A data link enables you to easily store connection information within your application or pass it between applications. The format of a data link is a connection string, which is a string version of the initialization properties needed to connect to a data source. Without a connection string, you would be required to store or pass a complex array of structures to access data.
In some cases, it might be desirable to manually build a connection string within an application. Therefore, it is important that the Connection String Syntax adhere to the formatting rules.
For more information about the syntax, see the "Data Link API Overview."