Summary

UDA is Microsoft's strategy for providing a common data access method for all types of data, regardless of where the data is. UDA is based on OLE DB, a system-level component architecture for data management. UDA also defines an application-level programming interface for data access, ADO. ADO can be used from any programming language or tool that supports COM.

UDA is implemented by MDAC. MDAC includes ADO, an OLE DB provider for ODBC, as well as several ODBC components. In the ADO programming model, data is manipulated using Recordset objects. ADO is the recommended data access technology for all new application development.

Data objects represent the data access service of an application. They are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of the data they own. They should work correctly whether or not their clients are transactional. Data objects for MTS are in-process COM components.

The application's data access has several important characteristics that ensure data integrity, such as normalization, use of business rules, and referential integrity.

New data access technologies such as COMTI for host data access, SAP DCOM connector for ERP access, and COM+ IMDB provide excellent capabilities for simplifying the team's data access requirements.