In Microsoft data access technologies, which of the following is a simple object model that is easier to understand and use than OLE DB and is frequently used for building database applications?

Introduction / Context:
This question concerns Microsoft data access technologies and the relationship between OLE DB and higher level object models. OLE DB is a low level interface that exposes data access through COM interfaces. ActiveX Data Objects ADO is built on top of OLE DB and presents a simpler object model that is easier for many developers to use. ADO became widely used in Visual Basic and scripting environments for building database applications because of its relative simplicity compared to raw OLE DB programming.

Given Data / Assumptions:

OLE DB is a lower level data access interface.
The question asks for a simple object model easier to understand than OLE DB.
This object model is frequently used in database applications built on Microsoft technologies.
Options include ASP, XML, ODBC, ADO, and WSDL.
We are focusing on a data access object model rather than markup languages or scripting environments.

Concept / Approach:
ADO ActiveX Data Objects is an abstraction layer over OLE DB. It provides Connection, Command, Recordset, and other objects that simplify common tasks such as executing queries and iterating over results. Developers using Visual Basic, ASP classic, or Windows Script Host often prefer ADO because it requires less boilerplate code and hides much of the complexity of COM based OLE DB interfaces. XML, ODBC, and WSDL all play roles in data or service representation but they are not the simple object model described in the question.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the required answer is a data access object model that is simpler than OLE DB.Step 2: Recognize that ADO is specifically documented by Microsoft as a high level wrapper over OLE DB.Step 3: Eliminate ASP, which is an environment for running scripts on a web server rather than a data access object model.Step 4: Eliminate XML and WSDL, which are markup languages for data and service description, not direct data access object models.Step 5: Eliminate ODBC, which is a lower level procedural API unrelated to the phrase simple object model, and select ADO as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Microsoft documentation describes ADO as a high level object model for accessing data that is easier to use than OLE DB directly. Examples in developer guides show typical code where a few ADO objects and methods replace many lines of OLE DB based code. This ease of use and widespread adoption in classic Microsoft development environments confirm that ADO is the technology referred to in the question. None of the other options match the specific description of a simple object model on top of OLE DB.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
ASP Active Server Pages is a server side scripting environment used to host web applications and is not itself a data access object model. XML represents structured data in text form and does not define a programming object model for data access. ODBC is a procedural C language API and is not described as a simple object model. WSDL specifies web service interfaces and is unrelated to direct database access. Only ADO matches the description of a simple object model for database applications built on OLE DB.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes mix up acronyms and may choose ODBC simply because it is familiar, forgetting that the question emphasizes a simple object model, which ODBC is not. Another pitfall is to focus on XML because it is widely used in data interchange, but XML alone does not provide a data access programming model. To avoid confusion, always recall that ADO stands for ActiveX Data Objects and is explicitly documented as a high level COM based object model for data access.

Final Answer:
The simple object model that is easier to use than OLE DB and is frequently used for database applications is ADO ActiveX Data Objects.