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What exactly is OData?

Tags:

.net

wcf

odata

What exactly is OData and how important/necessary is it to start learning this new concept, wrt implementing data services?

Also why is the WCF Data Services documentation so tightly coupled with OData?

Edit: Based on answers here's a follow-up question - I shouldn't be trying to implement WCF Data Services sans OData,or I can do that but that would mean doing it the tougher way(reinventing the wheel)?

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alwayslearning Avatar asked Aug 03 '10 13:08

alwayslearning


People also ask

What does OData do?

OData helps applications to focus on business logic without worrying about the various API approaches to define request and response headers, status codes, HTTP methods, URL conventions, media types, payload formats, query options, etc.

Is OData same as REST API?

The OData protocol is built on top of the AtomPub protocol. The AtomPub protocol is one of the best examples of REST API design. So, in a sense you are right - the OData is just another REST API and each OData implementation is a REST-ful web service.

What is OData in layman's terms?

The simplest definition of OData would be that it is a standardized protocol built over existing HTTP and REST protocols supporting CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations for creating and consuming data APIs. Nickname: ODBC for the Web.

How does an OData service work?

The OData Service: Is a service layer on the OData Model. It exposes the endpoint allowing a client access to data using the Odata Client Library and OData Protocol. It also converts data source formats like tables into standard formats that clients can use.


2 Answers

You should probably just google around but Open Data Protocol is just a standard for querying/updating data. It defines a rest base standard for updating/retrieving data. There is a tight dependency between WCF Data Services because WCF DS are complient with the OData protocol. Without it Data Services wouldn't exist, and vice versa ;) OData is a child of MS.

WCF Data Services provide you a quick and easy way to service client side queries using LINQ, Which is Microsoft's Integrated Query Language. Microsoft has made it very easy to stand up Data Services which provide you with a facade into the database.

As for how much do you really need to know about OData? Unless you are going to be creating your own provider you dont need a very deep knowledge.

If you want to start getting into the internals check out this "OData by Example" from MS. In order to understand the proper use of Data Services i would suggest you look at REST and LINQ.

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Nix Avatar answered Sep 18 '22 08:09

Nix


To answer the second question first, OData (or the Open Data Protocol) is the evolution of Project Astoria/ADO.NET Data Services and is Microsoft's attempt to create an "open standard" for creating readable/writable data using REST. OData is the open protocol that ADO.NET/WCF Data Services uses to implement its functionality, and was directly created as a result of use in several Microsoft products, thus the tight connection.

As for the WHAT, OData is, in essense, a set of extensions to the Atom Publishing Protocol that enable data representation, querying, alternate formatting (JSON), etc.

Here are a couple of good resources to get you started:

  • OData is grease to cut data friction
  • Microsoft Proposes OData as de facto Web Data Protocol
  • OData – Getting Started
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Brandon Satrom Avatar answered Sep 17 '22 08:09

Brandon Satrom