ODBC and JDBC Guide

Chapter 7
Supported standards
This chapter describes the SQL statements and constructs supported by the FileMaker ODBC and JDBC
client drivers. Use the client drivers to access a FileMaker database solution from an ODBC- or JDBC-
compliant application. The FileMaker database solution can be hosted by either FileMaker
Pro or
FileMaker
Server Advanced.
The ODBC client driver supports ODBC 3.5 Level 1 with some features of Level 2. The JDBC client driver
provides partial support for the JDBC 3.0 specification. See www.filemaker.com/support/technologies for
more information. The ODBC and JDBC client drivers support SQL-92 entry-level conformance, with some
SQL-92 intermediate features.
Support for Unicode characters
The ODBC and JDBC client drivers support the Unicode API. However, if you’re creating a custom
application that uses the client drivers, use ASCII for field names, table names, and filenames (in case a non-
Unicode query tool or application is used).
Note To insert and retrieve Unicode data, use SQL_C_WCHAR.
SQL statements
The ODBC and JDBC client drivers provide support for the following SQL statements:
The client drivers also support FileMaker data type mapping to ODBC SQL and JDBC SQL data types. See
“Mapping FileMaker fields to ODBC data types” on page 59 and “Mapping FileMaker fields to JDBC data
types” on page 59 for data type conversions. For more information on constructing SQL queries, refer to a
third-party book.
Note The ODBC and JDBC client drivers do not support FileMaker portals.
SELECT statement
Use the SELECT statement to specify which columns you're requesting. Follow the SELECT statement with
the column expressions (similar to field names) you want to retrieve (for example,
last_name).
Expressions can include mathematical operations or string manipulation (for example,
SALARY * 1.05).
SELECT (see below) DELETE (page 42) INSERT (page 42) UPDATE (page 43)
CREATE TABLE (page 44) ALTER TABLE (page 44) CREATE INDEX (page 45) DROP INDEX (page 45)