February 7, 2000–Wolfram Research is pleased to announce the release of Database Access Kit, a new Mathematica application package that provides a flexible, powerful, and convenient interface between Mathematica and ODBC-compatible relational databases such as Oracle, Microsoft Access and SQLServer, DB2, and many more. Using the ODBC Control Panel, Database Access Kit also provides full access to a number of flat-file databases like Microsoft Excel or dBase files.

Database Access Kit is intended for use by anyone who has a need to analyze and manipulate databases, including life scientists, engineers, physical scientists, and social scientists, as well as those whose interest is in finance or insurance. Database Access Kit is also designed to be accessible to both those who have knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL) and those who are not familiar with SQL statements. For users who prefer SQL, Database Access Kit is able to interpret and execute SQL statements directly on the database.

With Database Access Kit, you can:

• Use the full computational power of Mathematica to extract, analyze, and visualize exactly the information you need from your ODBC-compatible database
• Prototype and deploy sophisticated database analysis algorithms and solutions
• Create Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or other databases directly out of Mathematica
• Seamlessly exchange data between databases and Mathematica notebooks
• Create professional-looking reports with the Mathematica front end

In the current information technology climate, where there is a rapidly growing need for data warehousing and data mining, Database Access Kit fills the need for a familiar, easy-to-use, complete database manipulation tool, including database scripting and table creation. Furthermore, Database Access Kit works seamlessly with other parts of the Mathematica Applications Library, enabling users to perform more intense analyses, create scalable applications, or even use it as a development platform for other packages.