OpenEdge Advanced Business Language

OpenEdge Advanced Business Language, or OpenEdge ABL for short, is a business application development language created and maintained by Progress Software Corporation (PSC). The language, typically classified as a fourth-generation programming language, uses an English-like syntax to simplify software development. The language was called PROGRESS or Progress 4GL up until version 9, but in 2006 PSC changed the name to OpenEdge Advanced Business Language (OpenEdge ABL) in order to overcome a presumed industry perception that 4GLs were less capable than other languages. A subset of the language, called SpeedScript, is used in the development of web applications.

OpenEdge ABL helps developers to develop applications optionally using its own integrated relational database and programming tool. These applications are portable across computing systems and allow access to various popular data sources without having to learn the underlying data access methods. This means that the end-user of these products can be unaware of the underlying architecture.

By combining a fourth generation language and relational database, OpenEdge ABL allows the use of the Rapid Application Development (RAD) model for developing software. A programmer and even end users can do rapid prototyping using the integrated and GUI tools of the development environment.

December 2011
OpenEdge 11.0 release introducing patent-pending multi-tenancy, multi-Cloud deployment options and extended platform support.

June 2012:
OpenEdge 11.1 release providing performance and productivity tools for the development of SaaS (software as a service) and Cloud applications. It also delivers stronger security coupled with simplified user authentication.

February 2013:
OpenEdge 11.2 release provided enhanced mobility capabilities through: visual designer and UI toolkit for phone and tablet applications, REST support for the OpenEdge application server, JavaScript Data Binding support libraries, and write-once, run anywhere support for iOS and Android;