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| |
| # ADBC: Arrow Database Connectivity |
| |
| [](https://github.com/apache/arrow-adbc/blob/master/LICENSE.txt) |
| |
| ADBC is an API standard (version 1.0.0) for database access libraries ("drivers") in C, Go, and Java that uses Arrow for result sets and query parameters. |
| Instead of writing code to convert to and from Arrow data for each individual database, applications can build against the ADBC APIs, and link against drivers that implement the standard. |
| Additionally, a JDBC/ODBC-style driver manager is provided. This also implements the ADBC APIs, but dynamically loads drivers and dispatches calls to them. |
| |
| Like JDBC/ODBC, the goal is to provide a generic API for multiple databases. ADBC, however, is focused on bulk columnar data retrieval and ingestion through an Arrow-based API rather than attempting to replace JDBC/ODBC in all use cases. |
| Hence, ADBC is complementary to those existing standards. |
| |
| Like [Arrow Flight SQL][flight-sql], ADBC is an Arrow-based way to work with databases. |
| However, Flight SQL is a _protocol_ defining a wire format and network transport as opposed to an _API specification_. Flight SQL requires a database to specifically implement support for it, while ADBC is a client API specification for wrapping existing database protocols which could be Arrow-native or not. |
| Together, ADBC and Flight SQL offer a fully Arrow-native solution for clients and database vendors. |
| |
| For more about ADBC, see the [introductory blog post][arrow-blog]. |
| |
| [arrow-blog]: https://arrow.apache.org/blog/2023/01/05/introducing-arrow-adbc/ |
| [flight-sql]: https://arrow.apache.org/docs/format/FlightSql.html |
| |
| ## Status |
| |
| ADBC versions the API standard and the implementing libraries separately. |
| |
| The API standard (version 1.0.0) is considered stable, but enhancements may be made. |
| |
| Libraries are under development. |
| For more details, see the [documentation](https://arrow.apache.org/adbc/main/driver/status.html), or read the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md). |
| |
| ## Installation |
| |
| Please see the [documentation](https://arrow.apache.org/adbc/main/driver/installation.html). |
| |
| ## Documentation |
| |
| The core API definitions can be read in `adbc.h`. |
| User documentation can be found at https://arrow.apache.org/adbc |
| |
| ## Development and Contributing |
| |
| For detailed instructions on how to build the various ADBC libraries, see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md). |
