1.1 ADO.NET Data Providers

An ADO.NET data provider connects to a data source such as SQL Server, Oracle, or an OLE DB data source, and provides a way to execute commands against that data source in a consistent manner that is independent of the data source and data source-specific functionality. However, aside from a core set of similar capabilities, there is no guarantee that identical functionality will be available in each data provider. This is due to differences between data sources (for example, SQL Server provides many more capabilities than Access) and provider implementations (for example, both Microsoft and Oracle offer ADO.NET providers for Oracle's data server with slight implementation differences).

A complete .NET data provider includes the following classes:

Connection

Connects to the data source.

Command

Executes commands against the data source.

DataReader

A forward-only, read-only connected result set.

ParameterCollection

Stores all parameters related to a Command and the mappings of both table and column names to the DataSet columns.

Parameter

Defines parameters for parameterized SQL statements and stored procedures.

Transaction

Groups statements modifying data into work units that are either committed in their entirety or cancelled.

DataAdapter

Bridges the connected components to the disconnected components, allowing a DataSet and DataTable to be filled from the data source and later reconciled with the data source.

The classes for the different providers inherit from a common set of classes and implement a common set of interfaces to provide consistent functionality regardless of the provider. Each data provider uses a unique namespace to logically name and group the classes in the data provider and prevent collisions in the assemblies.

The .NET Framework Version 1.0 ships with SQL Server and OLE DB data providers. The .NET Framework Version 1.1 also ships with both ODBC and Oracle data providers; these providers must be downloaded and installed separately with .NET Framework Version 1.0. Other .NET data providers can be downloaded and installed separately with either version of the .NET Framework. Specific data providers are discussed in more detail in Chapter 2.

Because all .NET data providers present a consistent interface, porting an ADO.NET application from one provider to another is a straightforward task. The examples in this book use the .NET SQL Server data provider except when discussing OLE DB specific functionality (e.g., schema views). Any significant differences between the SQL Server and OLE DB data providers are also discussed throughout the book.