As a part of OpenEdge, WebSpeed applications can connect to the rest of the OpenEdge application server platform. For instance, a WebSpeed application can call other OpenEdge applications across an AppServer. You should become familiar with the other parts of the OpenEdge platform, as well as WebSpeed. For a basic look at all the pieces of the application server picture, see OpenEdge Getting Started: Application and Integration Services�.
You should also look at the information in OpenEdge Getting Started: WebSpeed Essentials. That manual describes the WebSpeed architecture and how it operates; the WebSpeed development tools; distributing, configuring, and securing WebSpeed environments; and running WebSpeed applications.
At their core, WebSpeed applications are Progress ABL applications. Generally speaking, most things you can do with the Progress ABL, you can do with WebSpeed. However, coding your entire application as a WebSpeed application is not necessarily the best practice. When you plan to deploy an application on multiple clients, you should modularize the code so that only tasks that differ between clients are duplicated. Business logic that is not client-specific should be shared by all clients. The more modular your code is, the easier it is for you to maintain and reuse the code. Modularization is just one practice that makes your initial development efficient and eases later efforts to adapt to changing technology and business needs.
