The OLE DB Environment

The OLE DB specification defines three main roles performed by software applications in an OLE DB environment:

• OLE DB Consumer. A consumer application is the end-user or server-based program that uses (consumes) the OLE DB interfaces. An example is a Web-based component that makes OLE DB calls to integrate host records with a Web-based report.
• OLE DB Data Provider. A data provider is a driver or other program that exposes OLE DB interfaces for use by consumer applications. Data providers translate OLE DB interfaces to a language or commands understood by the target data source. An example is the Microsoft® OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM, which translates OLE DB interfaces to DDM commands.
• OLE DB Service Provider. A service provider is an application that both uses (consumes) and exposes OLE DB interfaces. Service providers typically act as proxies for the consumer, retrieving the data through the data provider and offering services to the consumer by manipulating the target data. An example is a query processing engine.