Effects of ISO Options

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW)

The ODBC standard is closely matched to the ISO standard, and ODBC applications expect standard behavior from an ODBC driver. To make its behavior conform more closely with that defined in the ODBC standard, the SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver always uses any ISO options available in the version of SQL Server with which it connects.

When the SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver connects to an instance of SQL Server, the server detects that the client is using the SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver and sets several options on.

The driver issues these statements itself; the ODBC application does nothing to request them. Setting these options allows ODBC applications using the driver to be more portable because the server behavior then matches the ISO standard.

DB-Library-based applications generally do not turn these options on. Sites observing different behavior between ODBC or DB-Library clients when running the same SQL statement should not assume this points to a problem with the SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver. They should first rerun the statement in the DB-Library environment with the same SET options as would be used by the SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver.

Because SET options can be turned on and off at any time by users and applications, developers of stored procedures and triggers should also take care to test their procedures and triggers with the SET options listed above turned both on and off. This ensures that the procedures and triggers work correctly regardless of which options a particular connection may have set on when they invoke the procedure or trigger. Triggers or stored procedures that require a particular setting for one of these options should issue a SET statement at the start of the trigger or stored procedure. This SET statement remains in effect only for the execution of the trigger or stored procedure; when the procedure or trigger ends, the original setting is restored.

When connected to an instance of SQL Server, a fourth SET option, CONCAT_NULL_YIELDS_NULL, is also set on. The SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver does not set these options on if AnsiNPW=NO is specified in the data source or on either SQLDriverConnect or SQLBrowseConnect.

Like the ISO options noted earlier, the SQL Server Native Client ODBC driver does not turn the QUOTED_IDENTIFIER option on if QuotedID=NO is specified in the data source or on either SQLDriverConnect or SQLBrowseConnect.

To allow the driver to know the current state of SET options, ODBC applications should not use the Transact-SQL SET statement to set these options. They should only set these options using either the data source or the connection options. If the application issues SET statements, the driver can generate incorrect SQL statements.

See Also

Executing Statements (ODBC)
SQLDriverConnect
SQLBrowseConnect