What is difference between ADOTable and ClientDataSet

Question

What is the difference between ADOTable and ClientDataSet?
Both components are capable of performing Batch Update, why add the extra overhead of having 2 additional components like ClientDataSet and DataSetProvider.

Answer 1

The main difference is that ClientDataSet can operate without a connection to external database. You can use it as in-memory table or load it's contents from file. In combination with DataSetProvider it is frequently used to overcome limits of unidirectional datasets and as a cache.

Answer 2

A ClientDataSet is an in-memory dataset, which has a lot of usefull additional functionallities. One big advantage compared to Interbase/Firebird tables and queries is, that you don't need to keep a transaction alive, e.g. as long as you display the data in a grid.

Have a look at this article: A ClientDataSet in Every Database Application