Question - Can you explain the difference between an ADO.NET Dataset and an ADO Recordset?
Answer -
Let’s take a look at the differences between ADO Recordset and ADO.Net DataSet:
1. Table Collection: ADO Recordset provides the ability to navigate through a single table of information. That table would have been formed with a join of multiple tables and returning columns from multiple tables. ADO.NET DataSet is capable of holding instances of multiple tables. It has got a Table Collection, which holds multiple tables in it. If the tables are having a relation, then it can be manipulated on a Parent-Child relationship. It has the ability to support multiple tables with keys, constraints and interconnected relationships. With this ability the DataSet can be considered as a small, in-memory relational database cache.
2. Navigation: Navigation in ADO Recordset is based on the cursor mode. Even though it is specified to be a client-side Recordset, still the navigation pointer will move from one location to another on cursor model only. ADO.NET DataSet is an entirely offline, in-memory, and cache of data. All of its data is available all the time. At any time, we can retrieve any row or column, constraints or relation simply by accessing it either ordinarily or by retrieving it from a name-based collection.
3. Connectivity Model: The ADO Recordset was originally designed without the ability to operate in a disconnected environment. ADO.NET DataSet is specifically designed to be a disconnected in-memory database. ADO.NET DataSet follows a pure disconnected connectivity model and this gives it much more scalability and versatility in the amount of things it can do and how easily it can do that.
4. Marshalling and Serialization: In COM, through Marshalling