DataDirect Supports i 6.1 with .NET Data Provider

Published: December 9, 2008

by Alex Woodie

Organizations that are looking to hook up their .NET applications to DB2/400 data sources may be interested to hear that DataDirect Technologies' ADO.NET data provider is now certified for IBM i 6.1, the latest release of the OS/400 operating system.

DataDirect Technologies develops database drivers that connect applications to the world's major database management systems. The company focuses on integrating mainframe applications via ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET, and custom drivers, although it also supports IBM's System i and System p operating environments.

Yesterday, the Massachusetts company announced a new release of DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET that supports i 6.1. The product is also listed as certified for the new operating system, according to IBM's Global Solutions Directory.

In addition to i 6.1 and DB2 for i 6.1, the new release supports Oracle 11g R2 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. It also introduces new performance tuning options and the new DataDirect Bulk Load API, which provides consistent semantics for bulk-load functionality across all supported databases, the company says.

DataDirect, which is a subsidiary of Progress Software, claims that its ADO.NET data provider offers better performance, security, and interoperability than other data providers, in particular the connectivity offered by the database vendors themselves. Much of this results from Data Direct's reliance on the managed code architecture and the fact that it compiles to Microsoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR), which closes the security holes that often exists in unmanaged code. The use of CLR also eliminates the need for class libraries, also boosting security.

"Database vendors offer the bare minimum in terms of data connectivity, and this just isn't enough for large scale, complex applications," says John Goodson, vice president and general manager of DataDirect.

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