ASA SQL User's Guide
  Accessing Remote Data

Introduction

Adaptive Server Anywhere remote data access give you access to data in othe data sources. You can use this feature to migrate data into an Adaptive Server Anywhere database. You can also use the feature to query data across databases, although performance for such multi-database queries is much slower than when all the data is in a single Adaptive Server Anywhere database.

With remote data access you can:

• Use Adaptive Server Anywhere to move data from one location to another using insert-select.

• Access data in relational databases such as Sybase, Oracle, and DB2.

• Access desktop data such as Excel spreadsheets, MS-Access databases, FoxPro, and text files.

• Access any other data source that supports an ODBC interface.

• Perform joins between local and remote data, although performance is much slower than if all the data is in a single Adaptive Server Anywhere database.

• Perform joins between tables in separate Adaptive Server Anywhere databases. Performance limitations here are the same as with other remote data sources.

• Use Adaptive Server Anywhere features on data sources that would normally not have that ability. For instance, you could use a Java function against data stored in Oracle, or perform a subquery on spreadsheets. Adaptive Server Anywhere compensates for features not supported by a remote data source by operating on the data after it is retrieved.

• Access remote servers directly using passthrough mode.

• Execute remote procedure calls to other servers.

Adaptive Server Anywhere allows access to the following external data sources:

• Adaptive Server Anywhere

• Adaptive Server Enterprise

• Oracle

• IBM DB2

• Microsoft SQL Server

• Other ODBC data sources

For platform availability, see Windows and NetWare operating systems.

Accessing remote data from PowerBuilder DataWindows