.NET Data Access in Oracle: Products and Documentation

This section discusses Oracle components and products that work together to provide .NET data access to Oracle Database, how they relate to each other, and what documentation is provided.

These Oracle products provide .NET integration on the Windows operating system:

Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET)

Oracle Data Provider for .NET provides data access for client applications from within Oracle database. ODP.NET data access is fast and includes access to Oracle advanced features, such as Real Application Clusters (RAC) and XML DB.

Oracle Data Provider for .NET Developer's Guide describes Oracle Data Provider for .NET features, their use, installation, requirements, and classes. The guide distinguishes which classes are supported in .NET stored procedures and which classes are supported for .NET clients.

Additionally, Oracle Data Provider for .NET Dynamic Help, which is context-sensitive online help, contains the same reference sections available in Oracle Data Provider for .NET Developer's Guide. Oracle Data Provider for .NET Dynamic Help is integrated with Visual Studio .NET Dynamic Help.

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET

Oracle Developer Tools is an add-in to Visual Studio .NET that provides graphical user interface (GUI) access to Oracle functionality. It provides improved developer productivity and ease of use. Oracle Developer Tools provide the ability to build .NET stored procedures using Visual Basic .NET, C#, and other .NET languages.

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET Help describes Oracle Developer Tools. This help is in the form of dynamic help, which installs as part of the product.

Additionally, the Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET Help includes the following documentation:

Oracle Database PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference
Oracle Database SQL Reference
Access to Oracle Data Provider for .NET Dynamic Help

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET provides the following:

Hosting of Microsoft Common Language Runtime (CLR) in an external process on the server side, to execute .NET stored procedures.
ODP.NET data access on the server side, from within the .NET stored procedure.

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET features, their use, installation, and requirements are described in Oracle Database Extensions for .NET Developer's Guide.

Oracle Data Provider for .NET Developer's Guide describes all ODP.NET classes. Classes that are not supported by Oracle Database Extensions for .NET are described as Not Supported in a .NET Stored Procedure.