Developer advises against hardcoding .NET database providers for flexibility

A developer with long-standing .NET experience advises against hardcoding specific database providers into applications unless they are deliberately database-specific. This recommendation, originally made before .NET Core existed, addresses code that directly references concrete classes like SqlConnection. The problem arises when applications need to support multiple databases or when libraries assume all databases behave like SQL Server. ADO.NET's abstract base classes like DbConnection and DbProviderFactory provide the solution by separating implementation from contract. This approach localizes provider changes to registration points rather than requiring widespread code modifications.