(mysql.info.gz) Data Source Name

(mysql.info.gz) MyODBC Configuration
 
 23.1.9.1 What is a Data Source Name?
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 A "data source" is a place where data comes from.  The data source must
 have a persistent identifier, the Data Source Name. Using the Data
 Source Name, MySQL can access initialization information. With the
 initialization information, MySQL knows where to access the database
 and what settings to use when the access starts.
 
 In effect, the data source is the _path_ to the data. In different
 contexts this might mean different things, but typically it identifies
 a running MySQL server (for example via a network address or service
 name), plus the default database for that server at connection time,
 plus necessary connection information such as the port. The MySQL
 drivers (and, on Windows systems, the ODBC Driver Manager) will use the
 data source for connecting. An administrative utility called the
 Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator may be useful for this purpose.
 
 There are two places where the initialization information might be: in
 the Windows registry (on a Windows system), or in a DSN file (on any
 system).
 
 If the information is in the Windows registry, it is called a "Machine
 data source". It might be a "User data source", in which case only one
 user can see it. Or it might be a "System data source" in which case it
 is accessible to all users on the computer, or indeed to all users
 connected to the computer, if the users are connected by Microsoft
 Windows NT services. When you run the ODBC Data Administration program,
 you will have a choice whether to use "User" or "System" - there are
 separate tabs.
 
 If the information is in a DSN file, it is called a "File data source".
 This is a text file. Its advantages are: (a) it is an option for any
 kind of computer, not just a computer with a Windows operating system;
 (b) its contents can be transmitted or copied relatively easily.
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