1e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci# DataAbility Overview 2e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci 3e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci 4e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ciA DataAbility is an ability that uses the Data template. It provides unified data access for external systems, but not a UI for user interaction. A DataAbility can be started by a PageAbility, a ServiceAbility, or other applications. It remains to run in the background even after the user switches to another application. 5e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci 6e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci 7e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ciA DataAbility helps applications manage access to data stored by themselves and other applications, and provides methods for sharing data with other applications, either on the same device or across devices. 8e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci 9e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ci 10e41f4b71Sopenharmony_ciData can be stored in a database or files on disks. The DataAbility provide methods for inserting, deleting, updating, and querying data, and opening files. You should implement these methods. 11