OpenLink Software has discontinued its Express Edition family of ODBC Drivers, as a push towards simplifying the installation process for all users.

This decision has mainly stemmed from user confusion stemming from the Express Edition's dependency on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which has been magnified by the idiosyncratic version bundling patterns of JVMs across the major operating systems.

The Lite and Enterprise Edition driver families remain available, including the Lite Edition ODBC-to-JDBC Bridge upon which each database-specific Express Edition driver was based.

We recommend that all users of the Express Edition upgrade to the Lite or Enterprise Edition driver for their specific RDBMS, or to the ODBC-to-JDBC Bridge, to keep up to date with future fixes and updates.

We are also providing a 30% discount on upgrades to Lite and Enterprise Edition Licenses for all Express Edition customers, until June 1st, 2019. This upgrade must be purchased through an account manager.

Common Situations and Resolutions

I am currently evaluating an Express Edition ODBC Driver

Evaluation licenses and installers for Lite Edition ODBC Drivers can be obtained here.

The Lite Edition ODBC Driver for JDBC Data Sources (a/k/a the Lite Edition ODBC-to-JDBC Bridge) may be combined with a relevant JDBC Driver to achieve the same connection as any given Express Edition driver in current use - as this is what was done to produce the Express Edition ODBC drivers.

I used the Express Edition driver with a Java Application

For such a connection, you had to be going through a JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge. Any of our Lite or Enterprise ODBC solutions may be substituted for the Express Edition in such a scenario.

Alternatively, our Enterprise Edition solutions enable direct JDBC connections - without a JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge - to the most popular RDBMS.

Further, our Lite and Enterprise Edition JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge solutions can enable you to make JDBC connections to other ODBC data sources.

I am an existing licensee and need to install this driver on another machine

Express Edition installers will remain available to current customers by request, at least until the release of the version 8.0 data access drivers or expiration of active Maintenance & Support Agreements.

Additional licenses may be available for expanded use by existing licensees, and new licenses may be available by special request.

Brief Overviews of Alternative Products

Lite Edition ODBC Drivers

Like the Express Edition, the Lite Edition ODBC drivers consist of a single component that is installed on a machine with ODBC client applications. This single installation process simplifies the process for new and power users alike when getting started. (In some cases, installation of a DBMS "native client" is also required - e.g., Oracle Instant Client, Progress SQL-92 Client Access, Informix Client SDK.)

These drivers (except the ODBC-to-JDBC Bridge) have no JVM dependencies and are ready for use immediately following installation.

Enterprise Edition ODBC Solutions

Thanks to a Multi-Tier Architecture, our Enterprise Edition solutions are the most flexible of the product suite, as they can provide ODBC, JDBC, and/or ADO.NET connectivity to both 32- and 64-bit client applications, “out of the box,” with a single installation.

The client layer of the Enterprise Edition is thin, and readily suitable for all situations, whether one or many client hosts or applications require connectivity, supporting both new and old operating systems and applications.

The components that communicate with the data sources provide Enterprise Edition administrators with unparalleled levels of user access control and server management, while enabling access to both modern and legacy databases and operating systems.

Additional Questions

We are happy to answer questions regarding this change through the following avenues:

• Online Community Forum
• Email Sales Inquiries

Related Content

• Free Evaluation License Generation & Installer Archive Download Page
• Lite Edition ODBC Driver Information
• Enterprise Edition ODBC Driver Information

Express Edition ODBC Driver Discontinuation was originally published in OpenLink ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET Data Access Drivers Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.