Deferring to other makers, Microsoft will discontinue its own software providing access from Microsoft .Net applications to Oracle databases.

Specifically, the company is deprecating OracleClient, the ADO.Net provider for Oracle shipped as part of the .Net Framework. The decision was made after discussions with customers and partners, said Himanshu Vasishth, program manager for ADO.Net OracleClient at Microsoft.

“We learned that a significantly large portion of customers use our partners’ ADO.Net providers for Oracle, with regularly updated support for Oracle releases and new features. In addition, many of the third-party providers are able to consistently provide the same level of quality and support that customers have come to expect from Microsoft,” Vasishth said.

“It is our assessment that even if we made significant investments in ADO.Net OracleClient to bring it at parity with our partner-based providers, customers would not have a compelling reason to switch to ADO.Net OracleClient,” he added.

OracleClient, or, specifically, System.Data.OracleClient, will be available in the upcoming .Net Framework 4.0 release, but it will be marked as deprecated, said Vasishth. Existing applications will continue to work and new applications using OracleClient will be supported. But warnings will be raised if the applications are compiled against .Net 4.0, he said. The company thus recommends using partner ADO.Net providers.

Some comments attached to Vasishth’s blog panned the plan.

“Eighty percent of our applications are using this provider and now you told me that I have to pay for a rubbish third-party provider,” one concerned commenter said. But another person stressed, “Third party doesn’t have to mean rubbish,” and indeed could mean faster fixes and feature additions.

One vendor looking to fill the gap is DataDirect Technologies.

“If you’re seriously considering a migration from OracleClient, remember this might be an unexpected opportunity to retrofit your current or planned applications and upgrade your .Net to Oracle experience,” said Jonathan Bruce, .Net program manager at DataDirect, in a blog entry. DataDirect’s ADO.Net Entity Framework provider for Oracle now is in a public beta phase of development.

1. Mike Nelson Says:
   June 24th, 2009 at 4:03 am

   Thanks for posting the System.Data.OracleClient update, and for mentioning DataDirect Technologies as a third party option! I work with DataDirect Technologies, and Connect for ADO.NET offers a client-less solution for .NET platforms – free from OracleClient or so called Instant Client. Go grab a copy of our install and check out what a true pedigree, 100% managed provider, can offer while supporting the latest .NET technologies such as the ADO.NET Entity Framework provider for Oracle –http://blogs.datadirect.com/category/net-connections

   Thanks,
   Mike
   mnelson@crt-tanaka.com

2. Oracle Says:
   July 13th, 2009 at 9:45 pm

   Oracle…

   An interesting post by a bloger made me ……

3. no fax payday loan Says:
   August 14th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

   http://www.todayindianews.com is very informative. The article is very professionally written. I enjoy reading http://www.todayindianews.com every day.

4. Cortaflex For Horses Says:
   November 15th, 2009 at 4:36 am

   I’ve really enjoyed reading your articles. You obviously know what you are talking about! Your site is so easy to navigate too, I’ve bookmarked it in my favourites

5. Revatio Says:
   January 8th, 2010 at 12:45 am

   very precise and to the point blog post on a very informative subject.

6. Pharmf229 Says:
   May 23rd, 2010 at 11:44 pm

   Hello! cbceeea interesting cbceeea site!

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website