ADO.NET (ActiveX Data Objects for .NET) is a data access technology in the Microsoft .NET Framework, used by developers to interact with databases and other data sources. It provides a set of classes and libraries that facilitate the retrieval, manipulation, and updating of data in various data sources, including databases like Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and others.
Key components of ADO.NET include:
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Connection: ADO.NET provides classes to establish connections to different types of data sources. These connections are used to establish a channel for communication between the application and the data source.
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Command: ADO.NET supports various types of commands, such as SqlCommand, OleDbCommand, and OracleCommand, which are used to execute SQL queries or commands against the data source.
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DataReader: This component provides a forward-only, read-only stream of data from the data source. It's optimized for retrieving large datasets efficiently.
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DataAdapter: DataAdapter acts as a bridge between the DataSet and the data source. It populates a DataSet with data from the data source and updates changes made in the DataSet back to the data source.
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DataSet: DataSet is an in-memory cache of data retrieved from the data source. It can hold multiple DataTable objects, representing the structure of the data returned from the database.
ADO.NET supports disconnected data architecture, meaning that data is fetched from the data source, manipulated locally within the application, and changes are later persisted back to the data source when necessary. This architecture is beneficial for scalability, performance, and reducing the load on the database server.
ADO.NET is a fundamental technology for .NET developers building data-driven applications, providing a robust and efficient framework for database interaction