8 The Oracle Entity Framework Data Provider : Configuring Connection Strings

Configuring Connection Strings
The data provider uses a connection string to provide information needed to connect to a specific database server. The connection information is defined by connection string options.
You can define connection string options directly in a connection string or set values in the Advanced Properties dialog box in Visual Studio (see “Defining Connection String Values in Server Explorer”).
You can specify an existing connection in the Entity Framework Wizard, or can define a new connection. The ADO.NET Entity Framework uses information contained in connection strings to connect to the underlying ADO.NET data provider that supports the Entity Framework. The connection strings also contain information about the required model and mapping files. The data provider uses the connection string when accessing model and mapping metadata, and connecting to the data source.
Constructing a Connection String
“Oracle Data Provider Connection String Options” lists the connection string options supported by the Oracle data provider, and describes each option. The options have the form:
option=value
Each connection string option value pair is separated by a semicolon. For example:
"Host=Accounting1;Port=1521;Service Name=ORCL;User ID=scott;Password=tiger"
See “Using Connection Strings” for guidelines for the syntax and use of connection string options.
Default Values for Connection String Options
The connection string options are described in “Oracle Data Provider Connection String Options”. Table 8-1 lists the connection string options the Oracle data providers support.
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Changes in Default Values for Connection String Options
Most default values of the connection string options used by the ADO.NET Entity Framework Oracle data provider are the same as those used by the ADO.NET Oracle data provider (see “Oracle Data Provider Connection String Options” for more information). Table 8-2 lists the connection string options that have a different default value when used with an ADO.NET Entity Framework application.