Understanding data providers,data drivers, Odbc,oledb etc

ODBC - Short for Open DataBase Connectivity, a standard database access method developed by Microsoft Corporation. The goal of ODBC is to make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database management system (DBMS) is handling the data. ODBC manages this by inserting a middle layer, called a database driver , between an application and the DBMS. The purpose of this layer is to translate the application's data queries into commands that the DBMS understands. For this to work, both the application and the DBMS must be ODBC-compliant -- that is, the application must be capable of issuing ODBC commands and the DBMS must be capable of responding to them. Since version 2.0, the standard supports SAG SQL. OLE DB Over the years, ODBC has become the standard for client/server database access. ODBC provides a standards-based interface that requires SQL processing capabilities and is optimized for a SQL-based approach. However, what happens if you want to access data in a nonrelational data source that doesn't use SQL (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server, which doesn't store data relationally)? Enter OLE DB. OLE DB builds on ODBC and extends the technology to a component architecture that delivers higher-level data-access interfaces. This architecture provides consistent access to SQL, non-SQL, and unstructured data sources across the enterprise and the Internet. (In fact, for access to SQL-based data, OLE DB still uses ODBC because it's the most optimized architecture for working with SQL.) OLE DB consists of three components: the data consumer (e.g., an application); the data provider, which contains and exposes data; and the service component, which processes and transports data (e.g., query processors, cursor engines). OLE DB is one API that operates against SQL data sources and non-SQL data sources such as mail and directories .Net Data Providers ADO.NET Data Providers are again, a new version of universal data access, that access data sources directly to gain performance advantages. ADO.Net also makes good use of XML standards to more effeciently transmit and cache data. It uses a more TCP-like connectionless metaphor so that all ADO.Net providers use sessionless connections. They get data and don't maintain a session on the server. NET data providers. An essential component of ADO.NET, a .NET data provider implements ADO.NET's interfaces. For example, a .NET data provider would implement the DataReader object so that either your application or the DataSet object could use it.