Inside Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2012 by Microsoft-Dynamics-AX-Team -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Inside Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2012 A Note Regarding Supplemental Files Foreword Introduction

The history of Microsoft Dynamics AX Who should read this book

Assumptions

Who should not read this book Organization of this book Conventions and features in this book System requirements Code samples

Installing the code samples Using the code samples

Acknowledgments

Microsoft Dynamics product team Microsoft Press New arrivals

Errata & book support We want to hear from you Stay in touch

I. A Tour of the Development Environment

1. Architectural Overview

Introduction Microsoft Dynamics AX five-layer solution architecture Microsoft Dynamics AX application platform architecture

Application development environments Data tier of the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform Middle tier of the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform Presentation tier of the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform

Microsoft Dynamics AX application meta-model architecture

Application data element types MorphX user interface control element types Workflow element types Code element types Services element types Role-based security element types Web client element types Documentation and resource element types License and configuration element types

2. The MorphX Development Environment and Tools

Introduction Application Object Tree

Navigate through the AOT Create elements in the AOT Modify elements in the AOT Refresh elements in the AOT Element actions in the AOT Element layers and models in the AOT

Projects

Create a project Automatically generate a project

Group masks Filters Development tools

Project types

Property sheet X++ code editor

Shortcut keys Editor scripts

Label editor

Create a label Reference labels from X++

Code compiler Best Practices tool

Rules Suppress errors and warnings Add custom rules

Debugger

Enable debugging Debugger user interface Debugger shortcut keys

Reverse Engineering tool

UML data model UML object model Entity relationship data model

Table Browser tool Find tool Compare tool

Start the Compare tool Use the Compare tool Compare APIs

Cross-Reference tool Version control

Element life cycle

Quality checks Source code casing

Common version control tasks Work with labels Synchronize elements View the synchronization log Show the history of an element Compare revisions View pending elements Create a build Integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX with other version control systems

3. Microsoft Dynamics AX and .NET

Introduction Use third-party assemblies

Use strong-named assemblies Reference a managed DLL from Microsoft Dynamics AX Code against the assembly in X++

Write managed code

Debug managed code Proxies

Hot swap assemblies on the server

4. The X++ Programming Language

Introduction Jobs The type system

Value types Reference types Type hierarchies

The anytype type The common type The object type Extended data types

Syntax

Variable declarations Expressions Statements

Data-aware statements Exception handling Interoperability CLR interoperability COM interoperability

Macros Comments XML documentation

Classes and interfaces

Fields Methods Delegates Pre- and post-event handlers Attributes

Code access security Compiling and running X++ as .NET CIL Design and implementation patterns

Class-level patterns

Parameter method Constructor encapsulation Factory Serialization with the pack and unpack methods

Table-level patterns

Find and exists methods Polymorphic associations Generic record reference

II. Developing with Microsoft Dynamics AX

5. Designing the User Experience

Introduction A role-tailored design approach User experience components

Navigation layer forms Work layer forms

Role Center pages

Cues Design Role Centers

Area pages

Design area pages

List pages

A simple scenario: taking a call from a customer Use a list page as an alternative to a report Design list pages

Details forms Transaction details forms Enterprise Portal web client user experience

Navigation layer forms Work layer forms Design for Enterprise Portal

Design for your users

6. The Microsoft Dynamics AX Client

Introduction Working with forms

Form patterns Form metadata

Metadata associations Metadata inheritance

Form data sources

Dynalinks Table inheritance Unit of Work Date effectivity Surrogate foreign keys Metadata for form data sources

Form queries

QueryBuildDataSource and QueryRunQueryBuildDataSource methods Query and QueryRun objects CopyCallerQuery property Query filters

Adding controls

Control overrides Control data binding Design node properties Runtime modifications Action controls

Buttons Action pane and Action pane strip

Layout controls

Group TabPage Grid

Input controls

Field-bound controls Method-bound controls Unbound controls

ManagedHost control Other controls

Using parts

Types of parts Reference a part from a form

Adding navigation items

MenuItem Menu Menu definitions

Customizing forms with code

Method overrides Auto variables Business logic Custom lookups

Integrating with the Microsoft Office client

Make data sources available to Office Add-ins

Make a service available Make a query available

Build an Excel template Build a Word template Add templates for users

7. Enterprise Portal

Introduction Enterprise Portal architecture Enterprise Portal components

Web parts AOT elements Datasets Enterprise Portal framework controls

AxDataSource AxForm AxMultiSection AxSection AxMultiColumn AxColumn AxGroup AxGridView AxHierarchicalGridView AxContextMenu AxFilter AxLookup AxActionPane AxToolbar AxPopup controls BoundField controls AxContentPanel AxPartContentArea AxInfoPart AxFormPart CueGroupPartControl AxDatePicker AxReportViewer

Developing for Enterprise Portal

Create a model-driven list page

Define a list page interaction class

Create a details page

Modal dialog settings

AJAX Session disposal and caching Context Data Metadata Proxy classes ViewState Labels Formatting Validation Error handling

Security

Secure web elements Record context and encryption

SharePoint integration

Site navigation Site definitions, page templates, and web parts Import and deploy a web part page Enterprise Search Themes

8. Workflow in Microsoft Dynamics AX

Introduction Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 workflow infrastructure Windows Workflow Foundation Key workflow concepts

Workflow document and workflow document class Workflow categories Workflow types Event handlers Menu items Workflow elements Queues Providers Workflows Workflow instances Work items

Workflow architecture

Workflow runtime Workflow runtime interaction Logical approval and task workflows

Workflow life cycle Implementing workflows

Create workflow artifacts, dependent artifacts, and business logic State management Create a workflow category Create the workflow document class Add a workflow display menu item Activate the workflow

9. Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX

Introduction Inside the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 reporting framework

Client-side reporting solutions Server-side reporting solutions Report execution sequence

Plan your reporting solution

Reporting and users Roles in report development

Create production reports

Model elements for reports

Controls Designs Datasets

SSRS extensions Microsoft Dynamics AX extensions

Disable the rendering extensions Data processing extensions Report execution sequence with Microsoft Dynamics AX custom extensions

Create charts for Enterprise Portal

Microsoft Dynamics AX chart development tools Integration with Microsoft Dynamics AX

Create an EP Chart Control Chart control markup elements Bind the chart control to the dataset

Data series

Single series datasets Multiseries datasets Dynamic series datasets

Add interactive functions to a chart Override the default chart format

Troubleshoot the reporting framework

The report server cannot be validated A report cannot be generated A chart cannot be debugged because of SharePoint sandbox issues

10. BI and Analytics

Introduction Components of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 BI solution Implementing the prebuilt BI solution

Implement the prerequisites Configure an SSAS server Deploy cubes Deploy cubes in an environment with multiple partitions Process cubes Provision users in Microsoft Dynamics AX

Associate a user with a profile Provide access to the OLAP database

Customizing the prebuilt BI solution

Configure analytic content Customize cubes

Choose the project to update Select metadata Select financial dimensions Select calendars Select languages Add support for currency conversion Confirm your changes Save the updated project Deploy and process cubes

Extend cubes

DSV Data source Dimensions, measures, and measure groups KPIs and calculations Integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX analytic components with external data sources

Creating cubes

Identify requirements Define metadata

Define perspectives Define table-level properties Define field-level properties

Generate and deploy the cube

Define the project Add currency conversion logic Save the project Deploy and process the project

Add KPIs and calculations

Displaying analytic content in Role Centers

Provide insights tailored to a persona Choose a presentation tool based on a persona SQL Server Power View reports

Expose a Power View report in a Role Center Allow users to edit a Power View report

Excel Business Overview web part and KPI List web part

Add a KPI to the KPI List web part Add a custom time period filter Period template: CurrentDate Indicator: Month_LastMonth

Develop reports with Report Builder Develop analytic reports by using Visual Studio tools for Microsoft Dynamics AX

11. Security, Licensing, and Configuration

Introduction Security framework overview

Authentication Authorization

Permissions Privileges Duties Process cycles Security roles

Data security

Develop security artifacts

Set permissions for a form Set permissions for server methods Set permissions for controls Create privileges Assign privileges and duties to security roles Use valid time state tables

Validate security artifacts

Create users Assign users to roles Set up segregation of duties rules

Create extensible data security policies

Data security policy concepts Develop an extensible data security policy Debug extensible data security policies

Security coding

Table permissions framework Code access security Best practice rules Security debugging

Debug security roles

Licensing and configuration

Configuration hierarchy Configuration keys Use configuration keys Types of CALs Customization and licensing

Changing menu items associated with a role Changing security artifacts associated with a role

12. Microsoft Dynamics AX Services and Integration

Introduction Types of Microsoft Dynamics AX services

System services Custom services

Custom service artifacts Service implementation class Service contracts Data contracts X++ collections as data contracts Register a custom service

Document services

Document service artifacts Axd<Document> classes Ax<Table> classes Create document services Customize document services

Security considerations Publish Microsoft Dynamics AX services

Consume Microsoft Dynamics AX services

Sample WCF client for CustCustomerService Consume system services Update business documents

Apply a full update Apply a partial update Optimistic concurrency control

Invoke custom services asynchronously

The Microsoft Dynamics AX send framework

Implementing a trigger for transmission

AIF Send API AxdSend API

Configure transmission mechanisms

Consume external web services from Microsoft Dynamics AX Performance considerations

13. Performance

Introduction Client/server performance

Reduce round-trips between the client and the server

The cacheAddMethod method Declarative display method caching The RunBase technique Caching and indexing

Write tier-aware code

Handle inMemory temporary tables correctly Use TempDB temporary tables Eliminate client callbacks Group calls into chunks Pass table buffers by value instead of by reference

Transaction performance

Set-based data manipulation operators

Set-based operations and table hierarchies The insert_recordset operator The update_recordset operator The delete_from operator The RecordInsertList and RecordSortedList classes Tips for transferring code into set-based operations

Restartable jobs and optimistic concurrency Caching

Record caching The unique index join cache The EntireTable cache The RecordViewCache class SysGlobalObjectCache and SysGlobalCache

Field lists Field justification

Performance configuration options

SQL Administration form Server Configuration form AOS configuration Client configuration Client performance Number sequence caching Extensive logging Master scheduling and inventory closing

Coding patterns for performance

Execute X++ code as CIL Use parallel execution effectively

Batch bundling Individual task modeling Top picking

The SysOperation framework Patterns for checking to see whether a record exists Run a query only as often as necessary When to prefer two queries over a join Indexing tips and tricks When to use firstfast Optimize list pages Aggregate fields to reduce loop iterations

Performance monitoring tools

Microsoft Dynamics AX Trace Parser

New Trace Parser features Before tracing Start a trace through the client Start a trace through Windows Performance Monitor Start a trace through code instrumentation Import a trace Analyze a trace Troubleshoot tracing

Monitor database activity Use the SQL Server connection context to find the SPID or user behind a client session The client access log Visual Studio Profiler

14. Extending Microsoft Dynamics AX

Introduction The SysOperation framework

SysOperation framework classes SysOperation framework attributes

Comparing the SysOperation and RunBase frameworks

RunBase example: SysOpSampleBasicRunbaseBatch SysOperation example: SysOpSampleBasicController

The RunBase framework

Inheritance in the RunBase framework Property method pattern Pack-unpack pattern Client/server considerations

The extension framework

Create an extension Extension example

Eventing

Delegates Pre and post events Event handlers Eventing example

15. Testing

Introduction New unit testing features in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Use predefined test attributes Create test attributes and filters

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 test tools

Use all aspects of the ALM solution Use an acceptance test driven development approach Use shared steps Record shared steps for fast forwarding Develop test cases in an evolutionary manner Use ordered test suites for long scenarios

Putting everything together

Execute tests as part of the build process Use the right tests for the job

16. Customizing and Adding Help

Introduction Help system overview

Microsoft Dynamics AX client Help viewer Help server

Help web service Document files Windows Search Service (WSS)

AOS

Help content overview

Topics Publisher Table of contents Summary page

Create content

Create a topic in HTML

Declarations Document head Document body Content Links to related topics Footer

Add labels, fields, and menu items to a topic

Add a label from the user interface Add a table field label Add a menu item label

Make a topic context-sensitive Update content from other publishers Create a table of contents file Create non-HTML content

Create the content Create the HTML metadata file

Publish content

Add a publisher to the Web.config file Publish content to the Help server Set Help document set properties

Troubleshoot the Help system

The Help viewer cannot display content

Help server WSS Content

The Help viewer cannot display the table of contents

III. Under the Hood

17. The Database Layer

Introduction Temporary tables

InMemory temporary tables

Using InMemory temporary tables Considerations for working with InMemory temporary tables

TempDB temporary tables Creating temporary tables

Design time Configuration time Run time

Surrogate keys Alternate keys Table relations

EDT relations and table relations Foreign key relations The CreateNavigationPropertyMethods property

Table inheritance

Modeling table inheritance

Create the root table Create a derived table Work with existing tables View the type hierarchy Specify table behavior

Table inheritance storage model Polymorphic behavior Performance considerations

Unit of Work Date-effective framework

Relational modeling of date-effective entities Support for data retrieval Run-time support for data consistency

Modes for updating records User experience

Full-text support The QueryFilter API Data partitions

Partition management Development experience Run-time experience

18. The Batch Framework

Introduction Batch processing in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Common uses of the batch framework Performance

Create and execute a batch job

Create a batch-executable class

run method pack and unpack methods canGoBatchJournal method

Create a batch job

Create a batch job from the dialog box of a batch-executable class Create a batch job by using the Batch Job form

Use the Batch API

Create a batch job by using the BatchHeader class Modify batch job parameters Add a task to the batch job Define dependencies between tasks Save the batch job Example of a batch job

Manage batch execution

Configure the batch server Create a batch group Manage batch jobs

View and change the batch job status Control the maximum retries Review the batch job history

Debug a batch task

Configure AOS for batch debugging Configure Visual Studio for debugging X++ in a batch

19. Application Domain Frameworks

Introduction The organization model framework

How the organization model framework works

Organization types Organization hierarchies

When to use the organization model framework

Integration with other frameworks application modules Model your own functional scenarios Extending the organization model framework Create a custom operating unit type Create a custom purpose Extend the hierarchy designer

The product model framework

How the product model framework works

Product types and subtypes Product dimensions Storage and tracking dimensions Released products Additional product information Product attributes and categories Variant configuration technology

When to use the product model framework Extending the product model framework

The operations resource framework

How the operations resource framework works

Capabilities Activities and requirements Identify applicable resources

When to use the operations resource framework Extensions to the operations resource framework

Add a new class of activity Add a new class of activity requirement

MorphX model element prefixes for the operations resource framework

The dimension framework

How the dimension framework works Constrain combinations of values Create values Extend the dimension framework Query data Physical table references

The accounting framework

How the accounting framework works When to use the accounting framework Extensions to the accounting framework Accounting framework process states MorphX model element prefixes for the accounting framework

The source document framework

How the source document framework works When to use the source document framework Extensions to the source document framework MorphX model element prefixes for the source document framework

20. Reflection

Introduction Reflection system functions

Intrinsic functions typeOf system function classIdGet system function

Reflection APIs

Table data API Dictionary API Treenodes API TreeNodeType

21. Application Models

Introduction Layers Models Element IDs Create a model Prepare a model for publication

Set the model manifest Export the model Sign the model

Strong name signing Authenticode signing

Import model files

Import model files with the overwrite option Import model files with the push option

Upgrade a model Move a model from test to production

Create a test environment Prepare the test environment Deploy the model to production Element ID considerations

Model store API

A. Resources for Code Upgrade B. About the authors

Principal authors Contributing authors

Index About the Author Copyright

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