While there are many features for continuous operation included in ABL applications by design, it is important to develop a strategy for a potential application to database connection loss.

OpenEdge provides a feature that automatically connects your ABL application to an alternative database if the connection to the primary database fails. The Automatic Database Reconnect feature uses database connection parameters to specify alternative databases to which you application can connect. The collection of primary and alternative databases, along with an optional retry count and pause interval, is known as a connection set. An alternative database is typically a replication target database, but it could also be a backup or a hot standby database. This feature is only available when using a client-server connection. It is not available for a single-user or a self-service (shared-memory) connection. For more information, see Learn about automatic database reconnect.

To set up automatic database reconnection, you define a connection set consisting of the primary database and up to two alternative databases. These connection options are implemented using session startup parameters -dbalt1, -dbalt2, -retryConnect, and -retryConnectPause, in the CONNECT statement, or in the command-line startup parameters.

In the following video, you can view a demo of how to use the automatic database reconnect for ABL clients.

For more information, see Automatic database reconnect demo and code.