Every OpenEdge database connection has a user identity specified by a user ID. All forms of OpenEdge application security use this user ID to determine the user's authorization to access data.
OpenEdge authenticates any user who connects to a database, whether from an ABL application, an SQL client, or a database utility. You can define the user IDs and passwords that OpenEdge can authenticate at connect time in two ways:
Using the character mode Data Dictionary, the Data Administration tool, or the Database Administration Console of OpenEdge Management or OpenEdge Explorer, you can define user IDs and passwords in the
_User table accounts. The
_User table is a hidden table.
In OpenEdge, user IDs have two parts, a user name and domain name. The domain name is the name of an OpenEdge security domain that is defined and configured in the database. The configuration of a security domain identifies how OpenEdge (including SQL) or an ABL application can authenticate the user identity represented by the user ID and specifies the user account system where the user's identity is defined.
Note that whether or not the account system where a user identity is defined includes domains, when a user attempts to log onto a database connection, OpenEdge identifies an appropriate OpenEdge domain to authenticate the user's identity, depending on how the user specifies their user ID. For more information, see
OpenEdge userIDs.
