Enumerating Installed Data Providers
By using the GetFactoryClasses method, you can enumerate data providers that are installed on your computer. These data providers are listed in the machine.config file.
The results are returned as a DataTable named DbProviderFactories that contains these columns:
| Column ordinal | Column name | Example output | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
0 |
Name |
Odbc Data Provider |
Readable name for the data provider |
1 |
Description |
.Net Framework Data Provider for Odbc |
Readable description of the data provider |
2 |
InvariantName |
System.Data.Odbc |
Name that can be used programmatically to refer to the data provider |
3 |
AssemblyQualifiedName |
System.Data.Odbc.OdbcFactory, System.Data, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089 |
Fully-qualified name of the factory class, which contains enough information to instantiate the object. |
The following example enumerates data providers that are installed on the local computer.
Imports System.Data.Common
Module Module1
Sub Main()
Dim providerTable As DataTable = _
DbProviderFactories.GetFactoryClasses()
' Enumerate the available providers:
For Each row As DataRow In providerTable.Rows
For Each col As DataColumn In providerTable.Columns
Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", col.ColumnName, _
row(col.ColumnName))
Next
Next
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to continue...")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.Common;
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
DataTable providerTable = DbProviderFactories.GetFactoryClasses();
// Enumerate the available providers:
foreach (DataRow row in providerTable.Rows)
{
foreach (DataColumn col in providerTable.Columns)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", col.ColumnName, row[col.ColumnName]);
}
}
Console.WriteLine();
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to continue...");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}