What is Connection Pooling in ADO.NET?

Short answer: Connection Pooling allows multiple applications or threads to reuse existing database connections instead of opening a new connection each time. It improves performance by reducing the overhead of opening and closing connections repeatedly. Example: When using SQL Server, the connection pool automatically manages the reuse of connections.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest opens a SqlConnection only for the query, then disposes it (using). Connection pooling reuses physical connections automatically.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.