Book Image

Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009

Book Image

Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009

Overview of this book

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a well established Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application, part of the Microsoft Dynamics family. Dynamics NAV is installed worldwide, with well over one million users. Version 2009 contains many major new features and structures, requiring even experienced Dynamics NAV developers to refresh their NAV development knowledge. Renowned for its challenging learning curve, Dynamics NAV is a complex piece of software with a unique design structure. For developers learning to modify or enhance Dynamics NAV for vital business purposes, the task can sometimes be intimidating. This book is an in-depth step-by-step guide to programming NAV, designed to ease you through the complexities of NAV application development. You will learn the skills and develop the confidence to tackle your own critical NAV applications. This book will act as your experienced NAV programming mentor, helping you to become productive as a NAV developer much more quickly. NAV development is quite complex, with a steep learning curve. This book makes it easy for you. From basic NAV terminology and concept definitions, through the essential building blocks of NAV data structure and objects, you will gain an understanding of the fundamental underlying concepts of NAV. You will learn practical details about NAV object construction and the tools available, including table, page, and report design. You will learn how to use NAV's tools to effectively navigate through the various features of objects, including properties, triggers, and C/AL code, and receive practical guidance on ways to develop and test in the unique NAV C/SIDE development environment. Extensive guidance on software design for NAV is provided along with tips for efficient design of new NAV applications or enhancing existing applications. With its comprehensive collection of NAV information and distillation of years of NAV development experience, this book is not only designed to help you learn, but to act as a reference as well.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Programming Microsoft® Dynamics™ NAV 2009
Credits
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
Foreword
Preface
Index

XMLports


At first glance, XMLports are for importing and exporting data, similar to the Dataports. But XMLports differ considerably in their operation, setup, and primary intended usage.

In the two-tier client, XMLport objects can only be used for XML-formatted data. They must be "fired off" by C/AL code resident in some other object type (in other words, a Classic Client XMLport cannot be run from the Object Designer and cannot be run directly through a menu entry).

In the three-tier client, XMLports now handle both XML structured data and other text data that was previously handled by Dataports. The description of a Dataport's functionality now applies to the three-tier client XMLport. The three-tier client XMLport can be run directly from a menu entry.

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. XML is a markup language much like HTML. XML was designed to describe data so that it would be easier to exchange data between dissimilar systems, for example, between your NAV ERP system and your accounting firm's financial analysis and tax preparation system.

XML is designed to be extensible, which means that you can create or extend the definition as long as you communicate the revised XML format to your correspondents. There is a standard set of syntax rules to which XML formats must conform. XML is becoming more and more important because most new software uses XML. For example, the new versions of Microsoft Office are quite XML "friendly". All web services communications are in the form of an exchange of XML structured data.