Is ODP.NET required for Oracle 11g Client?

Question

I may be asking the wrong question here, I\'m willing to change it if so.

I have a project that is using the Microsoft.NET Oracle provider (our plan is to change to

Answer 1

When it comes to Oracle, I like to use Oracle Instant Client :

• You don't have to install anything on the target machines (including dev boxes !).
• You can make sure that your application will run with the specific client you picked.
• You could even easily have multiple applications work with different client versions on the same computer.
• As a downside, it adds a significant weight to your application (~19Mb minimum).

Check What is the minimum client footprint required to connect C# to an Oracle database? for more information. To know how to set up a Visual Studio project that will work on x86 as well as x64 machines, check my blog post Oracle Instant Client in Visual Studio.