What is the difference between SQL Server and SQL Native Client?

What is the difference between SQL Server and SQL Server Native Client?

The short answer is that Sql Server drivers functionally correspond to the feature set of SQL Server 2000 release and ship with Windows. The SQL Native Client drivers were released and contain the features introduced with the subsequent releases of the SQL Server.

What is SQL Native Client?

SQL Server Native Client is a stand-alone data access application programming interface (API), used for both OLE DB and ODBC, that was introduced in SQL Server 2005 (9. x). SQL Server Native Client combines the SQL OLE DB provider and the SQL ODBC driver into one native dynamic-link library (DLL).

Do I need Microsoft SQL Server Native Client?

The SQL Server Native Client (SQLNCLI) remains deprecated and it is not recommended to use it for new development work. Instead, use the new Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server (MSOLEDBSQL) which will be updated with the most recent server features.

What is SQL client and SQL Server?

A "client" is a front-end application that uses the services provided by a server such as the SQL Server Database Engine. The computer that hosts this application is referred to as the client computer. At the simplest level, a SQL Server client can reside on the same machine as an instance of SQL Server.