Microsoft Windows Architecture for Developers Training Kit

Administrative Use Only

If your application is connecting to a Microsoft SQL Server database and is only providing the user administrative functions, such as adding users or maintaining the database, the SQL-DMO interface should be used. SQL-DMO should not be used to retrieve data from a SQL Server database.

Lesson Summary

When choosing a data access method, remember that not every interface supports every type of data. Consider the following factors as you select the data access interface that best fits your needs:

• The data format and the potential to use a combination of formats

  Data interfaces are traditionally designed to target specific data formats, so performance considerations are significant from one interface to another. Also, if your application must access data in multiple formats, you may need to use a combination of data access interfaces.

• Product revision

  When you revise an exiting product, you must decide if converting it to a different technology is worth the resources required.

• Application lifetime

  For a short- term solution, use an interface that provides the most functionality.

• Whether or not the application will be created exclusively for administrative use

  Use SQL-DMO to provide administrative features.