yes;"
       (use |DataDirectory| when your database file resides in the data directory)

    Why is the "Database" parameter needed? Answer: If the database was previously attached, SQL Server does not reattach it (it uses the attached database as the default for the connection).

  •  Using "User Instance" on a local SQL Server Express instance:
    
    "Data Source=.\SQLExpress;integrated security=true;attachdbfilename=|DataDirectory|\mydb.mdf;user instance=true;"

    The "User Instance" functionality creates a new SQL Server instance on the fly during connect. This works only on a local SQL Server 2005 instance and only when connecting using windows authentication over local named pipes. The purpose is to be able to create a full rights SQL Server instance to a user with limited administrative rights on the computer. To enable the functionality: sp_configure 'user instances enabled','1' (0 to disable)

    Using SQL Server 2005 Express? Don't miss the server name syntax: SERVERNAME\SQLEXPRESS (Substitute "SERVERNAME" with the name of the computer)

•  Context Connection - connecting to "self" from within your CLR stored prodedure/function
  
  
  •  C#:
    
    using(SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection("context connection=true"))
    {
        connection.Open();
        // Use the connection
    }
    
    
    
    
  •  Visual Basic:
    
    Using connection as new SqlConnection("context connection=true")
        connection.Open()
        ' Use the connection
    End Using
    
    
    
    

    The context connection lets you execute Transact-SQL statements in the same context (connection) that your code was invoked in the first place.

•  Read more
  
  
  •  When to use SQL Native Client?
    
    
    •  .Net applications
      
      Do not use the SQL Native Client. Use the .NET Framework Data Provider for SQL Server (SqlConnection).
    •  COM applications, all other then .Net applications
      
      Use the SQL Native Client if you are accessing an SQL Server 2005 and need the new features of SQL Server 2005 such as MARS, encryption, XML data type etc. Continue use your current provider (OLE DB / ODBC through the MDAC package) if you are not connecting to an SQL Server 2005 (that's quite obvious eh..) or if you are connecting to an SQL Server 2005 but are not using any of the new SQL Server 2005 features.

      For more details on the differences between MDAC and SQL Native Client, read this msdn article >>

 Access

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=C:\mydatabase.mdb;Uid=Admin;Pwd=;"
    
    
    
  •  Workgroup:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=C:\mydatabase.mdb;SystemDB=C:\mydatabase.mdw;"
    
    
    
  •  Exclusive:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=C:\mydatabase.mdb;Exclusive=1;Uid=admin;Pwd="
    
    
    
•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard security:
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\somepath\mydb.mdb;User Id=admin;Password=;"
    
    
    
  •  Workgroup (system database):
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\somepath\mydb.mdb;Jet OLEDB:System Database=system.mdw;"
    
    
    
  •  With password:
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\somepath\mydb.mdb;Jet OLEDB:Database Password=MyDbPassword;"
    
    
    

 Oracle

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  New version:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft ODBC for Oracle};Server=OracleServer.world;Uid=Username;Pwd=asdasd;"
    
    
    
  •  Old version:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft ODBC Driver for Oracle};ConnectString=OracleServer.world;Uid=myUsername;Pwd=myPassword;"
    
    
    
•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard security:
    
    "Provider=msdaora;Data Source=MyOracleDB;User Id=UserName;Password=asdasd;"

    This one's from Microsoft, the following are from Oracle

  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Provider=OraOLEDB.Oracle;Data Source=MyOracleDB;User Id=Username;Password=asdasd;"
    
    
    
  •  Trusted Connection:
    
    "Provider=OraOLEDB.Oracle;Data Source=MyOracleDB;OSAuthent=1;"
    
    
    
•  OracleConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Data Source=MyOracleDB;Integrated Security=yes;"

    This one works only with Oracle 8i release 3 or later

  •  Specifying username and password:
    
    "Data Source=MyOracleDB;User Id=username;Password=passwd;Integrated Security=no;"

    This one works only with Oracle 8i release 3 or later

  •  Declare the OracleConnection:
    

    C#:
    using System.Data.OracleClient;
    OracleConnection oOracleConn = new OracleConnection();
    oOracleConn.ConnectionString = "my connection string";
    oOracleConn.Open();

    
    
    

    VB.NET:
    Imports System.Data.OracleClient
    Dim oOracleConn As OracleConnection = New OracleConnection()
    oOracleConn.ConnectionString = "my connection string"
    oOracleConn.Open()

    
    
    

    Missing the System.Data.OracleClient namespace? Download .NET Managed Provider for Oracle >>

    Great article! "Features of Oracle Data Provider for .NET" by Rama Mohan G. at C# Corner

•  Core Labs OraDirect (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    "User ID=scott; Password=tiger; Host=ora; Pooling=true; Min Pool Size=0;Max Pool Size=100; Connection Lifetime=0"

    Read more at Core Lab and the product page.

•  Data Shape
  
  
  •  MS Data Shape:
    "Provider=MSDataShape.1;Persist Security Info=False;Data Provider=MSDAORA;Data Source=orac;user id=username;password=mypw"

    Want to learn data shaping? Check out 4GuyfFromRolla's great article about Data Shaping >>

 MySQL

•  MyODBC
  
  
  •  MyODBC 2.50 Local database:
    
    "Driver={mySQL};Server=localhost;Option=16834;Database=mydatabase;"
    
    
    
  •  MyODBC 2.50 Remote database:
    
    "Driver={mySQL};Server=data.domain.com;Port=3306;Option=131072;Stmt=;Database=my-database;Uid=username;Pwd=password;"
    
    
    
  •  MyODBC 3.51 Local database:
    
    "DRIVER={MySQL ODBC 3.51 Driver};SERVER=localhost;DATABASE=myDatabase;USER=myUsername;PASSWORD=myPassword;OPTION=3;"
    
    
    
  •  MyODBC 3.51 Remote database:
    
    "DRIVER={MySQL ODBC 3.51 Driver};SERVER=data.domain.com;PORT=3306;DATABASE=myDatabase; USER=myUsername;PASSWORD=myPassword;OPTION=3;"
    
    
    
•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Provider=MySQLProv;Data Source=mydb;User Id=UserName;Password=asdasd;"
•  Connector/Net 1.0 (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Server=Server;Database=Test;Uid=UserName;Pwd=asdasd;"

    Download the driver at MySQL Developer Zone.

  •  Specifying port:
    
    "Server=Server;Port=1234;Database=Test;Uid=UserName;Pwd=asdasd;"

    Default port is 3306. Enter value -1 to use a named pipe connection.

  •  Declare the MySqlClient connection:
    

    C#:
    using MySql.Data.MySqlClient;
    MySqlConnection oMySqlConn = new MySqlConnection();
    oMySqlConn.ConnectionString = "Server=Server;Database=Test;Uid=UserName;Pwd=asdasd;";
    oMySqlConn.Open();

    
    
    

    VB.NET:
    Imports MySql.Data.MySqlClient
    Dim oMySqlConn As MySqlConnection = New MySqlConnection()
    oMySqlConn.ConnectionString = "Server=Server;Database=Test;Uid=UserName;Pwd=asdasd;"
    oMySqlConn.Open()

    
    
    

•  MySqlConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  eInfoDesigns.dbProvider:
    
    "Data Source=server;Database=mydb;User ID=username;Password=pwd;Command Logging=false"

    This one is used with eInfoDesigns dbProvider, an add-on to .NET

  •  Declare the MySqlConnection:
    

    C#:
    using eInfoDesigns.dbProvider.MySqlClient;
    MySqlConnection oMySqlConn = new MySqlConnection();
    oMySqlConn.ConnectionString = "my connection string";
    oMySqlConn.Open();

    
    
    

    VB.NET:
    Imports eInfoDesigns.dbProvider.MySqlClient
    Dim oMySqlConn As MySqlConnection = New MySqlConnection()
    oMySqlConn.ConnectionString = "my connection string"
    oMySqlConn.Open()

    
    
    

•  SevenObjects MySqlClient (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Host=server; UserName=myusername; Password=mypassword;Database=mydb;"

    This is a freeware ADO.Net data provider from SevenObjects

•  Core Labs MySQLDirect (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "User ID=root; Password=pwd; Host=localhost; Port=3306; Database=test;Direct=true; Protocol=TCP; Compress=false; Pooling=true; Min Pool Size=0;Max Pool Size=100; Connection Lifetime=0"

    Read more at Core Lab and the product page.

 Interbase

•  ODBC, Easysoft
  
  
  •  Local computer:
    
    "Driver={Easysoft IB6 ODBC};Server=localhost;Database=localhost:C:\mydatabase.gdb;Uid=username;Pwd=password"
    
    
    
  •  Remote Computer:
    
    "Driver={Easysoft IB6 ODBC};Server=ComputerName;Database=ComputerName:C:\mydatabase.gdb;Uid=username;Pwd=password"

    Read more about this driver: Easysoft ODBC-Interbase driver >>
    

•  ODBC, Intersolv
  
  
  •  Local computer:
    
    "Driver={INTERSOLV InterBase ODBC Driver (*.gdb)};Server=localhost;Database=localhost:C:\mydatabase.gdb;Uid=username;Pwd=password"
    
    
    
  •  Remote Computer:
    
    "Driver={INTERSOLV InterBase ODBC Driver (*.gdb)};Server=ComputerName;Database=ComputerName:C:\mydatabase.gdb;Uid=username;Pwd=password"

    This driver are provided by DataDirect Technologies >> (formerly Intersolv)

    
    
    
•  OLE DB, SIBPROvider
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "provider=sibprovider;location=localhost:;data source=c:\databases\gdbs\mygdb.gdb;user id=SYSDBA;password=masterkey"
    
    
    
  •  Specifying character set:
    
    "provider=sibprovider;location=localhost:;data source=c:\databases\gdbs\mygdb.gdb;user id=SYSDBA;password=masterkey;character set=ISO8859_1"
    
    
    
  •  Specifying role:
    
    "provider=sibprovider;location=localhost:;data source=c:\databases\gdbs\mygdb.gdb;user id=SYSDBA;password=masterkey;role=DIGITADORES"

    Read more about SIBPROvider >>

    
    
    
  
  Read more about connecting to Interbase in this Borland Developer Network article http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,27152,00.html
  
  

 IBM DB2

•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET) from ms
  
  
  •  TCP/IP:
    
    "Provider=DB2OLEDB;Network Transport Library=TCPIP;Network Address=XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX;Initial Catalog=MyCtlg;Package Collection=MyPkgCol;Default Schema=Schema;User ID=MyUser;Password=MyPW"
    
    
    
  •  APPC:
    
    "Provider=DB2OLEDB;APPC Local LU Alias=MyAlias;APPC Remote LU Alias=MyRemote;Initial Catalog=MyCtlg;Package Collection=MyPkgCol;Default Schema=Schema;User ID=MyUser;Password=MyPW"
    
    
    
•  IBM's OLE DB Provider (shipped with IBM DB2 UDB v7 or above)
  
  
  •  TCP/IP:
    
    Provider=IBMDADB2;Database=sample;HOSTNAME=db2host;PROTOCOL=TCPIP;PORT=50000;uid=myUserName;pwd=myPwd;
    
    
    
•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "driver={IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER};Database=myDbName;hostname=myServerName;port=myPortNum;protocol=TCPIP; uid=myUserName; pwd=myPwd"
    
    
    

 Sybase

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard Sybase System 12 Enterprise Open Client:
    
    "Driver={SYBASE ASE ODBC Driver};Srvr=Aron1;Uid=username;Pwd=password"
    
    
    
  •  Standard Sybase System 12.5 Enterprise Open Client:
    
    "Driver={SYBASE ASE ODBC Driver};NA=HOSTNAME,PORT_NUMBER;UID=username;PWD=password"
    
    
    
  •  Standard Sybase System 11:
    
    "Driver={SYBASE SYSTEM 11};Srvr=Aron1;Uid=username;Pwd=password;Database=mydb"

    For more information check out the Adaptive Server Enterprise Document Sets

  •  Intersolv 3.10:
    
    "Driver={INTERSOLV 3.10 32-BIT Sybase};Srvr=Aron1;Uid=username;Pwd=password;"
    
    
    
  •  Sybase SQL Anywhere (former Watcom SQL ODBC driver):
    
    "ODBC; Driver=Sybase SQL Anywhere 5.0; DefaultDir=c:\dbfolder\;Dbf=c:\mydatabase.db;Uid=username;Pwd=password;Dsn="""""

    Note! The two double quota ("") following the DSN parameter at the end are escaped quotas (VB syntax), you may have to change this to your language specific escape syntax (\") or maybe single quota ('). The empty DSN parameter is indeed critical as not including it will result in error 7778.
    
    Read more in the Sybase SQL Anywhere User Guide (see part 3, chapter 13) >>

•  OLE DB
  
  
  •  Adaptive Server Anywhere (ASA):
    
    "Provider=ASAProv;Data source=myASA"

    Read more in the ASA User Guide (part 1, chapter 2) >>

  •  Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) with Data Source .IDS file:
    
    "Provider=Sybase ASE OLE DB Provider; Data source=myASE"

    Note that you must create a Data Source .IDS file using the Sybase Data Administrator. These .IDS files resemble ODBC DSNs.

  •  Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE):
    
    "Provider=Sybase.ASEOLEDBProvider;Srvr=myASEserver,5000;Catalog=myDBname;User Id=username;Password=password"
       - some reports on problem using the above one, try the following as an alternative -
    
    "Provider=Sybase.ASEOLEDBProvider;Server Name=myASEserver,5000;Initial Catalog=myDBname;User Id=username;Password=password"

    This one works only from Open Client 12.5 where the server port number feature works,燼llowing fully qualified connection strings to be used without defining燼ny .IDS Data Source files.

•  AseConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Data Source='myASEserver';Port=5000;Database='myDBname';UID='username';PWD='password';"
    
    
    
  •  Declare the AseConnection:
    

    C#:
    using Sybase.Data.AseClient;
    AseConnection oCon = new AseConnection();
    oCon.ConnectionString="my connection string";
    oCon.Open();

    
    
    

    VB.NET:
    Imports System.Data.AseClient
    Dim oCon As AseConnection = New AseConnection()
    oCon.ConnectionString="my connection string"
    oCon.Open()

    
    
    

    Read more! Adaptive Server Enterprise ADO.NET Data Provider Documentation >>
    
    

 Informix

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Informix 3.30:
    
    "Dsn='';Driver={INFORMIX 3.30 32 BIT};Host=hostname;Server=myserver;Service=service-name;Protocol=olsoctcp;Database=mydb;UID=username;PWD=myPwd
    
    
    
  •  Informix-CLI 2.5:
    
    "Driver={Informix-CLI 2.5 (32 Bit)};Server=myserver;Database=mydb;Uid=username;Pwd=myPwd"
    
    
    
•  OLE DB
  
  
  •  IBM Informix OLE DB Provider:
    
    "Provider=Ifxoledbc.2;password=myPw;User ID=myUser;Data Source=dbName@serverName;Persist Security Info=true"
    
    
    

 Ingres

•  ODBC
  
  
  • DSN-less
    
    "Provider=MSDASQL.1;DRIVER=Ingres;SRVR=xxxxx;DB=xxxxx;Persist Security Info=False;uid=xxxx;pwd=xxxxx;SELECTLOOPS=N;Extended Properties=""SERVER=xxxxx;DATABASE=xxxxx;SERVERTYPE=INGRES"""

    Important note! The two double quota ("") in the string are escaped quotas (VB syntax), you may have to change this to your language specific escape syntax (ex. \") or maybe single quota (').

    
    
    

 Mimer SQL

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard Security:
    
    "Driver={MIMER};Database=mydb;Uid=myuser;Pwd=mypw;"
    
    
    
  •  Prompt for username and password:
    
    "Driver={MIMER};Database=mydb;"
    
    
    

 Lightbase

•  Standard
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "user=USERLOGIN;password=PASSWORD;UDB=USERBASE;server=SERVERNAME"
    
    
    

 PostgreSQL

•  Core Labs PostgreSQLDirect (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "User ID=root; Password=pwd; Host=localhost; Port=5432; Database=testdb;Pooling=true; Min Pool Size=0; Max Pool Size=100; Connection Lifetime=0"

    Read more at Core Lab and the product page.

    
    
    
•  PostgreSQL driver
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "DRIVER={PostgreSQL};SERVER=ipaddress;port=5432;DATABASE=dbname;UID=username;PWD=password;"
    
    
    
•  Npgsql by pgFoundry (.NET)
  
  
  •  SSL activated:
    
    "Server=127.0.0.1;Port=5432;Userid=myuserid;password=mypw;Protocol=3;SSL=true;Pooling=true;MinPoolSize=3;MaxPoolSize=20;Encoding=UNICODE;Timeout=20;SslMode=Require"
    
    
     Without SSL:
    
    "Server=127.0.0.1;Port=5432;Userid=myuserid;password=mypw;Protocol=3;SSL=false;Pooling=true;MinPoolSize=1;MaxPoolSize=20;Encoding=UNICODE;Timeout=15;SslMode=Disable"

    Read more in the Npgsql: User's Manual and on the pgFoundry website.

    
    
    

 Paradox

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  5.X:
    
    Driver={Microsoft Paradox Driver (*.db )};DriverID=538;Fil=Paradox 5.X;DefaultDir=c:\pathToDb\;Dbq=c:\pathToDb\;CollatingSequence=ASCII"
    
    
    
  •  7.X:
    
    "Provider=MSDASQL.1;Persist Security Info=False;Mode=Read;Extended Properties='DSN=Paradox;DBQ=C:\myDb;DefaultDir=C:\myDb;DriverId=538;FIL=Paradox 7.X;MaxBufferSize=2048;PageTimeout=600;';Initial Catalog=C:\myDb"
    
    
    
•  OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Standard
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=c:\myDb;Extended Properties=Paradox 5.x;"

    MS kb-article: How to use Paradox data with Access and Jet >>

    
    
    

 DSN

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  DSN:
    
    "DSN=myDsn;Uid=username;Pwd=;"
    
    
    
  •  File DSN:
    
    "FILEDSN=c:\myData.dsn;Uid=username;Pwd=;"
    
    
    

 Firebird

•  ODBC - IBPhoenix Open Source
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "DRIVER=Firebird/InterBase(r) driver;UID=SYSDBA;PWD=masterkey;DBNAME=D:\FIREBIRD\examples\TEST.FDB"

    IBPhoenix ODBC; More info, download etc >>

•  .NET - Firebird .Net Data Provider
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "User=SYSDBA;Password=masterkey;Database=SampleDatabase.fdb;DataSource=localhost;Port=3050;Dialect=3;Charset=NONE;Role=;Connection lifetime=15;Pooling=true;MinPoolSize=0;MaxPoolSize=50;Packet Size=8192;ServerType=0"

    Firebird ADO.NET project >>

    Firebird ADO.NET downloads >>

 Excel

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls)};DriverId=790;Dbq=C:\MyExcel.xls;DefaultDir=c:\mypath;"

    TIP! SQL syntax: "SELECT * FROM [sheet1$]" - i.e. worksheet name followed by a "$" and wrapped in "[" "]" brackets.

•  OLE DB
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\MyExcel.xls;Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;IMEX=1"""

    "HDR=Yes;" indicates that the first row contains columnnames, not data

    "IMEX=1;" tells the driver to always read "intermixed" data columns as text. Note that this option might affect excel sheet write access negative.

    TIP! SQL syntax: "SELECT * FROM [sheet1$]" - i.e. worksheet name followed by a "$" and wrapped in "[" "]" brackets.

    TIP! Check out the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\Excel] located registry REG_DWORD "TypeGuessRows". That's the key to not letting Excel use only the first 8 rows to guess the columns data type. Set this value to 0 to scan all rows. This might hurt performance.

    Important note! The two double quota ("") in the string are escaped quotas (VB syntax), you may have to change this to your language specific escape syntax (ex. \") or maybe single quota (').

 Text

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Text Driver (*.txt; *.csv)};Dbq=c:\txtFilesFolder\;Extensions=asc,csv,tab,txt;"
    
    
    
•  OLE DB
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=c:\txtFilesFolder\;Extended Properties=""text;HDR=Yes;FMT=Delimited"""

    "HDR=Yes;" indicates that the first row contains columnnames, not data

    Important note! The two double quota ("") in the string are escaped quotas (VB syntax), you may have to change this to your language specific escape syntax (ex. \") or maybe single quota (').

 DBF / FoxPro

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  standard:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft dBASE Driver (*.dbf)};DriverID=277;Dbq=c:\mydbpath;"
    
    
    
•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  standard:
    
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=c:\folder;Extended Properties=dBASE IV;User ID=Admin;Password="
    
    
    

 AS/400 (iSeries)

•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  IBM Client Access OLE DB provider:
    
    "PROVIDER=IBMDA400; DATA SOURCE=MY_SYSTEM_NAME;USER ID=myUserName;PASSWORD=myPwd"

    Where MY_SYSTEM_NAME is the name given to the system connection in OperationsNavigator

  •  IBM Client Access OLE DB provider:
    
    "PROVIDER=IBMDA400; DATA SOURCE=MY_SYSTEM_NAME;USER ID=myUserName;PASSWORD=myPwd;DEFAULT COLLECTION=MY_LIBRARY;"

    Where MY_SYSTEM_NAME is the name given to the System Connection, and MY_LIBRARY is the name given to the library in iSeries Navigator.

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  IBM Client Access ODBC driver:
    
    "Driver={Client Access ODBC Driver (32-bit)};System=my_system_name;Uid=myUserName;Pwd=myPwd"

 Exchange

•  OLE DB
  
  
  •  Exchange OLE DB provider:
    
    "ExOLEDB.DataSource"

    Specify store in the connection open command like this: conn.open "http://servername/mypublicstore"
    
    Check out this article at msdn >> and this one at Addison-Wesley >>

 Visual FoxPro

•  OLE DB, OleDbConnection (.NET)
  
  
  •  Database container (.DBC):
    
    "Provider=vfpoledb.1;Data Source=C:\MyDbFolder\MyDbContainer.dbc;Collating Sequence=machine"
    
    
    
  •  Free table directory:
    
    "Provider=vfpoledb.1;Data Source=C:\MyDataDirectory\;Collating Sequence=general"
    
    
    
  •  Force the provider to use an ODBC DSN:
    
    "Provider=vfpoledb.1;DSN=MyDSN"

    Read more (Microsoft msdn) >>

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Database container (.DBC):
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Visual FoxPro Driver};SourceType=DBC;SourceDB=c:\myvfpdb.dbc;Exclusive=No;NULL=NO;Collate=Machine;BACKGROUNDFETCH=NO;DELETED=NO"
    
    
    
  •  Free Table directory:
    
    "Driver={Microsoft Visual FoxPro Driver};SourceType=DBF;SourceDB=c:\myvfpdbfolder;Exclusive=No;Collate=Machine;NULL=NO;DELETED=NO;BACKGROUNDFETCH=NO"

    "Collate=Machine" is the default setting, for other settings check the list of supported collating sequences >>

  
  Microsoft Visual Foxpro site: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro
  
  

 Pervasive

•  ODBC
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Driver={Pervasive ODBC Client Interface};ServerName=srvname;dbq=@dbname"

    Pervasive ODBC info >>

•  OLE DB
  
  
  •  Standard:
    
    "Provider=PervasiveOLEDB;Data Source=C:\path"

    Pervasive OLE DB info >>

 UDL

•  UDL
  
  
  •  UDL:
    
    "File Name=c:\myDataLink.udl;"