.NET Data Providers

Microsoft SQL Server .NET Data Provider (System.Data.SqlClient)

The Microsoft SQL Server .NET Data Provide allows you to connect to a Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, 2000, and 2005 databases.

For Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 or earlier, use the OLE DB .NET Data Provider with the SQL Server OLE DB Provider (SQLOLEDB).

Using C#:

using System.Data.SqlClient; 
... 
SqlConnection oSQLConn = new SqlConnection(); 
oSQLConn.ConnectionString = 
    "Data Source=(local);" + 
    "Initial Catalog=myDatabaseName;" +
    "Integrated Security=SSPI";
 //Or
 // "Server=(local);" + 
 // "Database=myDatabaseName;" + 
 // "Trusted_Connection=Yes";
oSQLConn.Open(); 
... 
oSQLConn.Close(); 

// If you open the connection, then close the connection!
// Otherwise the connection does not go back into the connection pool.
// Note the SqlDataAdapter will open and close the connection for you
// when calling it's Fill or Update methods. However if the connection
// is already open, the SqlDataAdapter will leave it open.

Using VB.NET:

Imports System.Data.SqlClient 
... 
Dim oSQLConn As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection() 
oSQLConn.ConnectionString = _
    "Data Source=(local);" & _ 
    "Initial Catalog=myDatabaseName;" & _
    "Integrated Security=SSPI" 
oSQLConn.Open()

If connection to a remote server (via IP address):

oSQLConn.ConnectionString = _
    "Network Library=DBMSSOCN;" & _ 
    "Data Source=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx,1433;" & _ 
    "Initial Catalog=myDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword"
oSQLConn.Open()

Where:
- "Network Library=DBMSSOCN" tells SqlClient to use TCP/IP Q238949
- xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is an IP address of the remote SQL Server.
- 1433 is the port number for the remote SQL Server. Q269882 and Q287932
- You can also add "Encrypt=yes" for encryption

For more information, see: SqlConnection Class, Q308656, and .NET Data Providers

To view Microsoft KB articles related to SQLClient, click here

Note: Microsoft SQLXML Managed Classes exposes the functionality of SQLXML inside the Microsoft .NET Framework.

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MySQLDirect .NET Data Provider - From CoreLab (CoreLab.MySql)

MySQLDirect .NET is data provider to direct access to MySQL database server for the Microsoft .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework. It is completely based on ActiveX Data Objects for the .NET Framework (ADO.NET) technology. ADO.NET provides a rich set of components for creating distributed, data-sharing applications. It is an integral part of the .NET Framework, providing access to relational data, XML, and application data.

MySQLDirect .NET data provider can be used in the same way as the SQL Server .NET or the OLE DB .NET Data Provider. Data provider can access MySQL server either using native MySQL network protocol directly or through MySQL client library. It allows to create lightweight and fast applications working with MySQL.

Using C#

using CoreLab.MySql; 
... 
MySqlConnection oMySqlConn = new MySqlConnection(); 
oMySqlConn.ConnectionString = 
    "User ID=myUsername;" + 
    "Password=myPassword;" + 
    "Host=localhost;" + 
    "Port=3306;" + 
    "Database=myDatabaseName;" + 
    "Direct=true;" + 
    "Protocol=TCP;" + 
    "Compress=false;" + 
    "Pooling=true;" + 
    "Min Pool Size=0;" + 
    "Max Pool Size=100;" + 
    "Connection Lifetime=0"; 
oMySqlConn.Open();

Using VB.NET

Imports CoreLab.MySql 
... 
Dim oMySqlConn As MySqlConnection = New MySqlConnection() 
oMySqlConn.ConnectionString = _
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword;" & _ 
    "Host=localhost;" & _ 
    "Port=3306;" & _ 
    "Database=myDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "Direct=true;" & _ 
    "Protocol=TCP;" & _ 
    "Compress=false;" & _ 
    "Pooling=true;" & _ 
    "Min Pool Size=0;" & _ 
    "Max Pool Size=100;" & _ 
    "Connection Lifetime=0" 
oMySqlConn.Open() 

For more information, see: CoreLab's MySqlDirect .NET Data Provider. Download here. Support forms here.

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ODBC .NET Data Provider (System.Data.ODBC)

The Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) .NET Data Provider provides access to native ODBC drivers the same way the OLE DB .NET Data Provider provides access to native OLE DB providers.

Note: This namespace, class, or member is supported only in version 1.1 of the .NET Framework.

For SQL Server ODBC Driver

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.Odbc 
... 
Dim oODBCConnection As OdbcConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _
    "Driver={SQL Server};" & _
    "Server=MySQLServerName;" & _
    "Database=MyDatabaseName;" & _
    "Uid=MyUsername;" & _
    "Pwd=MyPassword" 
oODBCConnection = New Odbc.OdbcConnection(sConnString) 
oODBCConnection.Open() 

For Oracle ODBC Driver

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.Odbc 
... 
Dim oODBCConnection As OdbcConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Driver={Microsoft ODBC for Oracle};" & _ 
    "Server=OracleServer.world;" & _ 
    "Uid=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Pwd=myPassword" 
oODBCConnection = New Odbc.OdbcConnection(sConnString) 
oODBCConnection.Open() 

For Access (JET) ODBC Driver

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.Odbc 
... 
Dim oODBCConnection As OdbcConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};" & _ 
    "Dbq=c:\somepath\mydb.mdb;" 
oODBCConnection = New Odbc.OdbcConnection(sConnString) 
oODBCConnection.Open()

For Sybase System 11 ODBC Driver

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.Odbc 
... 
Dim oODBCConnection As OdbcConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Driver={Sybase System 11};" & _ 
    "SRVR=mySybaseServerName;" & _ 
    "DB=myDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "UID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "PWD=myPassword" 

oODBCConnection = New OdbcConnection(sConnString) 
oODBCConnection.Open() 

For all other ODBC Drivers

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.Odbc 
... 
Dim oODBCConnection As OdbcConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _
    "Dsn=myDsn;" & _
    "Uid=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Pwd=myPassword" 
oODBCConnection = New Odbc.OdbcConnection(sConnString) 
oODBCConnection.Open() 

For more information, see: OdbcConnection Class and .NET Data Providers.

To view Microsoft KB articles related to OdbcConnection, click here.

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OLE DB .NET Data Provider (System.Data.OleDb)

The Microsoft .NET Framework Data Provider for OLE DB allow you to use native OLE DB providers (e.g. Microsoft.JET.OLEDB.4.0) through COM interop to enable data access.

For IBM AS/400 OLE DB Provider

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.OleDb 
... 
Dim oOleDbConnection As OleDbConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Provider=IBMDA400.DataSource.1;" & _ 
    "Data source=myAS400DbName;" & _ 
    "User Id=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword" 
oOleDbConnection = New OleDb.OleDbConnection(sConnString) 
oOleDbConnection.Open() 

For JET OLE DB Provider

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.OleDb 
... 
Dim oOleDbConnection As OleDbConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" & _ 
    "Data Source=C:\myPath\myJet.mdb;" & _ 
    "User ID=Admin;" & _ 
    "Password=" 
oOleDbConnection = New OleDb.OleDbConnection(sConnString) 
oOleDbConnection.Open() 

For Oracle OLE DB Provider

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.OleDb 
... 
Dim oOleDbConnection As OleDbConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Provider=OraOLEDB.Oracle;" & _ 
    "Data Source=MyOracleDB;" & _ 
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword" 
oOleDbConnection = New OleDb.OleDbConnection(sConnString) 
oOleDbConnection.Open() 

For SQL Server OLE DB Provider

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.OleDb 
... 
Dim oOleDbConnection As OleDbConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Provider=sqloledb;" & _ 
    "Data Source=myServerName;" & _ 
    "Initial Catalog=myDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "User Id=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword" 
oOleDbConnection = New OleDb.OleDbConnection(sConnString) 
oOleDbConnection.Open() 

For Sybase ASE OLE DB Provider

' VB.NET 
Imports System.Data.OleDb 
... 
Dim oOleDbConnection As OleDbConnection 
Dim sConnString As String = _ 
    "Provider=Sybase ASE OLE DB Provider;" & _ 
    "Data Source=MyDataSourceName;" & _ 
    "Server Name=MyServerName;" & _ 
    "Database=MyDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword" 
oOleDbConnection = New OleDb.OleDbConnection(sConnString) 
oOleDbConnection.Open()

For more information, see: OleDbConnection Class and .NET Data Providers.

To view Microsoft KB articles related to OleDbConnection, click here.

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Oracle .NET Data Provider - From Microsoft (System.Data.OracleClient)

The Microsoft .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle is an add-on component to the .NET Framework 1.0 that provides access to an Oracle database using the Oracle Call Interface (OCI) as provided by Oracle Client software. Oracle 8i Release 3 (8.1.7) Client or later must be installed for this provider to function correctly.

Note: This namespace, class, or member is supported only in version 1.1 of the .NET Framework.

Using C#:

using System.Data.OracleClient; 
... 
OracleConnection oOracleConn = new OracleConnection(); 
oOracleConn.ConnectionString = 
     "Data Source=Oracle8i;" + 
     "Integrated Security=SSPI"; 
oOracleConn.Open(); 

Using VB.NET:

Imports System.Data.OracleClient 
... 
Dim oOracleConn As OracleConnection = New OracleConnection() 
oOracleConn.ConnectionString = 
    "Data Source=Oracle8i;" & _ 
    "Integrated Security=SSPI"; 
oOracleConn.Open() 

For more information, see: OracleConnection Class and .NET Data Providers.

To view Microsoft KB articles related to OracleConnection, click here.

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Oracle .NET Data Provider - From Oracle (Oracle.DataAccess.Client)

The Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET) features optimized data access to the Oracle database from a .NET environment. ODP.NET allows developers to take advantage of advanced Oracle database functionality, including Real Application Clusters, XML DB, and advanced security. The data provider can be used from any .NET language, including C# and Visual Basic .NET.

ODP.NET makes using Oracle from .NET more flexible, faster, and more stable. ODP.NET includes many features not available from other .NET drivers, including Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS), a native XML data type, the ability to bind array parameters, and flexible LOB tuning. ODP.NET is designed for scalable enterprise Windows solutions by providing full support for Unicode and local and distributed transactions. Distributed transactions are supported using the Oracle Services for MTS.

Using C#

using Oracle.DataAccess.Client; 
... 
OracleConnection oOracleConn = new OracleConnection(); 
oOracleConn.ConnectionString = 
    "Data Source=MyOracleServerName;" +
    "Integrated Security=SSPI";
oOracleConn.Open();

Using VB.NET

Imports Oracle.DataAccess.Client 
... 
Dim oOracleConn As OracleConnection = New OracleConnection()
oOracleConn.ConnectionString = _
    "Data Source=MyOracleServerName;" & _
    "Integrated Security=SSPI"; 
oOracleConn.Open();

For more information, see: Oracle Data Provider for .NET.

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OraDirect .NET Data Provider - From CoreLab (CoreLab.Oracle)

OraDirect .NET is a data provider to direct access to Oracle database server for the Microsoft .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework. It is completely based on ActiveX Data Objects for the .NET Framework (ADO.NET) technology. ADO.NET provides a rich set of components for creating distributed, data-sharing applications. It is an integral part of the .NET Framework, providing access to relational data, XML, and application data.

OraDirect .NET data provider can be used in the same way as the SQL Server .NET or the OLE DB .NET Data Provider. OraDirect .NET can access Oracle server using Oracle Call Interface (OCI) or through TCP/IP directly.

Using C#

using CoreLab.Oracle; 
... 
OracleConnection oOracleConn = new OracleConnection(); 
oOracleConn.ConnectionString = 
    "User ID=myUsername;" + 
    "Password=myPassword;" + 
    "Host=(local);" + 
    "Pooling=true;" + 
    "Min Pool Size=0;" + 
    "Max Pool Size=100;" + 
    "Connection Lifetime=0"; 
oOracleConn.Open();

Using VB.NET

Imports CoreLab.Oracle 
... 
Dim oOracleConn As OracleConnection = New OracleConnection() 
oOracleConn.ConnectionString = 
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword;" & _ 
    "Host=(local);" & _ 
    "Pooling=true;" & _ 
    "Min Pool Size=0;" & _ 
    "Max Pool Size=100;" & _ 
    "Connection Lifetime=0" 
oOracleConn.Open()

For more information, see: OraDirect .NET Data Provider. Download here. Support forms here.

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PostgreSQLDirect .NET Data Provider - From CoreLab (CoreLab.PostgreSql)

PostgreSQLDirect .NET is data provider to direct access to PostgreSQL database for the Microsoft .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework. It completely based on ActiveX Data Objects for the .NET Framework (ADO.NET) technology. ADO.NET provides a rich set of components for creating distributed, data-sharing applications. It is an integral part of the .NET Framework, providing access to relational data, XML, and application data.

PostgreSQLDirect .NET data provider can be used in the same way as the SQL Server .NET or the OLE DB .NET Data Provider.

Using C#

using CoreLab.PostgreSql; 
... 
PgSqlConnection oPgSqlConn = new PgSqlConnection();
oPgSqlConn.ConnectionString = 
    "User ID=myUsername;" + 
    "Password=myPassword;" + 
    "Host=localhost;" + 
    "Port=5432;" + 
    "Database=myDatabaseName;" + 
    "Pooling=true;" + 
    "Min Pool Size=0;" + 
    "Max Pool Size=100;" + 
    "Connection Lifetime=0"; 
oPgSqlConn.Open();

Using VB.NET

Imports CoreLab.PostgreSql
... 
Dim oPgSqlConn As PgSqlConnection = New PgSqlConnection()
oPgSqlConn.ConnectionString = 
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword;" & _ 
    "Host=localhost;" & _ 
    "Port=5432;" & _ 
    "Database=myDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "Pooling=true;" & _ 
    "Min Pool Size=0;" & _ 
    "Max Pool Size=100;" & _ 
    "Connection Lifetime=0" 
oPgSqlConn.Open()

For more information, see: PostgreSQLDirect .NET Data Provider. Download here. Support forms here.

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Sybase Adaptive Server (ASE) Enterprise .NET Data Provider (Sybase.Data.AseClient)

The ASE Enterprise .NET Data Provider is an add-on component to the .NET  Framework that allows you to access a Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) database.

Using C#

using Sybase.Data.AseClient; 
... 
AseConnection oAseConn = new AseConnection(); 
oAseConn.ConnectionString = 
    "Data Source=(local);" + 
    "Initial Catalog=myDatabaseName;" + 
    "User ID=myUsername;" + 
    "Password=myPassword" 
oAseConn.Open(); 

Using VB.NET

Imports System.Data.AseClient 
... 
Dim oAseConn As AseConnection = New AseConnection() 
oAseConn.ConnectionString = 
    "Data Source=(local);" & _ 
    "Initial Catalog=myDatabaseName;" & _ 
    "User ID=myUsername;" & _ 
    "Password=myPassword" 
oAseConn.Open() 

For more information, see: ASE User's Guide.

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VistaDB (VistaDB.Provider)

The VistaDB Provider allows you to access a VistaDB database.

Using C#

using VistaDB.Provider; 
... 
public VistaDBConnection OpenConnection()
{
    string connectionString = @"Data Source = C:\VistaDB.vdb3; Open Mode = ExclusiveReadWrite";
    VistaDBConnection connection = new VistaDBConnection(connectionString);
    connection.Open();
    return connection;
} 

Using VB.NET

Imports VistaDB.Provider 
... 
Dim vistaDBConnection As VistaDBConnection = New VistaDBConnection() 
vistaDBConnection.ConnectionString = @"Data Source = C:\VistaDB.vdb3; Open Mode = ExclusiveReadWrite";
vistaDBConnection.Open() 

For more information, see: VistaDB On-line Help.