The CML/LitCrit application uses ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) and the OLEDB provider to communicate with its SQL Server™ database, FmLib. In many cases, it also uses client-side Remote Data Service (RDS) ActiveX objects to provide certain benefits in flexibility, performance, or security. One important way CML/LitCrit's use of RDS differs from that of the original CML is the introduction of RDS customization handlers.
RDS resides on the client (remote from the Web), and is installed with Microsoft® Internet Explorer version 4.0 and version 5.0.
ADO resides on the Web server computer. It offers different types of database objects: ADODB, a full-featured version, and ADOR, which is better suited for remote data access because it has a smaller footprint. Both of these versions work well on the data-services tier, though it is often better to work with returned ADOR recordsets rather than ADODB recordsets. A third kind of ADO object, called ADOMD, offers datashape capabilities.
The following topics discuss these technologies in more detail: