diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/blocking.rs b/sqlx-core/src/blocking.rs
index e8459653..e0287831 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/blocking.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/blocking.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,18 @@
 //! Types and traits used to implement a database driver with **blocking** I/O.
 //!
 
-pub(crate) mod runtime;
-
 mod connection;
 mod options;
+mod runtime;
 
 pub use connection::Connection;
 pub use options::ConnectOptions;
-pub use runtime::Runtime;
+pub use runtime::{Blocking, Runtime};
+
+pub mod prelude {
+    pub use crate::Database as _;
+
+    pub use super::ConnectOptions as _;
+    pub use super::Connection as _;
+    pub use super::Runtime as _;
+}
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/blocking/connection.rs b/sqlx-core/src/blocking/connection.rs
index 15b48938..c7f21f9d 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/blocking/connection.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/blocking/connection.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use super::{ConnectOptions, Runtime};
 /// For detailed information, refer to the asynchronous version of
 /// this: [`Connection`][crate::Connection].
 ///
-pub trait Connection<Rt>: 'static + Send
+pub trait Connection<Rt>: crate::Connection<Rt>
 where
     Rt: Runtime,
 {
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ where
     where
         Self: Sized,
     {
-        url.parse::<Self::Options>()?.connect()
+        url.parse::<<Self as Connection<Rt>>::Options>()?.connect()
     }
 
     /// Explicitly close this database connection.
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/blocking/options.rs b/sqlx-core/src/blocking/options.rs
index b1749808..67f8ca1d 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/blocking/options.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/blocking/options.rs
@@ -1,20 +1,14 @@
-use std::fmt::Debug;
-use std::str::FromStr;
-
-use super::{Connection, Runtime};
+use super::Runtime;
 
 /// Options which can be used to configure how a SQL connection is opened.
 ///
 /// For detailed information, refer to the asynchronous version of
 /// this: [`ConnectOptions`][crate::ConnectOptions].
 ///
-pub trait ConnectOptions<Rt>:
-    'static + Send + Sync + Default + Debug + Clone + FromStr<Err = crate::Error>
+pub trait ConnectOptions<Rt>: crate::ConnectOptions<Rt>
 where
     Rt: Runtime,
 {
-    type Connection: Connection<Rt> + ?Sized;
-
     /// Establish a connection to the database.
     ///
     /// For detailed information, refer to the asynchronous version of
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/blocking/runtime.rs b/sqlx-core/src/blocking/runtime.rs
index d4b3c7c7..40cd8498 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/blocking/runtime.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/blocking/runtime.rs
@@ -2,23 +2,25 @@ use std::io;
 use std::net::TcpStream;
 
 /// Describes a set of types and functions used to open and manage
-/// resources within SQLx using blocking I/O.
+/// resources within SQLx.
 ///
-pub trait Runtime {
-    type TcpStream;
-
+/// For detailed information, refer to the asynchronous version of
+/// this: [`Runtime`][crate::Runtime].
+///
+pub trait Runtime: crate::Runtime {
     /// Opens a TCP connection to a remote host at the specified port.
     fn connect_tcp(host: &str, port: u16) -> io::Result<Self::TcpStream>;
 }
 
 /// Uses the `std::net` primitives to implement a blocking runtime for SQLx.
-#[cfg_attr(doc_cfg, doc(cfg(feature = "blocking")))]
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct Blocking;
 
-impl Runtime for Blocking {
+impl crate::Runtime for Blocking {
     type TcpStream = TcpStream;
+}
 
+impl Runtime for Blocking {
     fn connect_tcp(host: &str, port: u16) -> io::Result<Self::TcpStream> {
         TcpStream::connect((host, port))
     }
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/connection.rs b/sqlx-core/src/connection.rs
index 0eaa863d..80ab99f4 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/connection.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/connection.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-use futures_util::future::BoxFuture;
+use crate::{ConnectOptions, Database, Runtime};
 
-use crate::{ConnectOptions, Runtime};
+#[cfg(feature = "async")]
+use futures_util::future::BoxFuture;
 
 /// A unique connection (session) with a specific database.
 ///
@@ -14,6 +15,8 @@ pub trait Connection<Rt>: 'static + Send
 where
     Rt: Runtime,
 {
+    type Database: Database<Rt, Connection = Self>;
+
     type Options: ConnectOptions<Rt, Connection = Self>;
 
     /// Establish a new database connection.
@@ -43,9 +46,11 @@ where
     ///     .connect().await?;
     /// ```
     ///
+    #[cfg(feature = "async")]
     fn connect(url: &str) -> BoxFuture<'_, crate::Result<Self>>
     where
         Self: Sized,
+        Rt: crate::Async,
     {
         let options = url.parse::<Self::Options>();
         Box::pin(async move { options?.connect().await })
@@ -57,7 +62,10 @@ where
     /// recommended to call it instead of letting a connection `drop` as the database backend
     /// will be faster at cleaning up resources.
     ///
-    fn close(self) -> BoxFuture<'static, crate::Result<()>>;
+    #[cfg(feature = "async")]
+    fn close(self) -> BoxFuture<'static, crate::Result<()>>
+    where
+        Rt: crate::Async;
 
     /// Checks if a connection to the database is still valid.
     ///
@@ -66,5 +74,8 @@ where
     /// PostgreSQL, `ping` will issue a query consisting of a comment `/* SQLx ping */` which,
     /// in effect, does nothing apart from getting a response from the server.
     ///
-    fn ping(&mut self) -> BoxFuture<'_, crate::Result<()>>;
+    #[cfg(feature = "async")]
+    fn ping(&mut self) -> BoxFuture<'_, crate::Result<()>>
+    where
+        Rt: crate::Async;
 }
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/database.rs b/sqlx-core/src/database.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2d86d22c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/database.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+use std::fmt::Debug;
+
+use crate::{Connection, Runtime};
+
+/// A database driver.
+///
+/// This trait encapsulates a complete set of traits that implement a driver for a
+/// specific database (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL).
+///
+// 'x: execution
+pub trait Database<Rt>: 'static + Sized + Debug + for<'x> HasOutput<'x>
+where
+    Rt: Runtime,
+{
+    /// The concrete [`Connection`] implementation for this database.
+    type Connection: Connection<Rt, Database = Self> + ?Sized;
+}
+
+/// Associates [`Database`] with a `Output` of a generic lifetime.
+/// 'x: single execution
+pub trait HasOutput<'x> {
+    /// The concrete type to hold the output for `Encode` for this database. This may be
+    /// a simple alias to `&'x mut Vec<u8>`.
+    type Output;
+}
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/lib.rs b/sqlx-core/src/lib.rs
index 631ef2df..d4c31c5b 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/lib.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/lib.rs
@@ -27,34 +27,51 @@ extern crate _async_std as async_std;
 #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
 extern crate _tokio as tokio;
 
+mod connection;
+mod database;
 mod error;
-
-pub use error::{Error, Result};
-
-#[cfg(feature = "async")]
+mod options;
 mod runtime;
 
-#[cfg(feature = "async")]
-mod connection;
-
-#[cfg(feature = "async")]
-mod options;
-
 #[cfg(feature = "blocking")]
-#[cfg_attr(doc_cfg, doc(cfg(feature = "blocking")))]
 pub mod blocking;
 
-#[cfg(feature = "blocking")]
-pub use blocking::runtime::Blocking;
+pub use connection::Connection;
+pub use database::Database;
+pub use error::{Error, Result};
+pub use options::ConnectOptions;
+pub use runtime::Runtime;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "async-std")]
+pub use runtime::AsyncStd;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+pub use runtime::Tokio;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "actix")]
+pub use runtime::Actix;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "async")]
-pub use {connection::Connection, options::ConnectOptions, runtime::Runtime};
+pub(crate) use runtime::Async;
 
-#[cfg(all(feature = "async", feature = "async-std"))]
-pub use runtime::async_std::AsyncStd;
+#[cfg(feature = "async-std")]
+pub type DefaultRuntime = AsyncStd;
 
-#[cfg(all(feature = "async", feature = "tokio"))]
-pub use runtime::tokio::Tokio;
+#[cfg(all(not(feature = "async-std"), feature = "tokio"))]
+pub type DefaultRuntime = Tokio;
 
-#[cfg(all(feature = "async", feature = "actix"))]
-pub use runtime::actix::Actix;
+#[cfg(all(not(all(feature = "async-std", feature = "tokio")), feature = "actix"))]
+pub type DefaultRuntime = Actix;
+
+#[cfg(not(feature = "async"))]
+pub type DefaultRuntime = blocking::Blocking;
+
+pub mod prelude {
+    pub use super::ConnectOptions as _;
+    pub use super::Connection as _;
+    pub use super::Database as _;
+    pub use super::Runtime as _;
+
+    #[cfg(all(not(feature = "async"), feature = "blocking"))]
+    pub use super::blocking::prelude::*;
+}
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/options.rs b/sqlx-core/src/options.rs
index 58469ef7..0741408c 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/options.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/options.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 use std::fmt::Debug;
 use std::str::FromStr;
 
-use futures_util::future::BoxFuture;
-
 use crate::{Connection, Runtime};
 
 /// Options which can be used to configure how a SQL connection is opened.
@@ -14,7 +12,9 @@ where
     type Connection: Connection<Rt> + ?Sized;
 
     /// Establish a connection to the database.
-    fn connect(&self) -> BoxFuture<'_, crate::Result<Self::Connection>>
+    #[cfg(feature = "async")]
+    fn connect(&self) -> futures_util::future::BoxFuture<'_, crate::Result<Self::Connection>>
     where
-        Self::Connection: Sized;
+        Self::Connection: Sized,
+        Rt: crate::Async;
 }
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/runtime.rs b/sqlx-core/src/runtime.rs
index ebbea8b2..d50ab0f5 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/runtime.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/runtime.rs
@@ -1,25 +1,40 @@
-use std::io;
-
-use futures_util::future::BoxFuture;
-
 #[cfg(feature = "async-std")]
-pub(crate) mod async_std;
+mod async_std;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "actix")]
-pub(crate) mod actix;
+mod actix;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
-pub(crate) mod tokio;
+mod tokio;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "async-std")]
+pub use self::async_std::AsyncStd;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+pub use self::tokio::Tokio;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "actix")]
+pub use self::actix::Actix;
 
 /// Describes a set of types and functions used to open and manage
-/// resources within SQLx using asynchronous I/O.
-#[cfg_attr(
-    doc_cfg,
-    doc(cfg(any(feature = "async-std", feature = "tokio", feature = "actix")))
-)]
+/// resources within SQLx.
 pub trait Runtime {
     type TcpStream;
 
     /// Opens a TCP connection to a remote host at the specified port.
-    fn connect_tcp(host: &str, port: u16) -> BoxFuture<'_, io::Result<Self::TcpStream>>;
+    #[cfg(feature = "async")]
+    #[allow(unused_variables)]
+    fn connect_tcp(
+        host: &str,
+        port: u16,
+    ) -> futures_util::future::BoxFuture<'_, std::io::Result<Self::TcpStream>>
+    where
+        Self: Async,
+    {
+        unimplemented!()
+    }
 }
+
+/// Marker trait that identifies a `Runtime` as supporting asynchronous I/O.
+#[cfg(feature = "async")]
+pub trait Async: Runtime {}
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/runtime/actix.rs b/sqlx-core/src/runtime/actix.rs
index fb8c02b0..cdc6ad30 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/runtime/actix.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/runtime/actix.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use std::io;
 use actix_rt::net::TcpStream;
 use futures_util::{future::BoxFuture, FutureExt};
 
-use crate::runtime::Runtime;
+use crate::{Async, Runtime};
 
 /// Actix SQLx runtime. Uses [`actix-rt`][actix_rt] to provide [`Runtime`].
 ///
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ use crate::runtime::Runtime;
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct Actix;
 
+impl Async for Actix {}
+
 impl Runtime for Actix {
     type TcpStream = TcpStream;
 
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/runtime/async_std.rs b/sqlx-core/src/runtime/async_std.rs
index fc0df244..b4dcec53 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/runtime/async_std.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/runtime/async_std.rs
@@ -3,13 +3,15 @@ use std::io;
 use async_std::{net::TcpStream, task::block_on};
 use futures_util::{future::BoxFuture, FutureExt};
 
-use crate::runtime::Runtime;
+use crate::{Async, Runtime};
 
 /// [`async-std`](async_std) implementation of [`Runtime`].
 #[cfg_attr(doc_cfg, doc(cfg(feature = "async-std")))]
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct AsyncStd;
 
+impl Async for AsyncStd {}
+
 impl Runtime for AsyncStd {
     type TcpStream = TcpStream;
 
@@ -20,8 +22,6 @@ impl Runtime for AsyncStd {
 
 #[cfg(feature = "blocking")]
 impl crate::blocking::Runtime for AsyncStd {
-    type TcpStream = TcpStream;
-
     fn connect_tcp(host: &str, port: u16) -> io::Result<Self::TcpStream> {
         block_on(<AsyncStd as Runtime>::connect_tcp(host, port))
     }
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/runtime/tokio.rs b/sqlx-core/src/runtime/tokio.rs
index 31ef67a9..3ccba2ed 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/runtime/tokio.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/runtime/tokio.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use std::io;
 use futures_util::{future::BoxFuture, FutureExt};
 use tokio::net::TcpStream;
 
-use crate::runtime::Runtime;
+use crate::{Async, Runtime};
 
 /// Tokio SQLx runtime. Uses [`tokio`] to provide [`Runtime`].
 ///
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ use crate::runtime::Runtime;
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct Tokio;
 
+impl Async for Tokio {}
+
 impl Runtime for Tokio {
     type TcpStream = TcpStream;
 
diff --git a/sqlx/src/lib.rs b/sqlx/src/lib.rs
index 22625795..716c1550 100644
--- a/sqlx/src/lib.rs
+++ b/sqlx/src/lib.rs
@@ -16,11 +16,12 @@
 #![warn(clippy::useless_let_if_seq)]
 #![allow(clippy::doc_markdown)]
 
-#[cfg(feature = "blocking")]
-pub use sqlx_core::{blocking, Blocking};
+pub use sqlx_core::{
+    prelude, ConnectOptions, Connection, Database, DefaultRuntime, Error, Result, Runtime,
+};
 
-#[cfg(any(feature = "async-std", feature = "tokio", feature = "actix"))]
-pub use sqlx_core::Runtime;
+#[cfg(feature = "blocking")]
+pub use sqlx_core::blocking;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "async-std")]
 pub use sqlx_core::AsyncStd;