Oracle and ADO.NET

Note

The types in System.Data.OracleClient are deprecated. The types remain supported in the current version of.NET Framework but will be removed in a future release. Microsoft recommends that you use a third-party Oracle provider.

This section describes features and behaviors that are specific to the .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle.

The .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle provides access to an Oracle database using the Oracle Call Interface (OCI) as provided by Oracle Client software. The functionality of the data provider is designed to be similar to that of the .NET Framework data providers for SQL Server, OLE DB, and ODBC.

To use the .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle, an application must reference the System.Data.OracleClient namespace as follows:

Imports System.Data.OracleClient  
using System.Data.OracleClient;  

You also must include a reference to the DLL when you compile your code. For example, if you are compiling a C# program, your command line should include:

csc /r:System.Data.OracleClient.dll  

In This Section

System Requirements
Describes requirements for using the .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle, and describes a number of issues to be aware when using it.

Oracle BFILEs
Describes the OracleBFile class, which is used to work with the Oracle BFILE data type.

Oracle LOBs
Describes the OracleLob class, which is used to work with Oracle LOB data types.

Oracle REF CURSORs
Describes support for the Oracle REF CURSOR data type.

OracleTypes
Describes structures you can use to work with Oracle data types, including OracleNumber and OracleString.

Oracle Sequences
Describes support for retrieving the server-generated key Oracle Sequence values.

Oracle Data Type Mappings
Lists Oracle data types and their mappings to the OracleDataReader.

Oracle Distributed Transactions
Describes how the OracleConnection object automatically enlists in an existing distributed transaction if it determines that a transaction is active.

Securing ADO.NET Applications
Describes secure coding practices when using ADO.NET.

DataSets, DataTables, and DataViews
Describes how to create and use DataSets, typed DataSets, DataTables, and DataViews.

Retrieving and Modifying Data in ADO.NET
Describes how to work with data in ADO.NET.

SQL Server and ADO.NET
Describes how to work with features and functionality that are specific to SQL Server.

DbProviderFactories
Describes generic classes that allow you to write provider-independent code in ADO.NET.

See also