The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Call-Level Interface

    (SQL/CLI) A programming interface
   designed to support SQL access to databases from
   shrink-wrapped application programs.

   CLI was originally created by a subcommittee of the SQL
   Access Group (SAG).  The SAG/CLI specification was published
   as the Microsoft Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC)
   specification in 1992.  In 1993, SAG submitted the CLI to the
   ANSI and ISO SQL committees.

   SQL/CLI provides an international standard
   implementation-independent CLI to access SQL databases.
   Client-server tools can easily access databases through
   dynamic link libraries.  It supports and encourages a rich
   set of client-server tools.

   SQL/CLI is an addendum to 1992 SQL standard (SQL-92).  It was
   completed as ISO standard ISO/IEC 9075-3:1995 Information
   technology -- Database languages -- SQL -- Part 3: Call-Level
   Interface (SQL/CLI).  The current SQL/CLI effort is adding
   support for SQL3.

   (http://jcc.com/sql_cli.html).

   (1996-10-27)