I have used code like this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dw70f090.aspx to access database before when working in ASP.NET (2-3 years ago). I didn’t realize I was working with ADO.NET.
I am just a bit confused…is there another way data in a database can be accessed? How else would you do it?
It’s possible to write code against a database using a non-ADO.NET interface. For example, SQLite provides a C api which one could program against. It’s very unusual though. ADO.NET provides a standard interface so if all providers implement these interfaces it’s much easier for developers to use.