dotConnect Universal offers universal access to data of different databases for the Microsoft .NET Framework. It supports most of major database servers, including Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Oracle, DB2, MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL, InterBase, and Firebird. Other servers can be accessed through their ADO.NET, OLE DB and ODBC providers.
dotConnect Universal is completely based on ADO.NET technology and can be used in the same way as the SQL Server .NET or the OLE DB .NET Data Provider. The main feature of dotConnect Universal is an access to multiple database servers at the same code. With dotConnect Universal it is possible to avoid writing conditional code for different providers or using ADO.NET interfaces directly. Also dotConnect Universal implements full support of design-time development and integration with IDE, which allows to reduce development time greatly.
dotConnect Universal doesn't implement database specific access layer for all databases, it uses native ADO.NET providers and depends on their functionality. The Professional Edition of dotConnect Universal includes bundled data providers for Oracle, MySQL and PostgreSQL. For all other servers you need a native data provider.
dotConnect Universal supports Microsoft .NET Framework 2, 3, and 3.5 and key features of ADO.NET 2. dotConnect Universal introduces base classes used to access data like DbCommand, DbConnection, DbDataAdapter, and others.
dotConnect Universal provides functionality for connecting to a database, executing commands, and retrieving results. These results can be processed directly or placed in an ADO.NET DataSet for further processing in disconnected state. While in the DataSet, data can be exposed to the user, combined with other data from multiple sources, or passed remotely between tiers. Any processing performed on the data in the DataSet can then be reconciled with the database.
There are core classes that make up dotConnect Universal. The following table describes those classes and their functions.
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| UniConnection | Establishes a connection to the database server and begins a transaction. |
| UniCommand | Executes SQL statements and stored procedures at database, and exposes parameters. |
| UniDataReader | Exposes and reads a forward-only stream of data from the database. |
| UniDataAdapter | Populates a DataSet and resolves updates with the database. |
| UniTransaction | Manages database transactions. |
| UniParameter | Defines input, output, and return value parameters for commands and stored procedures. |
| UniException | Returned when an error is encountered on a database. For an error encountered at the client, dotConnect Universal throws a .NET Framework exception. |
Along with the core classes listed in the preceding table, the dotConnect Universal data provider also contains some supplementary classes that extend the base functionality and allow you to accomplish additional tasks.
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| UniCommandBuilder | A helper object that will automatically generate command properties of UniDataAdapter or will derive parameter information from a stored procedure and populate the UniParameter collection of UniCommand object. |
| UniConnectionStringBuilder | Designed to construct a connection string by assigning values to appropriate properties. |
| UniMonitor | Monitors dynamic SQL execution in applications that use dotConnect Universal. |
| UniProvider | Represents a custom ADO .NET data provider which can be used with dotConnect Universal provider. |
| UniScript | Executes series of SQL statements separated by special symbols. |
The following list presents the main advantages of the dotConnect Universal.