Type of database?

[Anon]

Is there any way for me to find out what type of database "testdb" is? As in, Access, Oracle, MySQL, so that I can choose the appropriate connection method? I ask because I'd want to change a certain application from one datasource to another, and they won't always be the same kind (plus making it easier to migrate to another database, as the case may be).

SCT

[[deleted]]

Yes there is a way:ask the administrator! :-)

[melvyn]

You could only do it in an installation script of some kind, since dynamically calling database functions, when they're not compiled in, will stop execution of the script and since in an installation script, you can always ask the installer, I fail to see the point - but:
you could of course open sockets to the specified host on the default port a database server listens on. This will fail with MS Access, since it isn't a server, and it will fail, when people change ports as a security by obscurity rule.

The alternative would be to rely on ODBC and the like, and use a very thin set of SQL commands, which will work with all databases.