Purpose

RDA describes the connection of a database client

Client (computing)

A client is an application or system that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network....

 to a database server

Server (computing)

In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...

. It includes features for

• communicating database operations and parameters from the client to the server,
• in return, transporting result data from the server to the client,
• database transaction
  Database transaction
  A transaction comprises a unit of work performed within a database management system against a database, and treated in a coherent and reliable way independent of other transactions...
  
   management.

RDA is an application-level protocol, inasmuch that it builds on an existing network connection between client and server. In the case of TCP/IP connections, RFC 1066 is used for implementing RDA.

History

RDA was published in 1993, as a combined standard of ANSI

Ansi

Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....

, ISO and IEC

International Electrotechnical Commission

The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...

. The standards definition comprises two parts:

• ANSI/ISO/IEC 9579-1:1993
• ANSI/ISO/IEC 9579-2:1993