Install unixodbc with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository

Commands and aliases

• dltest
• isql
• iusql
• odbc_config
• odbcinst
• slencheck

Project history

The upstream README describes unixODBC as an open source ODBC subsystem and SDK for Linux, Mac OSX, and UNIX, including a driver manager, installer library and command-line tool, plus command-line tools for driver installation and SQL work. Its web documentation describes it as a complete, free/open ODBC solution for UNIX/Linux.

unixODBC grew around the need to reproduce the Windows ODBC environment on non-Windows platforms. The official odbcinst guide explains that Windows ODBC used .ini-style configuration historically, and unixODBC implements the same configuration model and APIs through ini files and libodbcinst.

Adoption history

unixODBC became infrastructure rather than an end-user application: databases, language bindings, BI tools, office suites, and proprietary drivers could target a common ODBC manager on Unix-like systems. The official documentation includes guides for DB2, FreeTDS, Informix, Perl DBD::ODBC, PHP, OpenOffice/StarOffice, connection pooling, and other integration scenarios.

Its package-manager footprint reflects that infrastructure role. The input shows it packaged across Homebrew, Alpine, Debian and Ubuntu libraries, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and openSUSE, often as the dependency that makes higher-level database connectors work.

How it is used

Package users encounter unixODBC through tools such as isql, iusql, odbcinst, odbc_config, dltest, and slencheck. isql tests DSNs and runs SQL from a shell; odbcinst registers drivers and data sources; odbc_config exposes build/link flags for software compiling against the installed driver manager.

The practical admin workflow is ini-file driven. System configuration typically lives in odbcinst.ini and odbc.ini under an etc directory, while user DSNs can live in ~/.odbc.ini. The README notes that ODBCSYSINI can override where unixODBC looks for system configuration.

Why package nerds care

unixODBC is package-nerd significant because it is the quiet shared ABI beneath many database packages. A broken driver-manager path, SQLLEN size mismatch, missing ini file, or loader issue can make unrelated database clients fail.

It is also a classic Unix packaging problem: libraries, headers, CLI diagnostics, driver registration, dynamic loading, and vendor drivers all have to agree. That is why tools such as odbc_config, odbcinst, dltest, and slencheck matter even though most users only wanted an application to connect to a database.

Timeline

• Late 1990s-early 2000s: unixODBC developed as an ODBC subsystem for Unix and Linux platforms.
• 2001: ChangeLog entries show the 2.1.x line adding packaging and platform work, including Mac install/package directories.
• 2002: The 2.2.x line added iusql, odbcinst options, DataManager updates, MySQL/PostgreSQL driver work, and platform fixes.
• 2004: Version 2.2.10 continued portability, driver-manager, VMS, AIX, PostgreSQL, and setup improvements.
• 2015: Version 2.3.4 included driver-manager fixes, man pages, slencheck, mingw-w64 handling, and more ODBC 3.8 work.

Related projects

• Related projects and ecosystems include Microsoft ODBC, database-specific ODBC drivers, FreeTDS, DB2, Informix, PostgreSQL and MySQL ODBC drivers, Perl DBD::ODBC, PHP ODBC integrations, OpenOffice/StarOffice data access, and vendor Unix database clients.
• The repository also points to SourceForge, GitHub, and the unixODBC web site as project resources, reflecting its long life across older and newer open source hosting.

Sources

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lurcher/unixODBC/master/ChangeLog
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lurcher/unixODBC/master/README
• https://www.unixodbc.org/doc/
• https://www.unixodbc.org/doc/UserManual/
• https://www.unixodbc.org/odbcinst.html
• source_facts.package-manager