asp data provider
A data provider in the .NET Framework serves as a bridge between an application and a data source. A data provider is used to retrieve data from a data source and to reconcile changes to that data back to the data source.
The following table lists the .NET data providers that are included in the .NET Framework.
| .NET data provider | Description |
|---|---|
| SQL Server .NET Data Provider | For Microsoft® SQL Server™ version 7.0 or later. |
| OLE DB .NET Data Provider | For data sources exposed using OLE DB. |
An Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) .NET Data Provider is available as a separate download at http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads. The download includes documentation on the classes that make up the ODBC .NET Data Provider. However, the implementation has the same architecture as both the SQL Server .NET Data Provider and the OLE DB .NET Data Provider. As a result, you can apply the information found in this section to the ODBC .NET Data Provider as well.
The Connection, Command, DataReader, and DataAdapter objects represent the core elements of the .NET data provider model. The following table describes these objects.
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
| Connection | Establishes a connection to a specific data source. |
| Command | Executes a command against a data source. |
| DataReader | Reads a forward-only, read-only stream of data from a data source. |
| DataAdapter | Populates a DataSet and resolves updates with the data source. |
Along with the core classes listed in the preceding table, a .NET data provider also contains the classes listed in the following table.
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
| Transaction | Enables you to enlist commands in transactions at the data source. |
| CommandBuilder | A helper object that will automatically generate command properties of a DataAdapter or will derive parameter information from a stored procedure and populate the Parameters collection of a Command object. |
| Parameter | Defines input, output, and return value parameters for commands and stored procedures. |
| Exception | Returned when an error is encountered at the data source. For an error encountered at the client, .NET data providers throw a .NET Framework exception. |
| Error | Exposes the information from a warning or error returned by a data source. |
| ClientPermission | Provided for .NET data provider code access security attributes. |