Learning MS Dynamics AX 2012 Programming

Overwhelmed with 1000+ pages of continuous and unending streak of documentation? Searching for a concise, yet all-in-one, guide for learning the latest version of MS Dynamics AX 2012? Well, you're welcome. Learning MS Dynamics AX 2012 Programming, as the name suggests, is an ideal book on programming customizable solutions using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. It is an updated edition of the very popular Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 Programming: Getting Started authored by Erlend Dalen. Continuing the same legacy, lead author Mohammed Rasheed goes even further with explaining the concepts of Dynamics AX using the latest version, MS Dynamics AX 2012 R3, with ample number of real-world examples wherever necessary.

The book follows a structured approach to unveil the brilliant tools available in Dynamics AX 2012 along with the best practices to implement efficient solutions in your own environment. The book starts with giving an overview of the new Dynamics AX architecture and tools available to a developer for programming his own solution. We also get to experiment with a simple program that allows us to print some text on the console.

After this comprehensive introduction, you get a dedicated chapter on X++ language underlining its importance for programming intelligent solutions in Dynamics AX 2012. There is no doubt that even a novice learner will understand the concepts explained in such detail, down to the data types and operators.

Instead of bombarding you with complex real-life examples, a huge chunk of the first half of the book is dedicated to various operations performed on data, the most important aspect of programming. You will find dedicated chapters on storing, searching, and manipulating data in Dynamics AX, along with how data interacts with users.

Once you have acquainted yourself with the basics of Dynamics AX programming, you are smoothly driven into the real world of AX with introduction to various important modules such as Inventory and Ledger, among others. The complete working of one of the most elusive concepts of Dynamics AX, the journals, is explained with suitable examples.

At some point, you might get struck with the idea of creating a fantastic new module in AX that solves some of the difficulties your customers might be having. For this very purpose, this book allows you to learn how to create a new module from scratch, all complete with basics of creating number sequences, parameter tables, and the security framework.

Why limit ourselves to X++ for programming in Dynamics AX, when you can also do that using .NET? This book also caters to the appetite of programmers who find solace in .NET. You will be able to use .NET classes as reference classes in AX using the Common Language Runtime. You will also learn how to use the AX logic from external applications by using the .NET Business Connector.

Finally, we expand our horizons and implement web services that expose the AX logic over remote networks. In addition to that, you will learn how to publish and consume a web service using IIS. You will also learn how to create .aspx pages in Microsoft SharePoint based on the templates that come with the Enterprise Portal, and how to create Dynamics AX user controls that will expose data from AX to the Enterprise Portal.

In all, it turns out that you will no longer face the nightmare of adapting to the new architecture of MS Dynamics AX 2012, as long as you have as good a companion as this book.