To establish a connection, SQL Anywhere performs the following steps:
Locate the interface library The client application must locate the interface library.
Assemble a list of connection parameters Since connection parameters may appear in several places (such as data sources, a connection string assembled by the application, or an environment variable) SQL Anywhere assembles the parameters into a single list.
Locate a server Using the connection parameters, SQL Anywhere locates a database server on your computer or over a network.
Locate the database SQL Anywhere locates the database you want to connect to.
Start a personal server If SQL Anywhere fails to locate a server, it attempts to start a personal database server and load the database.