ODBC gets some love in Windows 8 & Windows Server 8 (Improved UI and PowerShell support)

Data - ODBC DSN Management in the Next Release of Windows (code-named Windows “8” and Windows Server “8”)

We’re pleased to announce two new improvements for ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) Management that will be
available in the next release of Windows (code-named Windows “8” and Windows Server “8”).

What’s New?

Improved User Interface in ODBC Data Source Administrator Panel (ODBCAD32)

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PowerShell Cmdlet Support

In the past, you may have configured an ODBC DSN with ODBCAD32, which is a useful GUI tools to manage a few DSN manually. However, it would be tedious to manage hundreds of DSN on a single machine, or manage a few DSN on hundreds of machines with ODBCAD32.

Hence, you usually had to deploy a DSN via registry directly, which may not be a very convenient approach. To improve the manageability of ODBC DSN (as well as a few other WDAC settings), we will release a few PowerShell cmdlets in the next release of Windows:

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ODBC, you ask? Isn't that old school?

Well not anymore... You all know that OLE DB, in relation to SQL Server, is dead, right? Microsoft is Aligning with ODBC for Native Relational Data Access

The commercial release of Microsoft SQL Server, codename “Denali,” will be the last release to support OLE DB. Support details for the release version of SQL Server “Denali” will be made available within 90 days of release to manufacturing. For more information on Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policies for Microsoft Business and Developer products, please see Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ. This deprecation applies to the Microsoft SQL Server OLE DB provider only. Other OLE DB providers as well as the OLE DB standard will continue to be supported until explicitly announced

So ODBC is reborn and something you'll be paying much more attention to again in the coming years...