SQL Server supports a wide variety of drivers, which are used by client applications or services to connect and query for data. Please see below for a summary of the different drivers, both current and legacy.
Driver feature support matrix for Microsoft SQL Server If you're planning to use a feature in Microsoft SQL Server, it might not be available in all drivers. Some reasons a feature might not be in a particular driver include:
- The feature doesn't apply to the driver technology.
- The feature is new and hasn't been implemented across all drivers yet.
- The feature isn't in demand in a particular driver.
- Other features are being implemented first. We wish all drivers supported every feature and spend effort to ensure feature parity across drivers. However that isn't always possible. To help you choose the appropriate driver for your needs, here's a list of popular features and the drivers that implement them.
The following SQL Drivers are actively developed. Each driver has a support statement that can be found by following the links.
ADO.NET is a library that is a standard part of the .Net framework. It is a C# implementation of the TDS protocol, which is supported by all modern versions of SQL Server. This driver is developed, tested, and supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft ADO.NET for SQL Server | Download .Net Driver
The JDBC SQL driver is a Java implementation of the TDS protocol, which is supported by all modern versions of SQL Server. This driver is developed, tested, and supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server | Download JDBC Driver
The ODBC SQL driver is a C++ implementation of the TDS protocol, which is supported by all modern versions of SQL Server. This driver is developed, tested, and supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server | Download ODBC Driver
The PHP SQL driver relies on the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver to handle the low-level communication with SQL Server. This driver is developed, tested, and supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft PHP Driver for SQL Driver | Download PHP Driver | Github
The tedious module is a javascript implementation of the TDS protocol, which is supported by all modern versions of SQL Server. The driver is an open source project, available on Github.
Node.js Driver for SQL Server | Install Node.js Driver
The pymssql module is a Python implementation of the TDS protocol, which is supported by all modern versions of SQL Server.
There are several python SQL Drivers available. Choose which one you want to use, and configure your development environment:
The TinyTDS gem is a Ruby implementation of the TDS protocol, which is supported by all modern versions of SQL Server.
Ruby Driver for SQL Server | Install Ruby Driver
The SQL Server adapter for ActiveRecord v5.1 using SQL Server 2012 or higher.
The following SQL Drivers were developed and tested by Microsoft, but are not recommended to be used for new development. Each driver has a support statement that can be found by following the links.
The OLE DB provider will not be included after SQL Server 2012.
The ADO SQL driver has a direct dependency on the OLE DB provider. As such, it will not be supported after SQL Server 2012.
- Devart ODBC Drivers
- SNAC - SQL Server Native Client
- RODBC: ODBC Database Access CRAN
- RODBC: ODBC Database Access MRAN
- go-mssqldb - Microsoft SQL server driver written in go language
- Node TDS module for connecting to SQL Server databases
- SQLProvider - a general .NET/Mono SQL database type provider (Other database support: SQL Server, SQLite, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL (& MariaDB), MsAccess, Firebird)
- RSQLServer - an R package that provides a SQL Server R Database Interface (DBI), based on the cross-platform jTDS JDBC driver
- jTDS JDBC driver