What are the capabilities of Salesforce Lightning Connect regarding external data sources?

The capabilities of Salesforce Lightning Connect include the ability to access and interact with data stored in external data sources in real-time, without storing that data directly in Salesforce. This is primarily achieved through the use of OData services.

The answer indicates that writing SOQL queries on external objects is a capability; however, it's important to clarify that with Salesforce Lightning Connect, you're not directly writing SOQL queries on external data. Instead, external objects are treated similarly to custom objects, which can be queried through the Salesforce platform, but not through traditional SOQL directly on the external data. External data sources are accessed through OData protocols, which allows Salesforce to present external data in a way that resembles standard Salesforce records.

The ability to mimic standard Salesforce behaviors while working with external data is facilitated through features such as custom interfaces and point-and-click tools rather than direct querying with SOQL. The flexibility of creating relationships and using Salesforce features allows external data to be integrated effectively into Salesforce processes, but the specifics around SOQL do not apply directly as stated in the answer.

The other options generally touch on capabilities that are either not supported by Lightning Connect or involve functionalities that would not align with the operating principles of how Salesforce integrates with external data. Understanding the limitations and use cases