CEDA provides the following advantages:
CEDA runs transparently . The user can read a data set without knowing the native format of the file.
System performance is maximized because a read operation requires a single translation between native and non-native formats versus multiple translations from native format to transport format to native format.
No interim transport files are created.
CEDA eliminates the need to perform explicit steps in order to access the file.
CEDA does not require a dedicated server as is needed in SAS/SHARE or an explicit sign on as is needed in SAS/CONNECT.
The internal numeric representation provided by CEDA is more precise than that provided by the XPORT engine with PROC COPY. CEDA uses a one-step translation from the native format of the source operating environment to the native format of the target operating environment, whereas the XPORT engine uses a two-step transformation from a file's native format to the target operating environment format using a transport format.