如何在 Wine 中为 BlackBox Component Builder 设置 ODBC？

Question

I run BlacBox Component Builder under Wine/Ubuntu. I need to set up ODBC in order to access databases (PostgresQL in my case) in BBCB programs (Component Pascal). They have a unique and wonderful SQL access library that allows to accept SELECT results directly into a record variable (analogous to structures in the C world or class instances in C++). Such record is called an interactor. No preprocessor is used, and query parameters are taken directly out of program variables (Like so: "SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = :u.name AND age < :maxage", where u is a program variable of type RECORD and .name is it's field, maxage is also a program variable). Anyway, very convenient from a programmer's perspective.

However, BBCB does not have any native DB drivers for Linux, so I have to use the Windows BBCB version in Wine. Some years ago, I was able to set up unixodbc in Ubuntu, and unixodbc's DSNs became immediately available in Wine. Not this time around.

So, the question is, How do I set up ODBC in Ubuntu so that it's DSNs would be visible in Wine?

Answer 1

I found the trick!

BBCB is a 32-bit app, so obviousely it makes calls to 32-bit WINE/winapi functions, and they seemingly can't talk to the unixodbc/64bit.

The trick was to install :i386 versions of unixodbc and the DB odbc driver, then create a 32-bit wine prefix, and then run my app from there. In greater detail:

0. If not already done, dpkg --add-architecture i386
1. sudo apt install unixodbc:i386
2. install database driver for odbc for your database server; in my case, sudo apt install postgresql-odbc:i386
3. Assuming ~/.wine32 does not exist: WINEPREFIX=~/.wine32 WINEARCH=win32 wine wineboot (some manuals insist you have to have a wine 64-bit prefix before this)
4. Now copy BlackBox from it's previous location, or install anew, into the ~/.wine32 prefix, and from now on run BB as follows: WINEPREFIX=~/.wine32 WINEARCH=win32 <program.exe-file-location>

Now BB's SqlOdbc module can perfectly see the DSNs I set up in unixodbc.