Connection

Synonyms

Database socket

Definition

A connection is a mechanism that allows a client to issue SQL commands to a database server. In a typical usage, the client software opens a connection to the database server, and then sends SQL commands and receives responses from the server.

To open a connection, the client specifies the database server, database name, as well as the client's credentials. Establishing a connection includes a handshake between the client software and the database server. For example, the client credentials, such as a simple user name and password, are examined by the database server to authorize the connection. Further information may also be negotiated such as the specific protocol and data encoding.

Key Points

Handling and servicing connections is an important part of database servers because connections are the main source of concurrency.

Database servers limit the number of connections they can accept and may provide differentiated service to connections from...