              ODBscript (tm) - Open DataBase Scripting Language
                            FREEWARE Version 3.0

ODBscript is a Windows NT/XP or 95/98/2000/2003 freeware/shareware program
that provides an interface between your Web pages and your ODBC databases.
ODBscript can be used as a CGI program to display or update your data via 
the Web, or it may be used "offline" to write HTML (Web page) files.

Some features of the registered version of ODBscript 3.0 are not included in
this freeware version.  If you find ODBscript to be useful, please register
to obtain all the features, and to help support continued development.

Please view the included file, odbUser.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://odbscript.com

NOTE: If you have downloaded ODBscript 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: odb30f.zip is version 3.0 freeware.  Please visit our Web site
to see if there is a more recent version.


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

ODBscript is a CGI program that is executed by your Web server to process
"template" or "script" files that you write.  These scripts produce standard
HTML Web pages, but they can also interact with your ODBC databases and do
other processing for a wide range of interactive Web-based applications.

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.

ODBscript processing is controlled by script files that you create.  In these
script 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.  For example,
query results can be inserted into the HTML output to the browser, or the
user's input can be saved in the database.  In addition to database access,
ODBscript provides many other capabilities commonly required for Web-based
applications, using a scripting language that is simple and easy-to-learn
even for non-programmers.

ODBscript is also available as an ISAPI server extension (a DLL), which
is supported by MS-IIS and several other Windows Web servers.  The ISAPI
version eliminates the overhead associated with loading CGI programs, and it
also makes use of ODBC "connection pooling" to reuse database connections,
which makes database access more efficient.

FEATURES:
---------

Since database interaction is the primary purpose of ODBscript, the ODBC
interface to execute SQL statements has been made as simple and easy to use
as possible: Specify the connection to your database (with an ODB Data Source
Name, DSN) and you're ready to execute ANSI SQL statements as ODBscript
commands.  Any variables in the SQL statements (for example, input variables
sent from an HTML form) will be automatically substituted into the statement.
If the SQL statement returns a query result, the results are automatically
assigned to ODBscript variables having the same names as the database column
names, and you can use those variables anywhere in your script, either in the
HTML output or in other commands.  ODBscript also has many unique built-in
functions to simplify some common application 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 (registered version only).
  - Automatic HTML forms and SQL statements for database INSERT and UPDATE
    operations (registered version only).
  - Automatic HTML "pull-down choice lists" with choices selected from the
    database (registered version only).
  - 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, the full registered version of ODBscript 
provides many additional functions for creating dynamic Web pages, such as:
send e-mail; set user cookies; maintain "session persistent" data; require
user login to use scripts; upload files from a Web page; read and write text
files; process file directory listings; rename and delete file; redirect
requests to other URLs; perform HTTP "get" and "post" requests to other
servers; and execute any "Command Prompt" system commands.

Please see the home page at http://odbscript.com for a summary of these
features, and see the Users Guide for complete details.  (Note that the
specific features that are not supported in the freeware version are 
detailed in the Users Guide included with this download.)

For increased flexibility, ODBscript 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 ODBscript from the MS-DOS command prompt or the Windows "Run..." box,
then upload the HTML output to your ISP.

The ODBscript Users Guide is included, in HTML format, beginning in the file
odbUser.htm.  (Parts 2 and 3 are in odbUser2.htm and odbUser3.htm.)  You can
open this file from your Web browser.  The User's Guide is also available on
the ODBscript Web site.


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

ODBscript runs on any Windows NT, XP, 95/98/2000/2003 systems.

ODBscript 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 ODBscript is run from the command line to write HTML files to disk.)

Database access requires ODBC drivers for your databases.  (Windows systems
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.
ODBscript works well with the freeware MySQL database.)

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


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

If you wish to use ODBscript as a CGI program then you must copy the odb.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 odb.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 
ODBscript 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 ODBscript through the server, then the directory it is
on has not been configured to allow CGI program execution.

A recommended option is to use Web server "script mapping," which is a feature
of most servers to automatically process script files having defined extensions
with their associated script processors.  That is, if you name all of your
ODBscript script files with the same extension (".odb", for example), you can
configure the  server to execute any files having that extension with odb.exe.
Then, URLs can refer directly to the ".odb" files, without needing to include
the CGI directory and odb.exe in the URL.

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


LICENSE:
--------

1. Grant of Freeware License

This ODBscript Freeware is a limited-function version of the full registered
version of the program.  You may use this version freely, without time
restrictions, for any commercial or non-commercial applications.

NO RIGHTS other than your own use of the executable program and the user
documention contained in the distribution file (listed below) are conferred by
this license.  Specifically, this freeware program MAY NOT BE RESOLD in any
manner, either separately or bundled with other software.  (However, if you
develop any applications using ODBscript freeware, you MAY distribute the
odb30f.zip file with your application and instruct end users to install the
software on their systems.  That is, you must make it clear to end users that
they are using ODBscript freeware and provide them with full documentation.)

2. Redistribution of Freeware Version

This ODBscript Freeware version may be freely distributed, provided that all of
the files in the original odb30f.zip package are included:

              odb.exe        - the executable program
              odbUser.htm    - the User's Guide in HTML format (part 1)
              odbUser2.htm   - the User's Guide in HTML format (part 2)
              odbUser3.htm   - the User's Guide in HTML format (part 3)
              register.txt   - the Registration Form
              readme.txt     - this file

3. NO WARRANTY

This ODBscript Freeware version is distributed WITHOUT WARRANTY of any kind,
express or implied, and any usage whatsoever is STRICTLY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
(The registered version is distributed with a limited express warranty.)


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
ODBscript on computers owned by the same company or organization.  (Computers
owned by clients, employees, affiliates, or subsidiaries are NOT included.)

The ISAPI version is available separately for the same registration fees as
the CGI version, or you can get both the CGI and ISAPI versions for an added
$20 to the above fees (i.e., $59 for single-copy, $99 for corporate licenses). 

If you would like to develop and distribute applications based on ODBscript,
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://odbscript.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: support@odbscript.com

You can also use the contact link on the ODBscript site, http://odbscript.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.)
