When .Net first came out ODBC support was not shipped with the release
build, and you had to go to microsoft.com and download a component
which added a namespace called Microsoft.Data.Odbc. This worked fine
with Rdb, and you could use a connection string that included the
'database' keyword (e.g. "database=attach 'filename drive:[dir]root'").

With one of the later releases of .Net MS decided that shipping ODBC
support with .Net was a Good Thing and they created an "improved"
version of their ODBC package for .Net which added a namespace called
System.Data.Odbc. This does not play nicely with the Rdb "database"
keyword, complaining bitterly about the presence of single-quotes in
the connection string and refusing to connect. I've tried various ways
to work around this without success, and at present we can only connect
to Rdb database from our .Net apps by using a class which sets up
pre-defined connections. Has anyone found a *working* workaround that
allows .Net to connect to an Rdb database without using a pre-defined
connection? Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Bob Jarvis wrote:
Bob,

If all else fails - add OCI support to your database and use the
MS???ORA thingy (note the technical term) to connect to the db. I even
use the OCI via PHP from OpenVMS, Linux and other UNIX platforms.

There is some increased administration, but could be worth the hassle.

Michael Austin
Former DEC/Rdb Regional Field Support Engineer.