Welcome to ADO for Windows CE

Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) is a strategic, high-level interface to all types of data. ADO provides consistent, high-performance access to data, whether you are creating a front-end database client or a middle-tier business object using an application, tool, language, or Internet browser. ADO is part of the Microsoft Universal Data Access model, along with OLE DB and open database connectivity (ODBC).

The ActiveX Data Objects control for the Microsoft® Windows® CE operating system (ADOCE) provides a subset of ADO for Windows CE. ADOCE enables access to databases stored locally on a device instead of databases stored on other devices. For example, a docked Windows CE-based device cannot use ADOCE to access an SQL Server running on a network. ADOCE includes its own internal database provider.

With an ADOCE control, you can develop applications using the same ADO syntax you have available for programming on a desktop computer. ADOCE is based on ADO 1.0, the version that shipped with IIS 3.0 and Active Server Pages, with emphasis on ADO recordset (ADO/R) functionality. Most of the new features in ADO 1.5 and later are client/server focused and are not included in ADOCE.

ADOCE requires minimal work to port existing ADO-based code and provides for increased future compatibility. Whenever possible, ADOCE returns the same error values and error strings as ADO, which maintains the separation of errors between OLE DB errors (DB_E_XXX) and native ADO errors (adErrXXX).

The document, the Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects for Windows® CE Programmer’s Guide, explains how to use ADOCE. The first part of the Programmer’s Guide contains information on how to perform basic tasks, while the reference sections provide more specific information on syntax and the ADOCE object model.