With the exception of print, raiserror, readtext, and writetext, all Transact-SQL statements, functions, and control-of-flow language are valid in Embedded SQL. You can develop an interactive prototype of your Embedded SQL application in Transact-SQL to facilitate debugging your application, then easily incorporate it into your application.
Most Adaptive Server datatypes have an equivalent in Embedded SQL. Also, you can use host language datatypes in Embedded SQL. Many datatype conversions occur automatically when a host language datatype does not exactly match an Adaptive Server datatype.
You can place host language variables in Embedded SQL statements wherever literal quotes are valid in Transact-SQL. Enclose the literal with either single (‘) or double (“) quotation marks. For information on delimiting literals that contain quotation marks, see the Adaptive Server Enterprise Reference Manual.
Embedded SQL has several features that Transact-SQL does not have:
Automatic datatype conversion occurs between host language types and Adaptive Server types.
Dynamic SQL lets you define SQL statements at runtime.
SQLCA, SQLCODE, and SQLSTATE lets you communicate between Adaptive Server and the application program. The three entities contain error, warning, and informational message codes that Adaptive Server generates.
Return code testing routines detect error conditions during execution.
