>Are there any differences, limitations, etc between these two methods of connecting to a SQL Server?

For new connections, yes: SQLConnect requires that a DSN is defined in the client machine (that is, the one in which the VFP application is running), or a connection is set up (either through a DSN or a connection string) in a database. SQLStringConnect does not.

But, once a VFP handle is returned, they operate exactly in the same way.