Additional CONNECT Syntax

Go Up to Opening a Database

CONNECT supports several formats for opening databases to provide programming flexibility. The following table outlines each possible syntax, provides descriptions and examples, and indicates whether CONNECT can be used in programs that access single or multiple databases:

CONNECT syntax summary

Syntax	Description	Single access	Multiple access
CONNECT ‘<dbfile’>;	Opens a single, hard-coded database file, <dbfile>. Example: EXEC SQL CONNECT ‘employee.ib’;	Yes	No
CONNECT <handle>;	Opens the database file associated with a previously declared database handle. This is the preferred CONNECT syntax. Example: EXEC SQL CONNECT EMP;	Yes	Yes
CONNECT ‘<dbfile>’ AS <handle>;	Opens a hard-coded database file, <dbfile>, and assigns a previously declared database handle to it. Example: EXEC SQL CONNECT ‘employee.ib’ AS EMP;	Yes	Yes
CONNECT<br/>:<varname> AS <handle>;	Opens the database file stored in the host-language variable, <varname>, and assigns a previously declared database handle to it. Example: EXEC SQL CONNECT :fname AS EMP;	Yes	Yes

For a complete discussion of CONNECT syntax and its uses, see the Language Reference Guide.

Advance To:

• Attaching to Multiple Databases