SAS ODBC Driver User's Guide and Programmer's Reference

Glossary

access descriptor	a SAS/ACCESS file that describes to the SAS System data that are in a database management system (DBMS) table or in a PC file. You use an access descriptor as a master descriptor file from which to create view descriptors.
application programming interface (API)	a set of software functions that facilitate communication between applications and other kinds of programs or services.
access method	the communications protocol that the SAS ODBC driver uses to exchange data with a SAS server. The driver currently supports the use of TCP/IP and Network DDE for remote data exchange, and DDE for local exchange.
API	See application programming interface (API).
client	a computer or application that requests services, data, or other resources from a server.
data source name (DSN)	the ODBC term used to describe all of the information needed to locate and access a particular source of data. The DSN includes the ODBC driver used to access the data, the location of the data, plus as any necessary authentication information (username and password) required to retrieve the data.(footnote 1)
DBMS	See database management system (DBMS).
database management system (DBMS)	an integrated software package that enables you to create and manipulate data in the form of databases.
dialog window	a window that prompts a user for additional information in order to perform a specified action.
driver	See ODBC driver.
DSN	See data source name (DSN).
engine	a part of the SAS System that reads from or writes to a file. Each engine enables the SAS System to access files that have a particular format.
file DSN	a data source name that is stored completely within a file (unlike a machine DSN, a user DSN, or a system DSN, which are stored in the Windows Registry). See also data source name, user DSN and system DSN.
libref	the name that is temporarily associated with a SAS data library. For example, in the name SASUSER.ACCOUNTS, the name SASUSER is the libref. To assign a libref, you use either the SAS LIBNAME statement or your operating system control language.
machine DSN	sometimes referred to as a user DSN, a system DSN, or both. User and system DSNs are called machine DSNs because they are specific to a particular machine (they are stored in the Windows Registry).
ODBC driver	a loadable library module that provides a standardized interface to disparate databases or data sources.
system DSN	a data source name that is stored in the Windows Registry and that can be accessed by any user of the system that stores the DSN. See also data source name and machine DSN.
user DSN	a data source name that is stored in the Windows Registry and that can only be accessed by the user who created it. See also data source name and machine DSN.

FOOTNOTE 1: For information about configuring file DSNs for ODBC-compliant applications that only support the use of file DSNs (such as Microsoft Excel '97), see the SAS ODBC Driver online help.

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