DotConnect for Oracle Review

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Summary[edit]

dotConnect for Oracle, formerly known as OraDirect .NET, is an enhanced ORM enabled data provider for Oracle that builds on ADO.NET technology to present a complete solution for developing Oracle-based database applications.

History[edit]

The first version of the dotConnect for Oracle ( OraDirect .NET ) was released in April, 2002. In 2008, after release of the version 5.0, the product was renamed to dotConnect for Oracle. The latest version 8.4 was released in July, 2014.

Feature list[edit]

General usability

• Direct access to server data. dotConnect for Oracle can be used without Oracle Client Software.

• Real RAD for database applications

• Fully compliant with ADO.NET

• 100% managed code

• Highly usable design time support

• Easy to deploy

Network and connectivity

• In Direct mode does not require Oracle Client Software and works directly through TCP/IP

• Both connected and disconnected data access models

• Support for setting connection timeout values for Direct mode

• OS authentication

• Proxy Authentication support

• Unicode connections

Compatibility

• Full support of the latest versions of Oracle, including Personal and Express editions

• Support for all versions of Oracle Clients, including Instant Client

• Full support for x64 architecture

• .NET Compact Framework support

• Mono Framework support

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013 support

• CodeGear Delphi 2007 support

• Embarcadero Delphi Prism support

• SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Solutions support

• Publisher policy files for versions compatibility

Oracle technology support

• Oracle Advanced Queuing support

• Oracle package support with powerful OraclePackage component

• Ability to manage alerts with OracleAlerter class

• Ability to use pipes with OraclePipe class

• Support for Direct Path interface with OracleLoader component

• Ability to perform SQL and PL/SQL tracing with OracleTrace class

• Support for Oracle Change notifications functionality of Oracle 10g

• Oracle Transparent Application Failover support

• Multiple Oracle Homes support

• DML array operations support

• Direct LOB access support

• Temporary LOB management routines

• Temporary LOBs for updating LOB fields

• Miscellaneous LOB management modes

• OCI Connection Pooling

• Statement Caching

• ROWID values retrieval

• Overloaded stored procedures support

• OracleGlobalization for managing culture settings

Oracle data types support

• All Oracle data types support

• TIMESTAMP and INTERVAL data types support

• PL/SQL table support

• PL/SQL records support

• Support for REF CURSORs, including IN, OUT, and IN/OUT

• Oracle Object (including NOT FINAL objects) types support

• Nested table support

• Objects handling in both connected and disconnected modes

• XMLTYPE data type support

Performance

• High overall performance

• Intelligent fetch block size control

• Advanced connection pooling

• High performance batch processing

ADO.NET technology support

• Full support for ADO.NET Entity Framework v1 - v6

• Server enumeration

• Batch update support

• Extended metadata information retrieval

• Advanced CommandBuilder component with automatic refresh SQL

• Enhanced pooling control through connection string

• Connection string builder

• Provider factory for generating key data access classes

• Asynchronous command execution

• Provider-specific types support

• Password change API

• Database Change Notification Support

• OracleCommand execution cancelling support

ADO.NET Entity Framework

• Conceptual approach to enterprise development

• High performance

• Wide support for LINQ to Entities

• Entity Framework Code First support

• Entity Framework Code First Migrations support

• Wide support for EntitySQL

• Full CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete) support

• Wide support for server data types

• Change tracking support

• Object data caching

• Inheritance mapping support (TPH, TPT, and TPCT models)

• Capability to use stored procedures when manipulating data

• Stored procedure import support

• Ability to build database-independent applications

• Visual Studio EDM Wizard support

• Reverse engineering of database objects to entity model

• Visual model creation and code generation with Entity Developer

• Update Model From Database functionality for Entity Developer

• Update To Database with Mapping Synchronization functionality for Entity Developer

• Illustrated tutorial to get started with Entity Framework in 5 minutes

LinqConnect (formerly known as LINQ to Oracle)

• Easy to use

• High performance

• Interchangeable with Microsoft LINQ to SQL

• Plain CLR classes used (no need to use a common base class)

• Full CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete) support

• Ability to execute DML statements in batches on SubmitChanges

• Complex type support

• PLINQ support (connection manager redesigned for thread safety)

• Support for different configurable algorithms for primary key generation

• Inheritance mapping support (Table Per Hierarchy and Table Per Type)

• Support of Visual Studio Debugger Visualizer for the DataQuery objects

• ASP.NET Dynamic Data support with ASP.NET Dynamic Data project templates

• Automatic configurable compiled query caching

• Change tracking support

• Object data caching

• Data binding support

• Wide support for LINQ capabilities

• Wide support for server data types

• Load on demand (lazy load)

• Database transactions support

• Server-independent interface

• Visual model creation and code generation with Entity Developer

• Update Model From Database functionality for Entity Developer

• Update To Database with Mapping Synchronization functionality for Entity Developer

• Illustrated tutorial to get started with LinqConnect in 5 minutes

Workflow Foundation Support

• Oracle Workflow Instance Store support

• OracleTrackingParticipant class to store tracking records in an Oracle database Extended data access technologies and functionality

• Powerful OracleDataTable component for manipulating individual tables or query result

• Structural representation and editing of Oracle objects

• NonBlocking mode allows fetching data asynchronously in the background

• Fill DataSet with several REF CURSOR

• Fill DataSet with object, array and nested table data

• On-demand data fetch for data-bound controls

• Paginal access to query result

• Server side master-detail relation based on queries

• Ability to refresh individual records in OracleDataTable component

• Support for Enterprise Library Data Access Application Block (DAAB)

• Object-oriented building of SELECT statements

• Extended warning and error information retrieval

• Extended interface for processing execution exceptions

• OracleDataAdapter.Fill method with sequential fetch support

• Ability to defer fetching of some columns in a resultset

• Custom Oracle Object mapping with ICustomOracleObject interface

WinForms-specific features

• Flexible data binding with DataLink component

• InterForm technology for cross-form components cooperation

• Oracle Object data binding Support

• Global position synchronization within a data source

ASP.NET-specific features

• ASP.NET data providers: Membership, Role, Session State, Profile, Personalization, Site Map, Web Event

• OracleDataSource web component

• OracleCacheDependency component to control Cache item dependencies in ASP.NET applications

Script execution

• Advanced script execution features with OracleScript component

• Support for executing individual statements in scripts

• Support for executing huge scripts stored in files with dynamic loading

• Ability to use standard SQL*Plus tool syntax in scripts

SQL execution monitoring

• Extended SQL tracing capabilities with OracleMonitor component

• Support for dbMonitor utility for advanced tracing analysis and control

• Per-component SQL tracing

• Optional log output to IDE toolwindows

Design-time enhancements

• Automatic component registration in toolbox

• Advanced integration with Visual Studio 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013, including Server Explorer, Data Source wizard, TableAdapter configuration, Query Builder and configuring web component OracleDataSource

• DataSet Wizard to create and edit typed Oracle-oriented datasets

• DataSet Manager to list and bind datasets in the project

• DataSet Editor to edit dataset contents

• Oracle Package Wizard that simplifies working with PL/SQL Packages

• Oracle Object Wizard that simplifies working with Oracle Objects

• Advanced design-time component and property editors

• IntelliSense descriptions for dotConnect for Oracle classes

• Easy migration from MS OracleClient and ODP.NET with Migration Wizard

• Syntax highlighting and SQL code completion in design-time editors

• TableMappings editor

• Convenient instant data preview and management in design time

To learn more visit the overview page - http://www.devart.com/dotconnect/oracle/

Installation[edit]

To install the tool, it is necessary to double-click the exe file and follow the prompts in the wizard. The tool can be upgraded using the built-in wizard. If a new version is available on the Devart website, you are automatically prompted about it when you start the tool.

Availability[edit]

dotConnect for Oracle comes in 4 commercial editions: Standard, Professional, Developer and Mobile. Also, there is a non-commercial Express edition that allows to use basic connectivity functionality with no time limits.

You can find the detailed edition comparison table here - http://www.devart.com/dotconnect/oracle/editions.html

Also it can be registered under three types of licenses. You can get a Single License for one developer, a Team License for up to four developers, and a Site License for an unlimited number of developers in a single company.

Benefits

• 30-day fully-functional product trial

• 30-day money-back guarantee policy

• Volume discounts free 1-year subscription for updates and technical support

Product support

If you have any problems with the product or questions or suggestions concerning it, you can send an e-mail to its developers or write them at the company forum, and you will be answered shortly.