Hi friends,
I. Introduction
A. Explanation of what Business Central is
B. Overview of objects in Business Central
II. Types of Objects in Business Central
A. Tables
B. Pages
C. Reports
D. Codeunits
E. Queries
III. Creating and Modifying Objects
A. How to create a new object in Business Central
B. How to modify an existing object
C. Best practices for creating and modifying objects
IV. Using Objects in Business Central
A. How to navigate to and use objects in the user interface
B. How to access objects programmatically using code
C. Examples of common use cases for objects in Business
Central
V. Conclusion
A. Summary of key points
B. Additional resources for learning more about objects in
Business Central.
A. Explanation of what Business Central is
Business Central is a cloud-based enterprise resource
planning (ERP) software that is part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite of
tools. It is designed for small to medium-sized businesses and provides a wide
range of functionality, including financial management, supply chain
management, and project management.
B. Overview of objects in Business Central
Objects in Business Central are the building blocks of the
system, and they are used to define the data and functionality of the
application. Examples of objects include tables, which store data, pages, which
provide a user interface for working with data, and codeunits, which contain
business logic. Objects can be created, modified, and used in various ways to
customize and extend the functionality of Business Central to meet the specific
needs of a business.
In this blog post, we will dive deeper into the different
types of objects that are available in Business Central, the process of
creating and modifying objects, and how to use objects in the system to
accomplish various tasks.
II. Types of Objects in Business Central
A. Tables
Tables are the objects that store data in Business Central.
They are used to define the structure of the data, such as the fields and data
types. For example, the "Customer" table would store information
about customers, including their names, address, and contact information. A
snippet of a table definition in AL code could look like this:
Example
table 50100 "Customer"
{
fields
{
field(1;
"No."; Code[20]) { }
field(2;
"Name"; Name) { }
field(3;
"Address"; Text[250]) { }
field(4;
"Phone No."; PhoneNo) { }
}
keys
{
key(PK;
"No.") { }
}
data
{
// sample data
record("CUST1"; "John Doe"; "123 Main
St."; "555-555-5555")
record("CUST2"; "Jane Smith"; "456 Park
Ave."; "555-555-5556")
}
}
B. Pages
Pages are the objects that provide the user interface for
working with data in Business Central. They allow users to view, edit, and
create records in tables. For example, a page for the "Customer"
table would allow users to view a list of customers, as well as create, edit,
and delete individual customer records. A snippet of a page definition in AL
code could look like this:
Example
page 50100 "Customer"
{
layout
{
area(content)
{
repeater(view="List")
{
field("No.") { }
field("Name") { }
field("Address") { }
field("Phone No.") { }
}
}
}
}
C. Reports
Reports are the objects that are used to display data in a
specific format. They are used to create printable documents, such as invoices
or purchase orders, or to display data in a specific format, such as a chart or
graph. For example, a report for the "Customer" table would display a
list of customers and their contact information in a printable format. A
snippet of a report definition in AL code could look like this:
Example
report 50100 "Customer List"
{
layout
{
repeat("Customer")
{
field("No.") { }
field("Name") { }
field("Address") { }
field("Phone No.") { }
}
}
}
D. Codeunits
Codeunits are the objects that contain business logic in
Business Central. They are used to define the functionality of the system, such
as creating a new customer, calculating the total cost of an order, or
processing a payment. For example, a codeunit for handling customer-related
tasks could contain logic for creating a new customer, updating customer
information, and deleting customers. A snippet of a codeunit definition in AL
code could look like this:
Example
codeunit 50100 "CustomerHandler"
{
procedure
CreateCustomer(Name: Text; Address: Text; PhoneNo: PhoneNo)
begin
// code to create
a new customer
end;
procedure
UpdateCustomer
III. Creating and Modifying Objects
A. How to create a new object in Business Central
To create a new object in Business Central, you can use the
development environment, which is called the "AL Development
Environment" and it's an extension of Visual Studio Code. You can use this
environment to create new tables, pages, reports, and codeunits by defining the
object's structure and functionality using the AL programming language. Once
you have created the object, you can then publish it to the Business Central
cloud or on-premises server to make it available to users.
For example, to create a new table called
"Product", you would define the fields, keys, and sample data in AL
code, and then publish it to the Business Central server.
B. How to modify an existing object
To modify an existing object in Business Central, you can
open the object in the AL Development Environment, make the desired changes,
and then publish the updated object to the Business Central server. It's also
important to note that when you modify an object, you should make sure to test
the changes thoroughly to ensure that they do not break any existing
functionality or cause any other issues.
C. Best practices for creating and modifying objects
When creating and modifying objects in Business Central, it's important to follow best practices to ensure that the objects are efficient, maintainable, and easy to understand. Among the top recommendations to bear in mind are:
- Using clear and descriptive names for objects
- Following a consistent naming convention
- Documenting objects using comments
- Using the appropriate data types for fields
- Creating indexes for frequently searched fields
- Using triggers and events for complex logic
- Testing the objects before publishing them.
For example, when creating a new table for
"Product", you would want to make sure that you use clear and
descriptive field names, such as "Product Name" and
"Price", and that you use appropriate data types, such as
"Decimal" for the price. It's also important to create indexes for frequently
searched fields, such as the product name, to improve performance.
IV. Using Objects in Business Central
A. How to navigate to and use objects in the user interface
In Business Central, objects are used to provide the
functionality of the system. Users can navigate to objects through the user
interface, such as the navigation menu or the search function, and use them to
perform tasks, such as viewing, editing, and creating records. For example, to
view a list of customers, a user would navigate to the "Customers"
page in the navigation menu, which would display a list of customer records in
a table format. The user could then use this page to view and edit individual
customer records, as well as create new customer records.
B. How to access objects programmatically using code
In addition to using objects through the user interface,
they can also be accessed programmatically using code. This allows for more
complex functionality and automation of tasks. For example, a codeunit could be
used to automatically create a new customer record when a user enters a new
sale.
To access an object programmatically, you would use the AL
programming language and the Business Central API to read or write data to the
object and perform other actions.
C. Examples of common use cases for objects in Business Central
- Creating and managing customer records
- Recording and managing financial transactions
- Managing inventory and supply chain
- Creating and managing sales orders and invoices
- Creating and managing projects and tasks
- Creating and managing production orders.
For example, when creating a sales order, a user could
navigate to the "Sales Order" page, and use it to create a new sales
order by specifying the customer, products, and quantities. Once the sales
order is created, it can then be managed and processed using related
objects such as inventory, invoicing, and financial management.
V. Conclusion
A. Summary of key points
In this blog post, we've covered the basics of objects in
Business Central, including the different types of objects that are available,
such as tables, pages, reports, and codeunits, and how they are used to define
the data and functionality of the system. We've also discussed the process of
creating and modifying objects, and how to use objects in the system to
accomplish various tasks.
B. Additional resources for learning more about objects in
Business Central.
To learn more about objects in Business Central and how to
use them, you can refer to Microsoft's official documentation, which provides
detailed information on the AL programming language, the Business Central API,
and other topics related to objects. There are also a number of online
tutorials, webinars, and forums that can help you learn more about objects and
how to use them effectively in Business Central. Additionally, you can also
seek out professional services or consulting for help with creating and
modifying objects in Business Central and implementing them in your
organization.
To sum up, objects are the building blocks of Business Central, and understanding how to use and customize them is critical in order to take full advantage of the system's capabilities. The blog post provides a high-level overview and introduction to the topic and additional resources are available to help you delve deeper into the subject.
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