Fetching data from an online MySQL DB using Android

My question is really straightforward, is there any way of fetching data from a remote MySQL database without the need for a PHP script? Is there any way that can be done with drivers like ODBC or something? I'm not looking for any tutorial, i've found several. I just want a straightforward answer!

Thank you in advance开发者_如何学JAVA!!

You do not need to use PHP. That is just one of many approaches to this problem.

I personally would use a service-oriented architecture (SOA). This means you will need a web service client (your mobile application), a web service, and a database. Your application will interact with the database using the webservice.

I would create a web-service using something like J2EE that receives a request from the locally installed android application, and responds with the required data from the external MySql database.

I would also use theKSOAP for android libraries to do this, but you should ideally be using REST.