Connecting to MS SQLServer from Qt Linux application

Question

I'm trying to connect to a MS SQL Server on a remote box using QODBC in my Qt Linux application.

Here's what I have done so far:

1. Added QT += SQL in the .pro file.

2. Tested some db functions:

   QStringList drivers = QSqlDatabase::drivers();
   qDebug() << "Drivers: " ;
   
   foreach(QString driver, drivers) {
       qDebug() << ":: " << driver;
   }
   
   qDebug() << "Connection Names: ";
   QStringList connames = QSqlDatabase::connectionNames();
   
   foreach(QString conname, connames) {
       qDebug() << ":: " << conname;
   }
   qDebug() << "---";
   

these both work, though connectionNames() is empty at this stage.

3. I have tried to added a database:

   QString serverName = "server1";
   QString dbName = "abc123";
   QSqlDatabase db = QSqlDatabase::addDatabase("QODBC", "MyFirst");
   db.setHostName(serverName);
   
   QString myCon = QString("DRIVER={SQL Native Client};SERVER=%1;DATABASE=%2;Trusted_Connection = Yes").arg(serverName).arg(dbName);
   
   db.setDatabaseName(myCon);
   

If I now list the connections, "MyFirst" is in the list.

4. Tried to open the database:

   bool ok = db.open();    
   qDebug() << "OK: " << ok;
   
   if (!ok) {
       qDebug() << "error: " << db.lastError().text();
   }
   

The db.open() fails with the following message:

"[unixODBC][Driver Manager]Can't open lib 'SQL Native Client' : file not found QODBC3: Unable to connect"

My questions are:

I picked up the connection string from a forum post, I figured it was as good a place to start as any, but what exactly should be in there? Where does "SQL NAtive Client" come from? What do I need to do to setup my Qt / Linux box to be able to connect to a remote MS SQL Server?

Answer 1

Sounds like you need to install the SQL Server ODBC Driver.

An explanation for how to do that is here:

• https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh568454(v=sql.110).aspx

In addition you need to refer to it by the correct name, which is "ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server"