Access MS exchange, Lotus Notes ODBC vs. OLE

Deda has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

hi all, I am writing some perl scripts that should access and modify ms exchange and lotus objects. I'd prefer to use the DBI::ODBC (not win32::odbc) driver (since i am already accesing other DBs with it), but i found no examples. I have found some examples, but they all use either Net::SMTP, <cant remember>::LDAP, Win32::OLE or something else. Can anyone tell me why no one (to my knowledge) uses DBI::ODBC. Should i avoid using it? Why? thanx, Deda

Comment on Access MS exchange, Lotus Notes ODBC vs. OLE

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Re: Access MS exchange, Lotus Notes ODBC vs. OLE by inman (Curate) on Oct 08, 2003 at 14:13 UTC
Can you give more details as to what you are trying to do with Exchange and Lotus Notes? Lotus Notes is a complicated beast to use progamatically but the data that it contains can be manipulated using other applications. From personal experience, I would avoid using the Lotus Notes ODBC driver as it is not known for it's stability. If you are looking to extract content from Lotus Notes, then you may be interested in downloading the DXL libraries (C API) from IBM. This includes a couple of apps that will allow you to export Notes stuff as XML. Inman	[reply]
Re: Re: Access MS exchange, Lotus Notes ODBC vs. OLE by Deda (Novice) on Oct 08, 2003 at 20:35 UTC
Actually, I don't know for sure yet.. :-\|. I'm currently just investigating the access possibilities. I'll have to simulate some basic exch/lotus tasks, such as adding/removing/querying mailboxes/information stores... Generally, modifying and browsing the structure in aplication's database - but nothing like administrative tasks - for integration testing purposes.	[reply]
Re: Access MS exchange, Lotus Notes ODBC vs. OLE by jdtoronto (Prior) on Oct 08, 2003 at 15:19 UTC
Your first problem is to understand what type of access is available to the various applications you are wanting to work with. ODBC stands for Open Data Base Connectivity - it will generally only be usable with a database or a product that allows direct access to a database for manipulation. OLE - or Object Link Embedding - is a mechanism for accessing objects within the target application from your application. But you need the documentation on the objects within the application you can access. In short - research the product you want to manipulate. Find out what access methods it allows and THEN you KNOW what you need to use fomr your application. There is no choice between the various methods you mention, each has its own specific uses and functionalities. jdtoronto	[reply]