Overview
This document is designed to provide assistance in connecting to Microsoft SQL Server versions 6.x, 7.0, and 2000 using the native driver interface from PowerBuilder.  PowerBuilder's native interface is compliant with SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 but has not been enhanced to provide access to all new features of those releases due to limitations in the underlying DB-Library API layer which Microsoft is no longer supporting.  For PowerBuilder 7.0 and later, the recommended interface for accessing SQL Server 7.0 and subsequent releases is the OLE-DB interface.

This document is a supplement to the information provided in the PowerBuilder Connecting to your Database manual.

Microsoft SQL Server Client Software
Microsoft client software needs to be installed for the proper platform before any connections can be made from PowerBuilder to your target database.

Verifying your Microsoft SQL Server Connection
Once you have installed the necessary client-side software provided by Microsoft, make sure that you can connect outside of PowerBuilder (using Microsoft's ISQL client, for instance) before you attempt to connect from within PowerBuilder. This is necessary to determine that you can establish a connection from your workstation using the client software. From this point it should be easy to connect from PowerBuilder.

Matching the drivers at connect time
You select a specific PowerBuilder native driver when you supply the DBMS value in your database profile. This entry is used to populate the DBMS property of the transaction object. To connect using the specified DBMS value, in this case 'MSS',  you must have installed the associated PowerBuilder native driver and the related Microsoft client side support DLLs.

The following table shows the relationship between the DBMS value and the related PowerBuilder and Microsoft DLLs for PowerBuilder versions 6.0/6.5 through 8.0.  If one of the DLLs associated with the DBMS specification is missing, you will not be able to connect.
 
 

Common Errors

'DBMS MSS ... not supported in current installation' or 'Unable to load the requested database interface'
      see Technical Document 47750 for information on troubleshooting this problem
 

Unable to connect: SQL Server is unavailable or does not exist. Specified SQL Sever not found.
    This error can occur under the following circumstances:

    1. You supplied incorrect information in the profile for the Server name option.  To correct the error, supply the correct server name.

    2. You have incorrectly set up the Net Library information when installing the client software supplied by Microsoft.  To correct the error, run the SQL Server Client Configuration Utility found in your MS SQL Client program group. On the Net Library tab (6.5 software and later) or under Net Library section (6.0 software), make the correct changes to reflect what services your administrator has provided (e.g., if you're setup to use Named Pipes connections you must indicate this as the Net Library driver to use).

        Note: Contact your MS SQL Server Administrator to get the required information regarding connectivity from your workstation on your particular network. He or she will know if the setup is for Named Pipe services, TCP/IP services, etc.
 

Dynamic Link Library <dll name> could not be found in the specified path.
    This error can occur under any of the following circumstances:

1. DLL is missing.

2. Directory containing the DLL is not in the path.

3. If a search finds multiple copies, the pathing may be result in an invalid or out of sync version being used for your connection.

4. 16-bit client software has been installed but an attempt is being made to connect from a 32-bit client or vice-versa.

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