Comparison of ADO and ADO.NET
FeatureADOADO.NETMemory-resident data representationUses the RecordSet object, which looks like a single table.Uses the DataSet object, which can contain one or more tables represented by DataTable objects.Relationships between multiple tablesRequires the JOIN query to assemble data from multiple database tables in a single result table.Supports the DataRelation object to associate rows in one DataTable object with rows in another DataTable object.Data visitationScans RecordSet rows sequentially.Uses a navigation paradigm for non-sequential access to rows in a table. Follows relationships to navigate from rows in one table to corresponding rows in another table.Disconnected accessProvided by the RecordSet but typically supports connected access, represented by the Connection object. You communicate to a database with calls to an OLE DB provider.Communicates to a database with standardized calls to the DataAdapter Object, Which Communicates to An Ole DB Provider, or Directly TO SQL Serv er.CursorsUtilizes server-side and client-side cursors.The architecture is disconnected so cursors are not applicable.ProgrammabilityUses the Connection object to transmit commands that address underlying data structure of a data source.Uses the strongly typed programming characteristic of XML. Data is Self-describing Because Names for code items Correspond to the "real world"
