Oracle Database Discussions

I was wondering about the status/preferences between these two connection methods. I have always used the TNS login method user/pass@tnsalias. However, a recent app we have been developing uses a framework that won't read from a networked tnsfile. As such, that app is now using the ezconnect method user/pass@host:port/servicename.

Also, the 11g client install never creates the network\admin directory that 8,9 and 10 always used to create as the default location for a tnsnames file. Is the tnsnames method of connection less favoured these days, or am I reading too much into it?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of each method, and is one generally preferred over the other?

My quick thoughts are that while EZConnect isn't dependent on any environment variables/files to look up for connection information, it also doesn't cover all the additional parameters that are available in a tnsnames file. The tnsnames also has the advantage of acting like a centralised connection string - change once and all apps/services that use it will read the new connection details, rather than needing to update each app's EZConnect connection string individually.