Although DRDA defines database communication protocols, it does not define the programming interfaces, or APIs, that should be used by application programmers. In general, DRDA can be used by an application program to pass any request that a target DRDA server can execute. All of the DRDA servers available today can execute SQL requests forwarded by an application program via DB2 Connect.
IBM provides application programmers with tools to generate SQL requests for DOS, Windows, OS/2, and several UNIX platforms. These tools are part of the DB2 Software Developer Kits (DB2 SDKs). DB2 SDKs support two different API types: embedded SQL and the DB2 Call Level Interface (DB2 CLI). These can be used by programmers building applications in a variety of programming languages. For more information about these APIs, see Application Building Guide.
Application developers can also use APIs provided by other companies. For example, the Microsoft ODBC API is used by many Windows application programmers to develop database applications. DB2 Connect provides an ODBC driver that supports applications developed using the ODBC API. IBM does not provide tools for developing ODBC applications; these tools are provided by Microsoft Corporation.