ASTA uses remote in memory Datasets that are can be populated by ASTA Client Side SQL or Asta Server Side Components. With ASTA you need only write SQL for Select statements. ASTA was designed to generate all the SQL needed for insert, updates and deletes and to be able to refetch any autoinc or server side default values without any code required by you. ASTA's goal is to allow you to concentrate on your Application and not have to wrestle with database specific issues. To this end, ASTA generates pure SQL for all communication with your remote server and doesn't depend on any Delphi 3rd Party components to properly implement VCL append, edit or delete commands. This allows ASTA to use Delphi components that would otherwise be difficult if not impossible to deploy because ASTA only requires very sparse feature set to be available for execution on an ASTA server.

ASTA can generate SQL either on the client or on an ASTA server. That SQL may need to be customized to work with your database. The following discussion applies to properties and events of the TAstaClientSocket, if you are using client side SQL, and the TAstaSQLGenerator if you are generating SQL on the server.

SQL dialects can vary greatly between databases and locations. ASTA provides certain properties and events to allow you to customize your SQL to fit your database and your locale. This document does not take the place of the Asta Component Reference but is meant to provide an overview of what is possible. Please refer to the AstaHelp for detailed descriptions of properties and methods referenced in this discussion.