What does a connection string contain?

A connection string serves as a crucial element in software development, particularly when dealing with database connections. It contains information necessary to find and access the data source, such as the server location, database name, authentication details (username and password), and any additional parameters that facilitate the connection.

The inclusion of this essential information enables applications to establish a successful connection to various types of data sources, such as relational databases, cloud databases, or even data sources hosted on remote servers. Without a properly formatted connection string, the application would be unable to retrieve or manipulate data, as it wouldn't know how or where to connect.

In contrast, other options presented do not accurately describe a connection string's purpose. An SQL query to retrieve data deals with the specific requests made to the database once a connection is established, while the schema outlines the structure of a database, including tables and relationships, but is not part of the connection string itself. Similarly, a list of all database tables is a result of querying the database's metadata and is not encapsulated within a connection string.