ADO verses ODBC ?

[davidj]

Could someone please advise me :
If i use the ODBC drivers for connecting a database do I need to install ADO. ?
If I dont need the ADO and can use the ODBC drivers what are the key differences in performance etc ?
I ask this as I have seen components that allow replacement of the BDE either by ADO or ODBC.
Any help would be appreciated - Thanks

[digitiger]

for that you will have to describe what u r targetting your application at r u working on single tier / two tier / or multitier application. what database u will be using and where will it reside physically in relation to user machine etc etc as normally books can be written on odbc verses ado

and as for custom components which replace bde
most of the time they are tailored to the specific database requirements like some work well for dbase/foxpro etc while others works well but only with oracle and that too many times with specific version of that database

[Claude]

Both ADO and ODBC drivers are installed by MDAC (Older versions of MDAC were giving you the choice). I prefer ADO for several reasons. Among them stability and currency support are the two most important.

Now, since Delphi 6 (and kylix) will soon introduce DBExpress, a new multi-platform standard, I would wait a little before rewriting an application. Maybe the best move will be to switch directly from the BDE to DBExpress.

[Scottg]

I say, without a doubt, that ADO is preferred over ODBC. ODBC add an extreemly fat and slow layer between your application and your data. ADO, on the other hand, has direct access to the data using an OLE DB provider. ADOExpress is stable, fast and well supported.

Good luck!

Scottg