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What exactly are ODBC, JDBC and ADO.NET? What are the links between them?

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Did you read through the Wikipedia pages for each of them? If so, what specifically is still unclear? –  Jon Skeet Feb 22 '11 at 15:51
This one is screaming for LMGTFY. Must resist temptation! –  JohnFx Feb 22 '11 at 15:57
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up vote 4 down vote accepted

These are all different data access technologies.

ODBC is an (older) open standard. It's designed to be database and technology neutral. JDBC and ADO.NET can both actually use ODBC internally as a provider, if requested.

JDBC is a similar concept, but designed to be a standard for Java.

ADO.NET is a .NET data access technology.

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ADO.Net is much more than just DataSet. –  SLaks Feb 22 '11 at 15:53
@SLaks: Yes, of course... But, conceptually, it uses a slightly differnet approach, where the DataSet is disconnected from the source. Guess the idea didn't come across well - just removed it. –  Reed Copsey Feb 22 '11 at 15:54
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ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) is a standard API that can be used to communicate with databases.

JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) is a Java standard that can be used to communicate with databases.

ADO.Net is a .Net standard that can be used to communicate with databases.

Individual databases, such as SQL Server or MySQL, have drivers that implement each of these APIs.

In addition, there are ODBC implementations for JDBC and ADO.Net that allow them to use ODBC drivers.

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