You can create the flow service using the Integration Server Administrator user interface.

You do not need to recompile code when you make changes to the flow service.

The flow service might not be able to handle nonstandard database features, such as Windows SQL types.

You can only make JDBC calls in a flow service. Use a Java or C/C++ service to connect to a database using other libraries.

The service can be coded more flexibly in terms of processing data. You can manipulate data directly, rather than invoking Integration Server service libraries. For example, you can use configuration files to guide processing settings.

The service can include more robust error handling. For example, you can log errors to your own files or send e-mail notes to several people.

The service can make direct calls to database APIs (for example, JDBC, ADO, and ODBC) to handle nonstandard database features.