Skip to content

Frequently Asked Questions

David Engel edited this page May 6, 2019 · 15 revisions

1. Will this library be open sourced?

Yes, we have a few cleanup tasks to prepare the library for open source, but by GA the plan is to open source the library and post the source here on GitHub.

2. What will happen to System.Data.SqlClient in the existing .NET Core repository?

The existing library will remain. PRs to the System.Data.SqlClient library will be ported to Microsoft.Data.SqlClient as relevant.

3. How do I switch from System.Data.SqlClient to Microsoft.Data.SqlClient?

Add the Nuget package to your project, then update your references and using statements.

4. What changes will I see in Microsoft.Data.SqlClient versus System.Data.SqlClient?

There are two primary changes:

First, since this is an application level package, for .NET Framework any updates to the library will need to be shipped in an application update, rather than coming from Windows Update. This matches the existing behavior for .NET Core applications.

Second, there are a few new features in Microsoft.Data.SqlClient which will not be backported to System.Data.SqlClient. Those features are Data Classification Support, UTF-8 support for .NET Core and .Net Framework, and Always Encrypted support for .NET Core.

5. Where do I submit feature requests or bug reports for Microsoft.Data.SqlClient?

Issues should be opened under this GitHub repository.

6. What are the minimum target frameworks supported by Microsoft.Data.SqlClient?

The package supports .NET Framework 4.6 and up, .NET Core 2.1 and up, and .NET Standard 2.0 and up. For earlier framework support please continue to use System.Data.SqlClient.

7. Can I use Microsoft.Data.SqlClient and System.Data.SqlClient at the same time / in the same application?

Yes. The libraries can reside side by side just like any other library, but since they contain the same class names this could cause confusion. We recommend porting entirely to one or the other if possible.

8. Where is the documentation for Microsoft.Data.SqlClient?

It's coming. In the meantime, the documentation for System.Data.SqlClient is still relevant to Microsoft.Data.SqlClient. The APIs and functionality have not changed except for the additions mentioned in the release notes.

Clone this wiki locally