When using the TIBCO Scribe Online Connector for ODBC, keep in mind the following:

Operating system compatibility -- The driver you select for your ODBC Connection depends on the operating system of the computer where the Agent is installed:

• For a 32-bit (x86) operating system, use 32-bit drivers.
• For a 64-bit (x64) operating system, use 64-bit drivers.

Only System DSNs are currently supported for ODBC Connections.

Special characters and spaces in column names – TIBCO Scribe Online trims any spaces or special characters when displaying entities or column names for any ODBC Connection.

Oracle ODBC Connections:

• Number data type fields in Oracle are displayed as Object data type fields. If the field is mapped to an Int, it is processed as an Oracle Number.
• To ensure that the metadata loads, the Oracle user needs to edit the privileges of the user on the Oracle database you are using. This prevents the user from loading all of the Oracle system tables.

Microsoft SQL Azure Connections -- To connect to a SQL Azure database, best practice is to use the existing TIBCO Scribe Online SQL Server Connection. Do not use an ODBC or OLE DB Connection for this purpose.

Text ODBC Connections -- Text files can be used for ODBC Connections with the following caveats:

• For both source and target Connections, column names in text files must contain only letters and numbers. Spaces and  special characters are not supported.
• For target Connections, Text files can be selected only for Insert operations. Update and Delete Operations are not currently supported.
• If there are blank rows within a text file, for example, there is data in the first three rows of a file, but row 4 is blank, the Text Connector returns the following error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. This issue will be addressed in a future TIBCO Scribe Online release.

MySQL ODBC Connections:

• TIBCO Scribe Online currently allows you to create a Connection to a MySQL DSN even when no database has been defined for that configuration. While this behavior is allowed, best practice is not to create a Connection to a MySQL configuration without a database. Doing so means that you cannot select entities for mapping and may cause other errors as well.
• The default “root’ user cannot be used in the credentials for an ODBC configuration. If you see the following error: Can’t connect to MySQL Server on localhost, check the ODBC configuration credentials.

Microsoft Excel ODBC Connections:

When creating a Connection to Microsoft Excel, keep in mind that:

• In Excel, each worksheet is considered an Entity.
• For each worksheet or entity, TIBCO Scribe Online always uses the first non-blank row to create column names.
• If you need to replace an Excel file that is already being referenced by a TIBCO Scribe Online Solution, you must stop the TIBCO Scribe Online Agent service before you replace the file. After replacing it, restart the TIBCO Scribe Online Agent service.
• When using an ODBC Excel Connection as a target, make sure that the Read-Only checkbox on your ODBC configuration is not selected. If Read-Only is selected you will see the following error: Operation must use an updateable query.
• TIME fields in Excel display a default date of 12/30/1899 when you map to a SQL DateTime field. You may use a TIBCO Scribe Online  DateTime function to convert the date as needed or map the field to a non-DateTime field.

In addition, be aware of the following known issues:

• The ODBC Excel driver does not support the Delete operation and returns the following error: Deleting data in a linked table is not supported by this ISAM. For more information, see: Tips and Tricks for Scripting Microsoft Office Applications.
• Decimal fields in Excel, such as Accounting and Currency data types, return an error during Insert/Update operations. This issue is currently under investigation.
• If there are blank rows within an Excel worksheet, for example, there is data in rows 1, 2, and 3, but row 4 is blank, Excel returns the following error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. This issue will be addressed in a future Scribe Online release.

 
 

 

Troubleshooting tips for ODBC Connections.