This document provides late-breaking information about the StarSQL for Windows v5.6 ODBC software driver.
StarSQL for Windows provides fast reliable access to IBM DB2 relational databases from any ODBC-enabled application. The powerful StarSQL driver enables Windows applications on a desktop computer to transparently access, send SQL queries to, and retrieve results from databases on remote IBM mainframe, midrange, or UNIX systems, including double-byte hosts. This allows you to open a database on the host as if the database were stored on your local computer. This release of StarSQL for Windows includes a 64-bit version of the driver so you can unleash the power of 64-bit operating systems and database applications. With a license to use StarSQL, you can use the 32- and 64-bit versions of the ODBC driver or the StarSQL for Java JDBC driver.
The following topics are addressed in these Release Notes. Refer to the StarSQL for Windows Quick Start Guide for detailed information about installing StarSQL for the first time, and refer to the StarSQL for Windows Help (sqwizard.chm) and User's Guide (ssqlwin.pdf) for detailed information about using the StarSQL for Windows driver.
You can install and run the StarSQL for Windows driver on computers with the following Windows operating systems.
StarSQL requires Visual C++ 2008 runtimes. The StarSQL installer will install the Microsoft-supplied Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable package if it is not already present on the system. The Microsoft Redistributable package will remain on the system if StarSQL is upgraded or uninstalled.
The 64-bit version of the StarSQL ODBC driver works within a TCP/IP network, or in conjunction with the StarPipes gateway, to connect a Windows x64 client to a DB2 host. The 32-bit version of the StarSQL ODBC driver can use any of the following networks to connect to the host.
If you need SNA connectivity to your host, the StarQuest StarPipes software can serve as a gateway between clients on a TCP/IP network and DB2 hosts on an SNA network.
You can use the StarSQL driver to connect to any of the following host databases:
For native DRDA over TCP/IP support the host must run one of the following versions of DB2:
The following versions of DB2 support LOB (large object) data types:
If you will be accessing Unicode or ASCII LOB data on DB2 for OS/390 or z/OS, it is recommended that you have applied the PTFs described in the IBM APAR PQ85495. For details, refer to the expert setting UseSYSDUMMYAEU in the StarSQL Configuration Wizard help (sqwizard.chm).
This release of StarSQL for Windows includes the following enhancements.
This section describes issues of interest for users who are upgrading from a prior version of StarSQL.
Rebinding Packages
After installing StarSQL 5.6x, you should rebind StarSQL packages on the host system if you upgrading from a version of StarSQL prior to V5.38. We suggest that you use StarAdmin to do this; see the StarSQL technical document Binding StarSQL Packages Using StarAdmin for details. These packages are backwards compatible with StarSQL 5.38 through 5.4x clients. If you are using any version of StarSQL prior to v5.38, upgrade those clients to StarSQL v5.6 or use a different package collection. See the StarSQL User's Guide (SSQLWin.pdf) for details about package compatibility.
Character Substitution
To identify problems with character conversion, StarSQL detects if one or more characters cannot be converted between the host and client character sets and substitutes a question mark, ?, in place of the character(s). A warning is generated when the substitution occurs, which may be problematic for certain applications that are not anticipating this warning. To avoid character conversion warnings, either correct any character conversion issues or, if the character substitution is acceptable, set the CharacterSubstitution value to Silent in the StarSQL DSN.
Dynamic SQL for Catalog Queries
To improve performance when connected to DB2/zOS servers, StarSQL executes dynamic SQL statements for catalog queries. This behavior differs from versions of StarSQL prior to v5.36, where static SQL located in the driver's host packages was used to perform all catalog queries. In order for StarSQL to use dynamic SQL for catalog queries, users must be granted SELECT privileges to the catalog tables, such as SYSIBM.SYSTABLES, SYSIBM.SYSCOLUMNS, SYSIBM.SYSROUTINES, etc. If you want the StarSQL driver to use static SQL for catalog functions, set the UseDynamicCatalogSQL parameter to No in the StarSQL DSN. Refer to the StarSQL technical document SQV00SQ051 - StarSQL User Requirements for Dynamic SQL Catalog Queries for details.
StarSQL (64-bit) and StarSQL (32-bit) can be installed on the same system and are independent of each other.
The following features of StarSQL (32-bit) are not present in this version of StarSQL (64-bit):
StarSQL (64-bit) can use the same StarSQL packages as StarSQL (32-bit). We recommend installing the 32-bit version of StarSQL (either on the same computer as the 64-bit or on a different computer) if you want to use StarAdmin to bind host packages. Similarly, install the 32-bit version of StarSQL to obtain the functionality of the StarScribe Static SQL Package Editor. For SNA connectivity, consider using the StarQuest StarPipes gateway.
ODBC data sources for 32-bit and 64-bit environments are configured independently using the appropriate version of the Windows ODBC Administrator. The 32-bit version of ODBC Administrator is located in the Windows\SysWOW64 directory, and the 64-bit version is located in the Windows\System32 directory. Selecting the ODBC Administrator shortcut from the StarSQL (32-bit) program group invokes the 32-bit version of ODBC Administrator, and selecting the ODBC Administrator shortcut from the StarSQL (64-bit) program group invokes the 64-bit version.
The 64-bit ODBC driver appears with the name StarSQL (64-bit). The 32-bit version of the StarSQL ODBC driver is named StarSQL 32. Note that it is important to specify the correct driver name in File data sources or in DSN-less connection strings.
On a Windows x64 system, both 32-bit and 64-bit User Data Sources ("User DSNs") are visible to both 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC applications and both versions of ODBC Administrator, but are only usable by the matching type of application (i.e. 64-bit applications only can use 64-bit User DSNs, 32-bit applications can only use 32-bit User DSNs). If your ODBC application attempts to use the incorrect type of data source, a "Data source name not found and no default driver specified" error is returned. Attempting to open a User DSN with the incorrect version of ODBC Administrator will display the error "The setup routines for the StarSQL ODBC driver could not be found. Please reinstall the driver".
To help distinguish the type of a User DSN, you may want to add "_32" or "_64" to the data source name.
For additional information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942976: "The 32-bit version of the ODBC Administrator tool and the 64-bit version of the ODBC Administrator tool display both the 32-bit user DSNs and the 64-bit user DSNs in a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system."
When using two-phase commit on a 64-bit computer, install only the 64-bit version of the Resource Manager Administration Tool. Only one version of the Resource Manager and MMC Plug-in can be installed at one time, and the 64-bit version of the Resource Manager can be used by both 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC applications. If you must use a version of the 32-bit StarSQL that is earlier than v5.5 for two-phase commit, do not install the Resource Manager component of StarSQL (64-bit).
To import and export data with the SQL Server 2005/2008 using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), you will be using Business Intelligence Development Studio, which is a 32-bit application and displays only 32-bit providers. Consequently you will need to install both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of StarSQL, and configure both 32-bit and 64-bit data sources with identical names. The SSIS runtime will select the appropriate version of the provider to use.
You also can use the older Data Transformation Services (DTS) for import/export. Be sure to use the 64-bit version of the DTS wizard DTSWizard.exe.
For OLEDB applications such SQL Server 2008 linked server function, you need to run the 64-bit OLEDB Provider for ODBC (MSDASQL), which is included in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1, and provided as a special download for Windows Server 2003 (you can search for the download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads).
Refer to the following technical documents for additional information:
This section describes specific IBM issues and the FixPak and PTFs that may be necessary for StarSQL to function properly.
Binding catalog package to DB2 UDB v8 FP8 or FP9 fails
If you have installed FixPak 8 or FixPak 9 on DB2 UDB v8 (Windows and UNIX), you will not be able to bind catalog packages. This is an IBM problem (APAR JR21670). The fix is included in FixPak 10.
In general, it is a good idea to stay current on PTF packages and the DB2 Group PTF, and use the latest version of StarSQL. The following sections describe more specific issues for different versions of AS/400; check to see that the PTFs listed below are either installed or superceded.
If you are using Java stored procedures, install PTF 5770SS1-SI39711
If you are using LOB, install PTF 5770SS1-SI39331
cum C8064610 or later
PTF 5761SS1-SI30581
If you are using LOB, install PTF 5761SS1-SI39331
If you are using stored procedures, install PTF's 5761SS1-SI36405 and 5761SS1-SI36136.
PTF 5722SS1-SI23461
PTF 5722SS1-SI24317
If you are using stored procedures, install PTF's 5722SS1-SI22551, 5722SS1-SI36406, and 5722SS1-SI36059.
If you are working with BLOB data, install PTFs 5722SS1-SI22324 and 5722SS1-SI22335.
After installing CUM PTF C5298530 or DB2 Group PTF SF99503-8 (November 2005), you may encounter a problem with incorrect precision information being returned for decimal and numeric fields. To resolve this problem, install PTF SI121373 for APAR SE23286.
If you are using StarSQL to invoke Java stored procedures on an AS/400, install PTF 5722SS1-SI18139 for APAR SE20127.
After installing the cum PTF or DB2 Group PTF from December 2005, you may experience extremely high temporary storage usage when an ODBC application (such as SQDR) using StarSQL connects to the iSeries host. If you encounter this problem, install PTF 5722SS1-SI23370 for APAR SE25005.
If you are using StarSQL to invoke Java stored procedures on an AS/400: install PTF 5722SS1-SI18984 for APAR SE21110.
Install PTF 5722SS1-SI09453, which corrects APAR SE10974: Calling a stored procedure over DRDA results in parameters being tagged as char data when the parameters are binary data.
The following are known issues with StarSQL and OS/400 v4r4 that are resolved by OS/400 PTFs:
Suppress Warnings from stored procedures
After upgrading from an older version of StarSQL or an older version of DB2, you may encounter new warning messages when invoking stored procedures; for example:
[DB2]PROCEDURE JPPNODOP RETURNED 1 QUERY RESULTS SETS
If you have an existing application that expects the older behavior, you can suppress warnings from stored procedures by adding the following to the [Default] section of swoodbc.ini (or swodbc64.ini) in the StarSQL Programs directory:
SuppressSpWarnings=Y
Installation Error on Windows 2000 using terminal services and a mapped drive
When installing StarsQL on Windows 2000 using terminal services and a mapped drive, you may encounter this error:
Feature Transfer error, Error -3 Patch Package
Solution: copy the installer to a local disk.
This restriction does not exist for a remote sessions run on Windows XP or later.
Installation of Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package on Windows 2000
On Windows 2000, you may receive a message that the installation of the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package has failed, even though it has succeeded. You may ignore this message. Also, the StarSQL installer may attempt (and appear to fail) to install the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package even if it is already installed.
Unicode Applications and Character Data
When a Unicode application uses the StarSQL ANSI driver, it cannot send late-bound character data, i.e. character data bound using the SQL_LEN_DATA_AT_EXEC macro, for the C types SQL_C_CHAR, SQL_C_WCHAR, or SQL_C_TCHAR.
File DSNs and Microsoft Access
File DSNs that contain more than 255 characters may cause Microsoft Access to produce an error that the maximum length of the connection string has been reached. To avoid this, review the File DSN and remove any parameters that are not required for the connection. The only required parameters are Driver, HostName, Netlib, and Server. Any parameter that is set to the driver's default value may be safely removed. The default values can be found in the StarSQL online help (sqwizard.chm).
This section provides information about problems or enhancements that are made available as "point releases" between major releases of the StarSQL for Windows software.
| Version Number | Release Date | Significant Changes |
|---|---|---|
| v5.63.0219 | Feb 2014 | 12050 Fixes for columns-wise binding for result sets and parameters (64-bit) 12714 Return SQLSTATE=42S02 for table not found error 12718 StarAdmin Classic: look for SQLSTATE=42S02 for table not found error |
| v5.62.0814 | Aug 2013 | 12487 Problems passing string parameter larger than 8k using ADO |
| v5.61.0201 | Feb 2013 | 12272 StarSQL returning incorrect data for some decimal datatypes |
| v5.60.1310 | Jan 2013 | 12226 Unable to create datasource on Windows Server 2012 |
| v5.60.1310 | Nov 2012 | 12089 SSL connection from Win7 or Server2008 to UDB fails |
| v5.60.1310 | Jan 2012 | 11873 Installer: add SSL comm personality and swodbc.ini change 11874 Add SSL support 11886 Interference between 32 & 64-bit licensing activity (node-locked) 11907 64-bit driver: Some numeric/decimal values returned incorrectly in SQL_C_NUMERIC struct. |
| v5.59.1003 | Oct 2011 | 11836 return a truncation error when called for a zero-length varchar with a zero-length buffer |
| v5.58.0804 | Aug 2011 | 11721 PkgOwnID keyword ignored 11765 new 2PC flows |
| v5.57.0523 | May 2011 | 11695 Leak in SQLparser stack buffer code |
| v5.56.0117 | Jan 2011 | 11537 x64 installer: hide StarScribe during ARP Modify 11545 Problems binding DECIMAL/NUMERIC values using SQL_C_NUMERIC (x64 & UNIX) |
| v5.55.0727 | Jul 2010 | 11385 Support option to enable "old" driver behavior for reporting warnings 11402 Make SQLCancel critical section stack-based, so it gets unlocked if there is an exception. |
| v5.54.0521 | May 2010 | 11321 Restore support for iSeries V4R4 |
| v5.53.0511 | May 2010 | 11289 Prevent orphaned critical section locks by using stack based locking 11296 Catalog issue on DB2/UDB 9.7 (unicode) 11299 StarSQL reporting BIGINT precision 11302 StarSQL misinterprets length when SQL_WCHAR is specified improperly 11304 SQLBindParameter don't use supplied length for fixed length output parameters |
| v5.52.1130 | Nov 2009 | 10974 Invalid cursor state error when user lacks bind privileges on UDB 10981 Add SBCS CCSID used by MBCS CCSIDs to CCSID.CSV 10985 Misinterprets ACCRDB replies - RDBAFLRM is error, regardless of SQLSTATE 10987 SQICONV problem with CCSID lookup for MBCS 11002 Installer: update VCRedist to SP1+ATL fix 10962 Installer: VS9 module installer reports failure on W2K (though actually succeeds) 10989 permit override of SBCS CCSID to a MBCS converter 11017 Misinterpreted ODBC spec for some 64-bit APIs 11023 64-bit ODBC Call to SQLDescribeParam for CALL statement fails |
| v5.51.0910 | Sept 2009 | 10702 Failure to retrieve BLOB data for non-nullable column 10617 add default value (swtcp32.dll) for Netlib parameter 10719 Move swodbc.ini & swodbc32.dll to Programs folder 10716 Installer changes for StarSQL 5.51 10718 update doc with new location for swodbc.ini 10607 Documentation 10662 Documentation 10776 SNA connections fail with "Host CCSID 500 not supported by this version." 10784 Hang in swpro32 when running .NET applications on IIS 10794 Documentation 10802 Documentation 10902 "Autobind" option and keepdynamic setting |
| v5.50.0218 | Feb 2009 | major release adding a 64-bit version of the ODBC driver 10547 Parser cannot handle queries starting with "WITH" keyword 10466 Numeric and decimal fields are truncated when using ColdFusion 10586 File DSNs created using ODBC admin contain unnecessary parameters 10583 Parser: error using SUBSTR function in WHERE clause 10537 Wizard: allow longer user and password 10509 Add DSN setting to disable return of catalog info (to be more flexible with SQL Server) |
If you need to contact technical support, please provide the following information to help the support engineers address your issue. You can contact Stelo via phone, email, or facsimile as indicated at the bottom of this page.
| Company Information | Address Phone |
| Contact Information | First and Last Name of individual contact Email Address |
| Host Type | Hardware and Operating System (i.e., IBM i 7.3) |
| Network Protocol/Gateways | Protocol and/or Gateways used (i.e., TCP/IP, SSL/TLS) |
| Client Type | Client Type and Operating System (i.e., Windows Server 2019, Oracle Linux 8.6) |
| Stelo Product, Version, and Source |
Which Stelo product and what version is installed (i.e., StarSQL for Windows v6.41.0719) Where you obtained the software (i.e., direct from Stelo, name of specific reseller) |
| Problem Information | Provide as much detail as possible, including information about any application that is using the Stelo product when the problem occurs and the exact error message that appears. |
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