What is ADO.NET?

ADO.NET is the .NET Framework's set of classes for accessing and manipulating data. Using ADO.NET, .NET clients can retrieve and manipulate data from a variety of different types of data sources including databases, web services, and XML. ADO.NET separates the responsibilities for data access and data manipulation into two discrete components:

1. Data Provider — Component for data access. It executes commands against the database and retrieves data. The .NET framework includes several data providers. However, the Caché Managed Provider for .NET (CMP), is optimized for use with Caché. For maximum speed and efficiency, use the CMP as your .NET application's data provider.

2. DataSet — Principal class used for data manipulation. Represents an in memory cache of data. Data providers fill a data set with data, potentially from a variety of sources, the application then manipulates the data contained in the data set. The data set then uses the data provider to update the data sources.