Building Web Solutions with ASP.NET and ADO.NET

Writing a Simple Data Provider

Functionally, a simple .NET managed data provider is nearly identical to the DirectoryListing class we examined earlier. In terms of the internal structure, though, a significant gap exists between the two. A generic class such as DirectoryListing has no particular requirements, which can make it the major strength or the weakest point of your solution. In contrast, the class that outfits a simple managed data provider must implement the IDataAdapter interface and, subsequently, must expose a precise number of methods and properties.

Let’s consider extending the DirectoryListing class so that it works as a data provider. The class will need at least two constructors. The default constructor takes no argument and ...