Even though I developed many utility software dealing with several database platforms, I still don’t know much about the basics of database connectivity.
I am developing a WPF application at the moment. My aim is to give the ability to the end user to connect to any database (especially the etnerprise level large scale platforms such as Oracle, DB2, SQL Server and also the popular ones such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQlite etc.) even if the user is not installed the relevant driver on his system.
I don’t know how to proceed. Should I distribute all the drivers with my application? Is there a one-size-fits-all solution? Can I distribute an Oracle driver, without having user to install Oracle client in his system for example? I wonder what is the best way to do this. Any reference will be appreciated.
Assuming you are using ADO.NET for database connectivity
You cannot connect to a database without installing it’s corresponding driver! You need not distribute the drivers; that is something each user of your application can do depending on which database he wants to connect to.