Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard protocol that permits applications to connect to a variety of external database servers or files. The ODBC drivers that Jet uses permit access to Microsoft SQL Server and other external databases, such as ORACLE®. An ODBC driver is a dynamic-link library (DLL) used to connect a specific ODBC data source with another (client) application. You can use the ODBC driver supplied with the application you program in, you can use a third-party driver, or you can write your own driver.