DBI is the interface your Perl program uses to the high-level database routines. Those routines in turn call the low-level backend routines that are database specific.

One of these backend routines is ODBC, which itself is an indirection layer to let many databases have a similar API.

So it'd go yourcode -to- DBI -to- DBD::ODBC -to- random back end

Sure, you can certainly talk directly to ODBC, but then you'd lose the option to go with a non-ODBC backend by changing just a few lines of code, such as mysql via: yourcode -to- DBI -to- DBD::mysql -to- mysql API.

So, ODBC doesn't replace DBI. DBI doesn't replace ODBC. They're indirections at different levels.

-- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker

I had used Win32::ODBC; on NT machines for a while. It always worked fine for me. Then I had to start using DBI, cause of a new job. While I think Win32::ODBC was easier to learn, once I learned DBI, it made it easier to deal with more complicated tasks. Plus if you ever have to move the application to a *nix machine you wont have to re-code your database programs.

Another benifit of DBI is that it is much more widely supported, which means more people will be able to help you out of a jam.

So if you feel more comfortable with ODBC, then stick with it, but I, and prolly most eveyone here would recomend learn DBI.

To answer you question more directly, Yes, you can make DBI use the ODBC(seperate from Win32::ODBC) interface to get to an Access DB on NT.

my $name = 'Ben Kittrell';
$name=~s/^(.+)\s(.).+$/\L$1$2/g;
my $nick = 'tha' . $name . 'sta';
[download]