The DataServer allows you to use ABL features as extensions to your data source. Some of the OpenEdge programming and database design techniques that you can implement on your MS SQL Server data source using the DataServer are:

• ROWID function
• Arrays

For access to some of these features, you might have to make minor modifications to how your MS SQL Server data-source or application is organized. For a discussion of these issues and instructions for modifying your data source, see Initial Programming Considerations

If you create a MS SQL Server data source from an existing OpenEdge database with the OpenEdge DB to MS SQL Server migration utility and select the Create RECID Field option, you can use the FIND PREV/LAST statements in addition to taking advantage of OpenEdge-like cursor behavior.

How you use the DataServer depends on whether you plan to access information in a data source through an OpenEdge application or migrate an OpenEdge database to a MS SQL Server data source. The following sections summarize.