C# ADO.NET Data Providers
The .NET Framework includes three primary Data Providers for ADO.NET: the Microsoft SQL Server Data Provider, OLEDB Data Provider, and ODBC Data Provider. These providers allow for connectivity and interaction with various types of data sources. You can see from the following links how these Data Providers making connection to the specified data Sources from your C# applications.
In addition to the Data Providers, ADO.NET relies on four essential objects that provide the functionality for working with data:
Connection Object
The Connection Object establishes a physical connection to the data source. It manages the connection string, authentication, and communication between the application and the data source.
Command Object
The Command Object is responsible for executing SQL statements or stored procedures against the data source. It allows you to pass parameters, retrieve results, and perform data manipulation operations.
DataReader Object
The DataReader Object provides a stream-based, forward-only, read-only retrieval of data from the data source. It is optimized for fast, efficient data access and is ideal when you only need to read data sequentially.
DataAdapter Object
The DataAdapter Object serves as a bridge between the DataSet and the data source. It manages the communication between the two and provides methods such as Fill() to populate the DataSet with data from the data source, and Update() to apply changes made in the DataSet back to the data source.
Conclusion
Together, these four objects form the core functionality of Data Providers in ADO.NET. They enable connection establishment, execution of SQL statements, retrieval and manipulation of data, and synchronization between the application and the data source.