Code with a powerful language
- Last Updated: January 23, 2026
- 1 minute read
- OpenEdge
- Version 12.8
- Documentation
ABL (Advanced Business Language) is an advanced programming language that is interpreted, object-oriented and built on robust transactional data semantics. It supports both procedural and object-oriented programming paradigms that includes statements and keywords which are specialized for building enterprise business applications and working directly with the underlying database.

The language is well designed for an Application Programmers Interface (API) first strategy. Exposing business functionality across the internet through Representational State Transfer (REST) calls using a uniform and predefined set of stateless operations provides the greatest flexibility of client types.
The key benefits of ABL are easy to code, efficiently manages data, built-in error handling and secure commits optimized to work with the OpenEdge database. Use the language to develop services, event procedures and implement service-level authorization for secure applications.
Explore the ABL
ABL developers design and deliver business applications that are extensible, secure, performant, scalable, and available. Each of the following role-based learning tracks offers more details on the ABL.
- Basic ABL Developer – Explore the basics of ABL.
- Object-oriented ABL Developer – Explore the object-oriented ABL syntax and examples.
- Services Developer – Explore how to create ABL services, event procedures, and implement service-level authorization to be deployed on PAS for OpenEdge.