The final stage in our application is usually accessing the data store. In our examples we’ve used SQL Server because this is often the database of choice for DNA applications. However the DNA architecture is designed to offer seamless access to all kinds of data stores, from relational databases like Access, Oracle, and Informix to Exchange Server and Active Directory Services. Microsoft are promoting this as the Universal Data Access (UDA) concept.
In the remainder of this chapter, we'll take a brief look at some issues involved in protecting your data from unwelcome attentions when you use it in Web-based applications. This is only an overview, and you should use it in conjunction with information specific to the data source you are using.