ADO.NET Overview

ADO.NET brings along with it four, much-publicised advantages:

Interoperability - All data in ADO.NET is transported in XML format, meaning it's simply a structured text document that can be read by anyone on any platform.

Scalability - The client/server model is out. ADO.NET promotes the use of disconnected datasets, with automatic connection pooling bundled as part of the package.

Productivity - You can't just pick it up and run, but ADO.NET can certainly improve your overall development time. For example, "Typed DataSets" help you work quicker and produce more bug-free code.

Performance - Because ADO.NET is mainly about disconnected datasets, the database server is no longer a bottleneck and hence applications should incur a performance boost.