Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Eventing

One of the great new development improvements for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, that was talked about and demoed at the DAXCONF11 was "eventing".

For most people, that have ever done any Object oriented development or programming, eventing is a concept that most familiar.

It's is a concept that is used to fire before, just before or just after a given method call takes place. These can also be design within the middle of a method as well, if a given peice of business logic within the middle of a method, make sense to tie an event too.

If you bring this to a more functional level, you can think of eventing as something that happens for a given object. So if you have PackingSlip and Invoice. These are functional concepts represented by technical objects. Classes, business logic, etc.

So when something happens, you can say a Sales Order was invoiced, or packing slip updated.

To help explain, take a look at the following diagram.:


As you can see, we have a basic workflow of functional concepts taking place. We see that the two main functional concepts are PackingSlip and Invoice.

With these two concepts we see two common "events" or a Pre-PackingSlip Update, and a Post-PackingSlip Update. The same is said for Invoice, in that we have a Pre-Invoiced and a Post-Invoiced. What we also see is a custom, Mid-Invoiced event as well.

From this, we see two events that are used to call into CSharp or Xpp business logic, when these events are fired.

One is Post-PackinSlip and the other from the Custom Mid-Invoice event. This, I hope gives a good construct and idea behind the purpose and use of eventing.

You have the ability to "raise" and event, depending on certain actions within business logic. These events, when raised, have listeners, that can then fire into either Xpp code, or CSharp (.Net) developed code.

Moving forward, events are meant to support the following development concepts.:

• Observation


• Information dissemintation


• Decoupling

After getting into what eventing can offer a customer doing custom development, or an ISV offering vertical expertise, we can see how this can help with the pains of upgrading.

So with eventing and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, a new possible way to develop custom code for a customer, or as an ISV is offered that has all kinds of great benefits. Everyone that does any development in Microsoft Dynamics AX, that does not undestand eventing, needs to make a priority to understanding eventing.

• Programming with Events Using .NET (VB, but great description of events!)


• Events and Delegates .Net 4.0


• How to: Raise and Consume Events .Net 4.0

The above are some great resources to help understand eventings, event, delegates, and technical uses of events from a .Net point of view.

This is very important, as Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 eventing, is based on .Net Eventing Concepts. What you will see, when looking at eventing in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is.:

• Producer - business logic or entity that raises an event


• Consumer - a event listener, or logic called when a specific event is fired


• Event - the given event called or raised when a process takes place


• Event Payload - data or information caried within a fired event, for the consumers use


• Delegate - is defined as informatin that was passed from a producer to a listener or consumer when an event is raised

I hope that you enjoyed this deeper dive into eventing with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, and eventing concept. It's a great move, that allows all kinds of possibilities, that all of us .Net developers, who also develop in Xpp have been looking for!



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Check back soon, as my next topic will be Development in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 and 2012. Differences, what's new, what can be done now and in the future.

See you next time!

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Dynamics AX 2012 - Table & Type Hierarchies

One of the huge, underlying changes from a architecture, and really database design point of view for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is the use of Type or Table Hierarchies.

This is actually extending upon the type hierarchy system that already existed within Dynamics AX, however to a whole new level!


[Image Source: techmaniac1, Rodrigo Fraga while attending #DAXCONF 11]

As you can see from above, thanks to Techmaniac1, the screen shot shows off the Type Hierarchy of a given table. This is actually showing from within the Dev workspace, looking at the AOT as a new add-in for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

With this concept, OO Design is being forced onto Relational data. I know, I know, that statement seems like it would be an oxymoron. I mean how can relation data truly be and live with OO attributes, design concepts, and adhere to such rules that govern things like: inheritance & polymorphism?

The answer to that is super normalization! That is what is taking place with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and type hierarchies for Table objects.

Because Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 manages it's relation database, through a meta layer, then through the combining of these two concepts, such things as inheritance and polymorphism can be applied.

So with this, we now have new attributes of tables, called: concrete or abstract, as well as if a table inherts from another table or not.

In doing this 'extending from' at a table level, the table that extends from an abstract table, inherits the fields and methods of the super or base table being inherited from.

This new approach along, plus just adhereing to BP, means that you should *never* access to the database of an Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 instance directly. So many reasons why, and with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, so many more reasons will exists.

And this is true today actually, should not have direct access to the DB of an AX instance, however it's still done today in certain cases.

That's all for now on the continued coverage from the #DAXCONF 11. I hope that I have your wheels turning, and thinking about the possibilities this means, and doors this opens from an Architecture and Design POV. Also, what this means for outside development that may directly access the database of an AX instance today.

This leads me into my next focus, which is OData Feeds and EDM, and how they will enable secure, easy access to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 data and business logic, without ever needing direct access to the DB again!

See you next post!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Dynamics AX 2009 - X++, C# Comparison

Well I was actually searching for something yesterday, and came across something interesting that I never noticed before. I know it’s been a part of the Dynamics AX 2009 SDK > X++ Languaged Programming Guide but I just never took notice of this.

What I am talking about is the X++, C# Comparisons that live on MSDN as part of the online Dynamics AX 2009 SDK.

A linke to this can be found here: ’X++, C# Comparisons on MSDN’

So there is a good bit covered in this: Loops, Switches, Array, Collections, Exceptions, Operators, Classes etc.

The one that I also want you to see is the Object Oriendted Programming one. Found here: OOP –X++, C# Comparison

This is actually a very nice comparison and gives you insight, if you don’t already know, about the differences of X++ and sometimes it limitations in comparison to C#.

I think this is a very handy thing to note, and something that can come in handy when helping new technical folks get use to X++. Espcially if they already know C#.

Check back soon as we continue on and on into the Dynamics world...!

Update:
The links were not working, and now they are! Sorry for the trouble!




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