OLE DB (OLEDB or Object Linking and Embedding Database)
OLE DB is Microsoft's strategic low-level application program interface (API) for
access to different data sources. OLE DB includes not only the Structured Query Language (SQL) capabilities of the
Microsoft-sponsored standard data interface Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) but also
includes access to data
other than SQL data.
As a design from Microsoft's Component Object
Model (COM), OLE DB is a set of methods
(in earlier days, these might have been called routines) for reading and writing data. The
objects in OLE DB consist mainly of
a data source object, a session object, a command object, and a rowset object. An application using
OLE DB would use this request sequence:
- Initialize OLE.
- Connect to a data
source.
- Issue a command.
- Process the results.
- Release the data source object and uninitialize OLE.
OLE once stood for "Object Link Embedding" and "DB" for database. However, Microsoft no longer
ascribes these meanings to the letters "OLE" and "DB."
This was last updated in July 2006
Email Alerts
Register now to receive SearchSQLServer.com-related news, tips and more, delivered to your inbox.
By submitting you agree to receive email from TechTarget and its partners. If you reside outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
Privacy
Dig Deeper
-
Can SQL Azure help you manage “big data?” SQL Azure Federations enhances traditional partitioning, says Roger Jennings. Part 1 of this two-part series looks at using T-SQL to make federated tables.
-
Admins can use metadata functions to reveal detailed information about SQL Server files and filegroups, including file names, IDs and file properties.
-
There are plenty of other uses for SQL Server 2008 metadata functions beyond just the basics. This includes the ability to view object properties, such as columns and data types.
-
People who read this also read...
-
Resources from around the Web