Guides
What is ODBC?
[ODBC](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/odbc/microsoft-open-database-connectivity-odbc?view=sql-server-ver16) which stands for Open Database Connectivity, is a standard that allows different programs to talk to different databases including, of course, **DuckDB** 🦆.  This makes it easier to build programs that work with many different databases, which saves time as developers don't have to write custom code to connect to each database. Instead, they can use the standardized ODBC interface, which reduces development time and costs, and programs are easier to maintain.  However, ODBC can be slower than other methods of connecting to a database, such as using a native driver, as it adds an extra layer of abstraction between the application and the database.  Furthermore, because DuckDB is column-based and ODBC is row-based, there can be some inefficiencies when using ODBC with DuckDB.  
> There are links throughout this page to the official [Microsoft ODBC documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/odbc/reference/odbc-programmer-s-reference?view=sql-server-ver16), which is a great resource for learning more about ODBC.