When Answering a Query is not straightforward

This is the story of what should have been a straightforward query, which still has not been answered, well over a week after asked.

Way, way back (many centuries ago, well not quite) but well over a decade, Microsoft Windows included a technology called ODBC (well if I believe the link it is actually a C language API but it came with Windows). If a program in Windows could use ODBC then it could access all other sorts of data, particularly for the current query, Microsoft Access databases. It allowed you to write SQL queries to a database without being in that databases native environment. This was great for getting data into SPSS when the driver existed but there were some awkward bits to it. It was definitely the sort of programming bit that you tended to leave to programmers. I used to have notes on how to do it.

So a query came in saying this was not working for them. So I think, go into SPSS, have a play and see if you can remember what the problem is. First the good news it is easy to duplicate the fault. Now the bad news I find the work around isn't working because the original drivers are not installed.

Next step try installing the drivers again. As far as I can recall the drivers came on a SPSS installation disk. Only they do not come with the latest one, nor do they appear to have come with the previous version. Hmm. It is time for me to go and see if I can download them.

Then I hit trouble big time. Let me explain, I am the basic support person for this University for SPSS, but the person who looks after the license (because that is finance is different). When sorting out the transfer to IBM from SPSS, the transfer was done totally in the name of the finance person who also downloads the software for distribution. All would be fine but I am on IBM SPSS system as a Beta Tester. The result is confusion in the system. I am there but I am not there. Added to which the support system is complex and I am never sure where I am supposed to go and where not.

After two days and numerous phone calls involving a whole range of people both here and at IBM I am able to download the drivers. I still have to install them and then see if I can get it work. Once I have got there I can then try and and sort the query.

Just thought I wonder if they can get the query out as comma or tab delimited from Access and then read it into SPSS. When in doubt the cludge often works.