OLE DB
Encyclopedia
OLE DB is an API
designed by Microsoft
for accessing data
from a variety of sources in an uniform manner. It is a set of interfaces implemented using the Component Object Model
(COM); it is otherwise unrelated to OLE
. It was designed as a higher-level replacement for, and successor to, ODBC, extending its feature set to support a wider variety of non-relational databases, such as object database
s and spreadsheet
s that do not necessarily implement SQL
.
OLE DB separates the data store from the application that needs access to it through a set of abstractions that include the datasource, session, command, and rowsets. This was done because different applications need access to different types and sources of data, and do not necessarily want to know how to access functionality with technology-specific methods. OLE DB is conceptually divided into consumers and providers
. The consumers are the applications that need access to the data, and the providers are the software components that implement the interface and thereby provides the data to the consumer. OLE DB is part of the Microsoft Data Access Components
(MDAC) stack. MDAC is a group of Microsoft technologies that interact together as a framework that allows programmers a uniform and comprehensive way of developing applications for accessing almost any data store.
Microsoft's 'Denali' release of SQL server will be the last to include an OLE DB provider for SQL Server, but support will continue for 7 years. According to a related Microsoft FAQ, "Providers like ADO.Net which can run on top of OLE DB will not support OLE DB once the latter is deprecated
", but the same answer in the FAQ states that the original post relates only to the OLE DB provider for SQL Server, so the position of OLE DB itself remains unclear.
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
designed by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
for accessing data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
from a variety of sources in an uniform manner. It is a set of interfaces implemented using the Component Object Model
Component Object Model
Component Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
(COM); it is otherwise unrelated to OLE
Object Linking and Embedding
Object Linking and Embedding is a technology developed by Microsoft that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects. For developers, it brought OLE Control eXtension , a way to develop and use custom user interface elements...
. It was designed as a higher-level replacement for, and successor to, ODBC, extending its feature set to support a wider variety of non-relational databases, such as object database
Object database
An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming...
s and spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
s that do not necessarily implement SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
.
OLE DB separates the data store from the application that needs access to it through a set of abstractions that include the datasource, session, command, and rowsets. This was done because different applications need access to different types and sources of data, and do not necessarily want to know how to access functionality with technology-specific methods. OLE DB is conceptually divided into consumers and providers
OLE DB provider
An OLE DB provider is a software component enabling an OLE DB consumer to interact with a data source. OLE DB providers are analogous to ODBC drivers, JDBC drivers, and ADO.NET data providers....
. The consumers are the applications that need access to the data, and the providers are the software components that implement the interface and thereby provides the data to the consumer. OLE DB is part of the Microsoft Data Access Components
Microsoft Data Access Components
Microsoft Data Access Components is a framework of interrelated Microsoft technologies that allows programmers a uniform and comprehensive way of developing applications that can access almost any data store. Its components include: ActiveX Data Objects , OLE DB, and Open Database Connectivity...
(MDAC) stack. MDAC is a group of Microsoft technologies that interact together as a framework that allows programmers a uniform and comprehensive way of developing applications for accessing almost any data store.
Microsoft's 'Denali' release of SQL server will be the last to include an OLE DB provider for SQL Server, but support will continue for 7 years. According to a related Microsoft FAQ, "Providers like ADO.Net which can run on top of OLE DB will not support OLE DB once the latter is deprecated
Deprecation
In the process of authoring computer software, its standards or documentation, deprecation is a status applied to software features to indicate that they should be avoided, typically because they have been superseded...
", but the same answer in the FAQ states that the original post relates only to the OLE DB provider for SQL Server, so the position of OLE DB itself remains unclear.