---
title: "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for ODBC Linux and macOS | Microsoft Docs"
ms.custom: ""
ms.date: "01/19/2017"
ms.prod: sql
ms.prod_service: connectivity
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ms.technology: connectivity
ms.topic: conceptual
ms.assetid: 65bfd6d2-c83d-4528-a5e1-a85b125a4f4a
author: David-Engel
ms.author: v-daenge
---
# Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for ODBC Linux and macOS
[!INCLUDE[Driver_ODBC_Download](../../../includes/driver_odbc_download.md)]

The following are answers to questions about the ODBC Driver for [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] on Linux and macOS.
  
## Frequently Asked Questions

**How do existing ODBC applications on Linux or macOS work with the driver?**  
You should be able to compile and run the ODBC applications that you have been compiling and running on Linux or macOS using other drivers. 
  
**Which features of [!INCLUDE[ssSQL11](../../../includes/sssql11-md.md)] does this version of the driver support?**

The ODBC driver on Linux and macOS supports all server features in [!INCLUDE[ssSQL11](../../../includes/sssql11-md.md)] except LocalDB. For more information about [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] supported features, see [Programming Guidelines](../../../connect/odbc/linux-mac/programming-guidelines.md).  
  
**Does the driver support Kerberos authentication?**  
Yes. If you have an existing Kerberos environment setup, you should be able to connect to servers using the `Trusted_Connection=Yes` DSN or connection string option. For more information, see [Using Integrated Authentication](../../../connect/odbc/linux-mac/using-integrated-authentication.md).  
  
**Which Unicode encoding should an application use?**  
UTF-8 for SQL_CHAR data and UTF-16 for SQL_WCHAR data. Depending on the system locale and driver version, non-UTF-8 data in one of several encodings may also be supported. For more information, see [Programming Guidelines](../../../connect/odbc/linux-mac/programming-guidelines.md).

**Are there ODBC samples that I can download and run with the driver to experiment with or evaluate it?**

See [Use Existing MSDN C++ ODBC Samples for the ODBC Driver on Linux](https://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlblog/archive/2012/01/26/use-existing-msdn-c-odbc-samples-for-microsoft-linux-odbc-driver.aspx) for a sample. This is also applicable to the macOS ODBC driver. 

**Is the ODBC driver on Linux or macOS open source?**

No, the ODBC drivers on Linux and macOS are not an open source product.  

## See Also

- [Installing the Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server on Linux](../../../connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server.md)
- [Installing the Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server on macOS](../../../connect/odbc/linux-mac/install-microsoft-odbc-driver-sql-server-macos.md)