BASE and similar applications. Data from d. BASE could not generally be accessed directly by other programs running on the machine. Those programs may be given a way to access this data, often through libraries, but it would not work with any other database engine, or even different databases in the same engine. In effect, all such systems were static, which presented considerable problems. Early effortseditBy the mid 1. Lotus 1 2 3 led to an increasing interest in using personal computers as the client side platform of choice in client server computing. Under this model, large mainframes and minicomputers would be used primarily to serve up data over local area networks to microcomputers that would interpret, display and manipulate that data. For this model to work, a data access standard was a requirement in the mainframe field it was highly likely that all of the computers in a shop were from one vendor and clients were computer terminals talking directly to them, but in the micro field there was no such standardization and any client might access any server using any networking system. By the late 1. 98. Some of these were mainframe related, designed to allow programs running on those machines to translate between the variety of SQLs and provide a single common interface which could then be called by other mainframe or microcomputer programs. These solutions included IBMs Distributed Relational Database Architecture DRDA and Apple Computers Data Access Language. Much more common, however, were systems that ran entirely on microcomputers, including a complete protocol stack that included any required networking or file translation support. One of the early examples of such a system was Lotus Developments Data. Lens, initially known as Blueprint. Blueprint, developed for 1 2 3, supported a variety of data sources, including SQLDS, DB2, FOCUS and a variety of similar mainframe systems, as well as microcomputer systems like d. Base and the early MicrosoftAshton Tate efforts that would eventually develop into Microsoft SQL Server. Unlike the later ODBC, Blueprint was a purely code based system, lacking anything approximating a command language like SQL. Instead, programmers used data structures to store the query information, constructing a query by linking many of these structures together. Mysterious Travel The Magic Diary Setup Wizard. Lotus referred to these compound structures as query trees. Around the same time, an industry team including members from Sybase Tom Haggin, Tandem Computers Jim Gray Rao Yendluri and Microsoft Kyle Gwere working on a standardized dynamic SQL concept. Much of the system was based on Sybases DB Library system, with the Sybase specific sections removed and several additions to support other platforms. DB Library was aided by an industry wide move from library systems that were tightly linked to a specific language, to library systems that were provided by the operating system and required the languages on that platform to conform to its standards. This meant that a single library could be used with potentially any programming language on a given platform. The first draft of the Microsoft Data Access API was published in April 1. Lotus announcement of Blueprint. In spite of Blueprints great lead it was running when MSDA was still a paper project Lotus eventually joined the MSDA efforts as it became clear that SQL would become the de facto database standard. After considerable industry input, in the summer of 1. SQL Connectivity SQLC. SAG and CLIeditIn 1. Unix and database communities, formed the SQL Access Group SAG in an effort to produce a single basic standard for the SQL language.