               ODBiC (tm) - Open DataBase Internet Connector
                               Version 1.6

ODBiC is a Windows NT or 95/98/2000 shareware program that provides an 
interface between your Web pages and your databases.  ODBiC can be used as a 
CGI program to display or update your data via the Web in "real time", or it 
may be used "offline" to write HTML (Web page) files containing your data.  

All features of Version 1.6 are included in your free 30-day evaluation copy.
However, there will be a small ODBiC link at the bottom of generated pages, 
and the program will cease to function after 30 days.

Please view the included file, odbicug.htm, with your Web browser to see the
complete User's Guide.

Please visit our Web site to download example files and to register online:

                           http:\\www.odbic.com

NOTE: If you have downloaded ODBiC from a shareware site or a CD-ROM, this 
may not be the most current version.  The name of the zip file indicates the
version: odbic164.zip is version 1.6.4.  Please visit our Web site to see if 
there is a more recent version.


INTRODUCTION:
-------------

ODBiC is a CGI program that is executed by your Web server to process 
"template" (or "script") files that you write.  These templates produce 
standard HTML Web pages, but they can also interact with your ODBC 
databases.

A CGI program can be executed by a Web URL that references a program file 
rather than an HTML file. To get data from a Web page user, a CGI program 
can be executed as the "action" function for an HTML input form.  The CGI 
can process this data and create a Web page to send back to the user's 
browser.  CGIs make Web page content dynamic rather than static, and they 
allow Web-based services beyond simple document presentation.

ODBiC processing is controlled by template files that you create.  In these 
template files, you can have HTML formatted text and JavaScript, which is 
simply sent to browsers, but you can also have ANSI SQL statements to SELECT,
INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE data in any ODBC-accessible database.  Database 
query results can be inserted into the HTML output to the browser, or the 
user's input can be saved in the database.


FEATURES:
---------

Since database interaction is the primary purpose of ODBiC, it has many unique 
built-in functions to simplify some common requirements. For example:

  - Automatic HTML table generation from database queries.
  - Automatic "query by example" and "Boolean keyword search" queries
    generated from a user's input.
  - Automatic HTML forms and SQL statements for database INSERT and UPDATE 
    operations.
  - Automatic HTML "pull-down choice lists" with choices selected from the 
    database.
  - Easy "loop" processing for multiple rows selected by a query.
  - Easy multiple-level "master/detail" or "category" grouping of query 
    results.

In addition to database access, ODBiC provides many other functions for
creating dynamic Web pages. For example, you can:

  - Control processing and output with simple or complex conditional testing.
  - Use a rich set of arithmetic and character string operations.
  - Validate user input with character-type test functions or UNIX-style 
    "regular expressions".
  - Send e-mail messages, with multiple attachments, to one or more specific 
    addresses or to a mailing list, which can be either in a text file or 
    dynamically selected from the database with a query.
  - Send and receive browser "cookies" to track user activity from one page 
    to the next and from one visit to the next.
  - "Redirect" a user to a different URL.
  - Read and write text files (e.g. HTML files, delimited or fixed-length data 
    values, and log files).
  - Execute system commands and other programs on the server.
  - Set default values for omitted input fields and database columns.
  - Define translation tables for database codes.
  - Format output values with "masks".
  - Easily process HTML <SELECT MULTIPLE> input values.
  - Easily "dump" any arbitrary HTML form input to a file or send it in an 
    e-mail message.

For increased flexibility, ODBiC can also be run "offline" instead of as a CGI 
program.  For example, if your database is on your PC but your Web pages are 
on your ISP's host machine, you can generate your HTML files on your PC by 
running ODBiC from the MS-DOS command prompt or the Windows "Run..." box, then 
upload the HTML output to your ISP.

The ODBiC User's Guide is included, in HTML format, beginning in the file 
odbicug.htm.  (Parts 2 and 3 are in odbicug2.htm and odbicug3.htm.)  You can 
open this file from your Web browser.  The User's Guide is also available on 
the ODBiC Web site:  http://www.odbic.com


REQUIREMENTS:
-------------

ODBiC runs on Windows NT and Windows 95/98 systems.

ODBiC may be used with any CGI-compliant HTTP Web server.  (A server is 
required only for "real time" database access via the Web.  It is not required
if ODBiC is run from the command line to write HTML files to disk.) 

Database access requires ODBC drivers for your databases.  (Windows NT and 95
are shipped with drivers for MS Access, dBase, FoxPro, Paradox, and text
files.  MS Office adds a driver for Excel. MS SQL Server, Sybase, Oracle, and 
most other commercial database packages for the PC include ODBC drivers.)

ODBiC requires some knowledge of SQL and HTML to be used effectively.


INSTALLATION:
-------------

If you wish to use ODBiC as a CGI program then you must copy the odbic.exe
file to a directory that has been defined in your server's configuration file
to be a CGI directory.  This will be a subdirectory on the server's root
directory.  CGI directories are usually named "cgi-bin", "cgi", or perhaps
"scripts".  (NOTE: Do NOT use the "win-cgi" directory, if there is one; 
Win-CGIs are Visual Basic programs using a special interface, and odbic.exe
will not run properly on this directory.) 

To function correctly under the Web server, CGI programs MUST be installed 
on a properly configured CGI directory.  You may need to use your Web server's
configuration utility to find or create a new CGI directory; please refer to 
your server's documentation for details.  Server configuration utilities will 
typically allow you to set individual directories for "Read", "Write", 
"Execute", or "Scripts".  (Note that these are separate from the access 
permissions set in the Windows file system; these settings define the access 
allowed through the Web server, i.e. via HTTP requests from the Internet to 
these directories.)  The "Execute" setting is the only one required for ODBiC
to function correctly, and it is generally recommended that CGI directories 
should be set to "Execute" only, so that uploading and downloading through the
Web will not be allowed.  If you receive an "HTTP Error 504" when you attempt 
to execute ODBiC through the server, then the directory it is on has not been 
configured to allow CGI program execution.

To use ODBiC "offline", it can be installed on any directory and run from the
MS-DOS Command Prompt or from the Windows "Run..." box.


LICENSE:
--------

ODBiC 1.6 is a fully functional "demo" program that may be used for a 30-day
evaluation period.  After 30 days, the program will cease to function, and you
must either register your copy or remove it completely from your system.  

ODBiC 1.6 may be freely distributed, provided that all of the files in the 
original package are included:

              odbic.exe      - the executable program
              odbicug.htm    - the User's Guide in HTML format (part 1)
              odbicug2.htm   - the User's Guide in HTML format (part 2)
              odbicug3.htm   - the User's Guide in HTML format (part 3)
              register.txt   - the Registration Form
              readme.txt     - this file


SHAREWARE REGISTRATION FEES:
----------------------------

One individual copy registration:  $39.00 (US)
Unlimited corporate registration:  $79.00 (US)

The corporate license will allow you to run an unlimited number of copies of
ODBiC on computers owned by the same company or organization.  (Computers
owned by clients, employees, affiliates, or subsidiaries are NOT included.)

If you would like to develop and distribute applications based on ODBiC, 
please contact us for quotes concerning Value Added Reseller licenses.

If you wish to register by mail and pay with a US bank check or money order,
please use the form in register.txt.  You can also register online with a
credit card, which is through a secure server.  If your prefer, you can 
register online but send your credit card information by phone or FAX.  The 
online registration will also accept by mail:  checks drawn on US banks; 
international postal money orders; and company Purchase Orders.  Please visit 
our Web site for the online registration link:  http://www.odbic.com


HOW TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR:
--------------------------

If you have questions, comments, or have any problems, please contact:

                      Roger Harris
                      5520 Galena Drive
                      Colorado Springs, CO  80918  USA

                      E-mail: RogerHarris@odbic.com

You can also use the e-mail link on the ODBiC Web page, http://www.odbic.com

There is also an online Discussion Board, accessible from the home page,
which you can use to ask questions or report problems.  (Please use this 
board only for questions of a general nature, which may be of interest to 
other users.)
