Access a DBISAM database with PHP via ODBC
Recently I've been needing to access a DBISAM database created by third-party application, in order to export some of its data. Initially, I didn't even know what format the database was; I'd just found a bunch of files with the following extensions: .dat , .idx , .blb , .ibk , .bbk , and more. After a quick Google search, I stumbled upon a few pages that led me to DBISAM from Elevate Software . It's a proprietary database format that doesn't require a server application, somewhat similar to SQLite. Accessing the database from PHP was quite complex because I didn't have a proper reference or blog article to detail the process. That's exactly why I'm writing this: to give people directions on a subject that's hardly documented at all. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to access the database via PHP, execute a simple SQL query, and display the result. ODBC driver and connection I almost forgot: there's a catch-- even two, and here...