For services providers, such as health professionals, it is essential to access to this information stored on several information systems. In many applicative areas, to provide different information systems linked and networked is a real challenge. Based on personal information about the bearer, the smart card is a key to access to different information systems and a mean to share and interchange data. The smart cards are evolving towards personal database functions. This card integrates the concepts of the Database Management Systems.
Database engine is carried out by the card microcomputer, the card is a new database machine.
CQL, a subset of SQL, is used to communicate with the card. Views enable sharing data among information systems. Access rights and privileges guarantee the data privacy. To ease the integration of this portable database we have implemented an ODBC driver enabling smart card connectivity with many applications and DBMS's. The smart card as a personal and mobile data server is a new support for databases, it involves new applications, such as health care cards or administrative document cards, and new ways of carrying and interchanging information.