Introduction to ADO.NET

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Introduction to ADO.NET

In this article, I will give you a brief introduction to ADO.NET. As a .NET developer, you should be aware of it. At the end of this article, you will understand the following pointers in detail.

1. What is ADO.NET?
2. Key Components and Concepts in ADO.NET
3. What Types of Applications Use ADO.NET?
4. What are ADO.NET Data Providers?
5. Advantages and Disadvantages of ADO.NET
6. When to use ADO.NET?

What is ADO.NET?

ADO stands for Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects. ADO.NET is one of Microsoft’s Data Access Technologies, which we can use to communicate with different data sources. It is a part of the .NET Framework, which establishes a connection between the .NET Application and different data sources. The Data Sources can be SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, XML, etc. ADO.NET consists of a set of predefined classes that can be used to connect, retrieve, insert, update, and delete data (i.e., performing CRUD operation) from data sources. ADO.NET mainly uses System.Data.dll and System.Xml.dll.

ADO.NET (ActiveX Data Objects .NET) is a data access technology in the Microsoft .NET framework that provides a set of libraries and classes for working with data from various sources, including databases, XML files, and more. It is part of the .NET framework’s base class library and interacts with data-centric applications and databases.

ADO.NET is designed to provide a bridge between your application code and the underlying data sources. It offers a way to perform tasks like connecting to databases, executing queries, retrieving and updating data, and managing connections and transactions. This is especially important for building data-driven applications and services.

What Types of Applications Use ADO.NET?

ADO.NET can be used to develop any .NET application. The following are some of the .NET applications where you can use ADO.NET Data Access Technology to interact with a data source.

1. ASP.NET Web Form Applications
2. Windows Applications
3. ASP.NET MVC Application
4. Console Applications
5. ASP.NET Web API Applications
6. ASP.NET Core Applications

Components of ADO.NET

Components are designed for data manipulation and faster data access. Connection, Command, DataReader, DataAdapter, DataSet, and DataView are the components of ADO.NET that are used to perform database operations.

ADO.NET comprises several key components that work together to facilitate data access and manipulation in .NET applications. These components provide the building blocks for connecting to data sources, executing queries, retrieving and updating data, and managing transactions. Here are the main components of ADO.NET:

• Connection: The Connection component establishes a connection to a data source, such as a database. It manages the underlying connection to the database server and provides methods to open and close the connection.
• Command: The Command component represents a command that is executed against a data source. It encapsulates SQL statements, stored procedure calls, and other database commands. The two main types of command objects are SQLCommand, which is used for executing SQL queries and stored procedures against SQL Server databases, and OleDbCommand, which is Used for executing commands against OLE DB data sources, which include various database types.
• DataReader: The DataReader component efficiently reads data from a data source. It provides a forward-only, read-only stream of data that is particularly useful for retrieving large datasets. Reading data with a DataReader is fast and memory-efficient.
• DataAdapter: The DataAdapter bridges the application’s DataSet (in-memory cache of data) and the data source. It facilitates the retrieval of data from the data source into the DataSet and also allows changes to be updated in the DataSet back to the data source. Specific DataAdapter classes exist for different data sources, such as SqlDataAdapter and OleDbDataAdapter.
• DataSet: The DataSet is an in-memory data cache that can hold multiple tables, relationships, and constraints. It allows disconnected data manipulation, meaning that data is retrieved from the data source, disconnected from the connection, and then manipulated without direct interaction with the data source. The Data Set can be considered an in-memory representation of the database.
• DataTable: A data table is a component within a Data Set that represents a table of data. It consists of rows and columns and allows you to store and manipulate tabular data. DataTables can have relationships and constraints to maintain data integrity.
• DataView: The DataView is used to filter, sort, and navigate through data within a DataTable. It provides a dynamic view of the data, allowing you to customize how it is presented to the user.
• Transaction: The Transaction component provides support for managing transactions in ADO.NET. Transactions group multiple data access operations into a single unit of work that can be either committed (made permanent) or rolled back (undone) as a whole.
• Connection String: The connection string is a configuration string that provides the necessary information to connect to a data source. It includes details such as the database server’s location, credentials, and other settings.

These components work together to enable developers to connect to various data sources, retrieve and manipulate data, and manage transactions efficiently within .NET applications. The choice of which component to use and how to use them depends on the specific requirements and design of the application. So, ADO.NET has two main components that are used for accessing and manipulating data. They are as follows:

1. Data Provider and
2. DataSet.

What are ADO.NET Data Providers?

The Database can not directly execute our C# code; it only understands SQL. So, if a .NET application needs to retrieve data or to do some insert, update, and delete operations from or to a database, then the .NET application needs to

1. Connect to the Database
2. Prepare an SQL Command
3. Execute the Command
4. Retrieve the results and display them in the application

This is possible with the help of .NET Data Providers.

ADO.NET Code to Connect with SQL Server Database

The following image shows the sample ADO.NET code, which connects to the SQL Server Database and retrieves data. If you notice in the below image, here, we are using some predefined classes such as SQLConnection, SQLCommand, and SQLDataReader. These classes are called .NET Provider classes, which are responsible for interacting with the database and performing the CRUD operation. If you further notice all the classes are prefixed with the word SQL, it means these classes will interact with only the SQL Server database.

All these classes are present in the System.Data.SqlClient namespace. We can also say that the .NET data provider for the SQL Server database is the System.Data.SqlClient.

ADO.NET Code to Connect with Oracle Database

The following code is for connecting to the Oracle Database and retrieving data. If you notice, we are using OracleConnection, OracleCommand, and OracleDataReader classes here. That means all these classes have prefixed the word Oracle, and these classes are used to communicate with the Oracle database only.

OracleConnection connection = new OracleConnection("data source=.; database=TestDB; integrated security=SSPI");
OracleCommand command = new OracleCommand("Select * from Customers", connection);
connection.Open();
OracleDataReader myReader = command.ExecuteReader();

while (myReader.Read())
{
     Console.WriteLine("\t{0}\t{1}", myReader.GetInt32(0), myReader.GetString(1));
}

connection.Close();

All the above classes are present in the System.Data.OracleClient namespace so that we can say that System.Data.OracleClient is the .NET Data Provider for Oracle Database.

Note: Similarly, if you want to communicate with OLEDB data sources such as Excel, Access, etc., you must use OleDbConnection, OleDbCommand, and OleDbDataReader classes. So, the .NET data provider for OLEDB data sources is the System.Data.OleDb.

Different .NET Data Providers

ADO.NET Data Providers

Please have a look at the following image to better understand the ADO.NET Data Providers. As you can see, we have divided the diagram into three sections. The first section is the .NET Applications, the second section is the .NET Data Providers, and the third section is the data sources. You need to use the appropriate .NET Provider in your application based on the data source.

Remember that the ADO.NET objects (Connection, Command, DataReader, and DataAdapter) have different prefixes depending on the provider, as shown below.

1. Connection – SQLConnection, OracleConnection, OleDbConnection, OdbcConnection, etc.
2. Command – SQLCommand, OracleCommand, OleDbCommand, OdbcCommand, etc.
3. DataReader – SQLDataReader, OracleDataReader, OleDbDataReader, OdbcDataReader, etc.
4. DataAdapter – SQLDataAdapter, OracleDataAdapter, OleDbDataAdapter, OdbcDataAdapter, etc.

ADO.NET Data Providers are libraries or components facilitating communication between your .NET application and specific data sources, such as databases. They are responsible for connecting to the data source, executing queries, and managing data retrieval and updates. 

Each ADO.NET Data Provider is designed to work with a specific database or data source type. Some common ADO.NET Data Providers include:

• SqlClient: This is the ADO.NET Data Provider for Microsoft SQL Server. It provides optimized support for connecting to and interacting with SQL Server databases. The System.Data.SqlClient namespace contains classes like SqlConnection and SqlCommand.
• OleDb: The OleDb Data Provider allows you to connect to various data sources using the OLE DB technology. It can be used to connect to different databases, including Microsoft Access and other OLE DB-compatible data sources. The System.Data.OleDb namespace contains classes like OleDbConnection and OleDbCommand.
• Odbc: The Odbc Data Provider enables database connectivity using the ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) API. It supports a wide range of databases through ODBC drivers. The System.Data.Odbc namespace includes classes like OdbcConnection and OdbcCommand.
• OracleClient: This Data Provider connects to Oracle databases. Note that as of my last update in September 2021, Oracle has deprecated OracleClient, and using Oracle’s own .NET driver or other alternatives is recommended.
• SQLite: SQLite is a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine. There are ADO.NET Data Providers specifically designed for SQLite, allowing you to work with SQLite databases in your .NET applications.
• MySqlClient: This Data Provider is used to connect to MySQL databases. It allows .NET applications to interact with MySQL database servers.
• Npgsql: Npgsql is a popular Data Provider for PostgreSQL databases. It supports connecting to and working with PostgreSQL databases in .NET applications.
• Other Third-Party Providers: Third-party ADO.NET Data Providers are also available for various other databases and data sources. The database vendors or other developers often create these providers to enhance connectivity.

DataSet:

The DataSet object in ADO.NET is not Provider-Specific. Once you connect to a database, execute the command and retrieve the data into the .NET application. The data can then be stored in a DataSet and work independently of the database. So, it is used to access data independently from any data source. The DataSet contains a collection of one or more DataTable objects.

When to use ADO.NET?

ADO.NET is a suitable choice in several scenarios where you need more control over data access. Here are some situations in which using ADO.NET might be appropriate:

1. Performance Optimization: If your application demands high performance and you need more control over data access operations, ADO.NET can provide more control over connection management, query execution, and data retrieval. This is useful when dealing with large datasets or complex queries.
2. Direct Interaction with the Database: In cases where you need to perform database-specific operations that might not be supported by ORMs, like executing certain stored procedures or utilizing database-specific features, ADO.NET provides direct control over those interactions.
3. Data Source Variety: ADO.NET’s flexibility to work with various data sources beyond relational databases, such as XML files, can be beneficial when dealing with heterogeneous data storage scenarios.
4. Ad Hoc Queries and Reports: If your application needs to generate dynamic or complex queries for ad hoc reporting or analysis, ADO.NET’s ability to dynamically construct and execute queries can be useful.
5. Low-Level Data Manipulation: ADO.NET’s DataSet and DataTable structures allow you to work with disconnected data and perform various operations, such as sorting, filtering, and data transformation.

In our next article, we will discuss ADO.NET using SQL Server Database. In the next article, I will discuss ADO.NET using SQL Server with Examples. In this article, I will try to give an Overview of ADO.NET. I hope you enjoy this article.