etcodbcinstini

Etcodbcinstini is a term that can refer to the system-wide ODBC driver installation configuration file, commonly located at /etc/odbcinst.ini on Unix-like systems. This file is used by ODBC driver managers such as unixODBC and iODBC to register and describe the database drivers available to the system.

The file uses an INI-like format. Each installed driver is represented by a section named after the driver, including keys that specify the driver library paths and related setup information. A typical entry might include a Driver directive that points to the shared library implementing the driver, and may include a Setup directive for an auxiliary library. Some configurations also record a UsageCount to indicate how many clients are using the driver. The contents enable applications to locate and load the appropriate driver when establishing a data source.

Location and access vary by platform. On many Linux and Unix systems, the standard location is /etc/odbcinst.ini. Some environments may allow overriding the location via environment variables or distribution-specific paths. In such cases, system-wide settings in odbcinst.ini are complemented by user-specific definitions in odbc.ini, which defines data sources (DSNs) that reference the registered drivers by name.

Relation to DSNs: DSNs defined in odbc.ini reference drivers defined in odbcinst.ini, linking a data source name to a driver and connection parameters. Together, these files enable applications to connect to databases without embedding driver details in code.

See also: ODBC, unixODBC, iODBC, odbc.ini, data source name.