Transferring data between SQL Server and legacy platforms such as the IBM AS/400 has traditionally been an awkward multistep process. First, you have to extract the data from the source database to a flat file, then you import it into the target database. In many cases, you have to select and preprocess the data before extracting it, massage the flat file to ensure that it's formatted correctly, or validate and manipulate the data before loading it into the target database—and sometimes you...