# Setting up an ODBC Connector

### Overview¶

You can use the generic ODBC connector for any of your data source compliant with ODBC.

{% hint style="warning" %}
The relevant **driver** must be installed and configured on your Toucan Toco workspace.\
\
see [Driver information](#driver-installation) for more information
{% endhint %}

#### Datasource configuration

* First, ask your Toucan Toco contact to install the driver on your instance

Go to the Datahub datasources tab

Mandatory parameters

* **Connection string**: a string of parameters used to establish a connection between an application and a database. It contains essential information needed to identify and access the data source.

Here are the key aspects of ODBC connection strings:

**Format and Structure**

Connection strings typically follow this format:

```
textkeyword1=value1;keyword2=value2;keyword3=value3
```

Each keyword-value pair is separated by a semicolon, and there's no space between the pairs.

**Common Parameters**

ODBC connection strings often include the following parameters:

* **DRIVER**: Specifies the ODBC driver to use
* **SERVER** or **ADDRESS**: The server name or IP address
* **DATABASE**: The name of the database to connect to
* **UID** (User ID) and **PWD** (Password): Authentication credentials
* **PORT**: The port number for the database server (if non-default)

**Example Connection Strings**

Here are some examples of ODBC connection strings:

1. For SQL Server:

   ```
   textDriver={SQL Server};Server=myServerAddress;Database=myDataBase;Uid=myUsername;Pwd=myPassword;
   ```
2. For a trusted connection:

   ```
   textDriver={SQL Server};Server=myServerAddress;Database=myDataBase;Trusted_Connection=Yes;
   ```
3. For a non-default port:

   ```
   textDriver={SQL Server};Server=myServerName,myPortNumber;Database=myDataBase;Uid=myUsername;Pwd=myPassword;
   ```

This [website](https://www.connectionstrings.com) can serve as a reference for connection strings

**Query configuration**

To create a dataset, click on "Create a new dataset" on the connection of the connector you just set up

You will land on the query configuration part, to create :

Mandatory parameters

* Query: string type your SQL query in this field.

You can click on `Preview` to see your results and `Validate` to validate your query then on `Create` to create a dataset

### Driver installation

* Other driver installation scripts are available for:
  * [databricks](https://github.com/ToucanToco/toucan-connectors/blob/master/toucan_connectors/install_scripts/databricks.sh)
  * [microsoft sql](https://github.com/ToucanToco/toucan-connectors/blob/master/toucan_connectors/install_scripts/mssql.sh)
  * [oracle](https://github.com/ToucanToco/toucan-connectors/blob/master/toucan_connectors/install_scripts/oracle.sh)
* For syntax refer to:
  * [databricks](https://docs.databricks.com/integrations/bi/jdbc-odbc-bi.html)
  * [microsoft sql](https://github.com/mkleehammer/pyodbc/wiki/Connecting-to-SQL-Server-from-Windows)
  * [oracle](https://github.com/mkleehammer/pyodbc/wiki/Connecting-to-Oracle-from-RHEL-or-Centos)
* For reference, you can check [pyodbc](https://github.com/mkleehammer/pyodbc/wiki)