Posts Tagged ‘Programming’

Ecommerce Programming for Great Plains Dynamics Gp – Introduction

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

If your organization deploys Microsoft Dynamics GP Great Plains ERP and you are thinking on connecting it to your eCommerce site, we would like to give you initial introduction – where to start digging GP, tools, integration options, limitations, pluses and minuses and others typical FAQ. Current version of Great Plains is 10.0, we assume that it is reasonable to be at list on version 9.0, prior to begin ecommerce connection project â?? otherwise you will be reprogramming your integration with version upgrade. If you are on older versions, especially on Pervasive SQL 2000/Btrieve or Ctree/Faircom (this might be the case if you are on GP 7.5, 7.0, 6.0 or earlier), we recommend you first upgrade to MS SQL Server based version (you should contact you MBS VAR and they will provide you with the migration tool and it is recommended that professional Great Plains consultant does the conversion)

1. Sales Order Processing module or SOP. This module is typically integrated with your e-commerce application. In eCommerce you create either SOP Order or SOP Invoice. The easiest scenario is to create order or invoice without inventory items allocation, this is especially recommended if you are trying to program integration in SQL stored procedures

2. Great Plains tables structure. This is one of the first questions, which we hear from developers. You should login GP, depending on version, we will give you the path for version 10.0: Microsoft Dynamics GP->Tools->Resource Description->Tables. Tables are grouped by GP series: Financial, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, etc.

3. Microsoft Dexterity technology. You should be aware that if you populate GP table records, you should treat GP business logic accordingly. The most vital is treating GP Dexterity business logic, which is validated when Fantastic Plains client application tries to read records, populated by you â?? if business logic is violated and could not be validated, Dexterity interface will error out and you will make GP ERP inoperable

4. eConnect. Yes, this is what you should consider to use when possible in e-commerce. eConnect core is set of SQL stored procedures, which allow you to make, modify, delete GP master records (customer, vendor, inventory item) and work transactions (such as SOP invoice, or SOP order), plus eConnect allocates invoice or order lines, so the limitation of topic one is not a problem here. What eConnect can not do is post individual transaction or SOP batch â?? this routine is left to GP operator by GP architecture

5. Posting Server. Alba Spectrum Posting Server allows you combine eConnect with autoposting frankly from eCommerce application. Posting server is GP Dexterity application and should be installed on separate GP workstation (or your GP server, where you keep GP workstation with Posting server running). When deploying posting server â?? you will need to place approved batches to custom tables and posting server will take care of posting process

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Dynamics GP Integration Partner Chicago, San Diego News: eConnect programming

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP, formerly known as Fantastic Plains Dynamics and eEnterprise has excellent selection of custom programming and integration tools, plus from the SQL Server itself you could try Stored Procedures integration.  Consider Dynamics GP Integration Manager, where you can simply setup integration without programming or even add some integration logic alteration via VBA scripts in Previous to Integration, Previous to Document Commit and other events.  If your integration requires very deep interaction with Fantastic Plains tables and custom tables, you can try Dynamics GP Dexterity programming (where you make custom tables and handle integration on both standard and custom ones) or eConnect Microsoft Visual Studio C# or VB.Net programming.  This publication is not intended as eConnect eCommerce programming guide, we want to give you the orientation in what to expect from eConnect, and we assume that you as software developer will be able to include eConnect libraries to your MS VS project and work with eConnect sample codes on your own:

1. Work Transactions and Master Records.  eConnect allows you to make so-called work transactions, place them into the batch: Sales Order Processing Order or Invoice (this is especially valuable in ecommerce website programming), Buy Order, GL transaction, etc. and if required make or alter existing master records: customer, vendor, GL account, Payroll Employee, Address

2. eConnect versus SQL Stored Procedures.  If you reckon that there is no need to deploy eConnect and instead code your own custom SQL Stored Procedures, please note, that you in essence will be recoding GP business logic, which is by now coded by Microsoft Dynamics GP programmers in Microsoft – in our opinion it is waste of time, unnecessary learning curve and potential source of numerous bugs and even data integrity threat.  And again in our opinion Stored Procedures should be coded only when your integration project is very simple – and even here, please look at Fantastic Plains Integration Manager first

3. eConnect versus Integration Manager.  The tendency is the following – IM is in process of being rewritten with eConnect connectors, and walking away from legacy OLE Server based approach.  This fact should mean for you that IM is as quick as custom eConnect application.  eConnect application, but might be triggered in real time, where IM should be either called by IM operator or scheduled with Windows scheduler or special Windows Macro based application

4. Automatic Batch Posting in ecommerce.  This is a touch that eConnect doesn’t have, you should deploy Dynamics GP ISV add-on, Alba Spectrum Posting Server, which will allows you to place batches in Autopost queue and then posting process will be launched by Posting Server GP workstation

5. If you feel that you need Dynamics GP consultant help, please call your Fantastic Plains Guru, or if you do not have one, consider calling to Fantastic Plains Resellers in your area or who are familiar with your industry.  Feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

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Dynamics GP ecommerce programming: eConnect, Dexterity, SQL Scripts

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

If you by now have Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly known as Fantastic Plains Dynamics, implemented in your company, and you also have established and in-house supported ecommerce application, it is natural next step to automate integration.  Typically automation covers Catalog bits and pieces synchronization and publishing from Dynamics GP Inventory Control module; Sales Orders or Invoices batch mode or real time integration from ecommerce web site to Fantastic Plains Sales Order Processing module; new Customers creation and existing customers info update in ecommerce and moving or updating them in Dynamics GP Receivables Management module.  Sometimes you go beyond these basic integration routines and do Stock availability for specific item in specific warehouse or place; Sales order tracking, where you check order lines fulfillment in Dynamics GP SOP module with shipping via Starship or a further FedEx or UPS tracking add-ons.  We are here to place forward you help in tuning our existing custom solutions and scripts to expedite ecommerce integration projects, please read ecommerce integration highlights not more than:

1. eStore ecommerce server integration to Fantastic Plains.  We place forward scripts for eStore integration to Dynamics GP SOP, Receivable Management and Inventory Control modules.  We are pleased to provide several case studies and customer references, where ecommerce is deployed on eStore and Dynamics GP tandem

2. eConnect coding.  With Dynamics GP eConnect SDK you can expect master records (customer, inventory item, address, vendor, etc.) and work transactions in the batch creation and update frankly from your ecommerce C#, VB.Net application.  Again, here we are emphasizing Solutions approach, where we will give you integration codes and guide your eConnect MS Visual Studio programmers in tuning and deploying these codes

3. Microsoft Dexterity and eCommerce integration.  One of the obvious advantages in deploying Fantastic Plains Dexterity engine is GP batches posting frankly from your eCommerce application.  We have special product, dedicated to Posting Fantastic Plains Batches involuntarily – Alba Spectrum Posting Server or Autopost.  It is written in Dynamics GP Dexterity and it deploys original GP Posting logic

4. SQL Scripting in GP ecommerce.  This approach is a bit challenging as you will have to imitate Dynamics GP business logic in direct SQL insert statements, and here we encourage you first to review eConnect, as it does exactly the same things in encrypted SQL Stored Procedures.  We have Dynamics GP Order Connector, this is the set of our custom SQL Stored Procedures and it enables ecommerce programmer to integrate Sales Order and Invoice frankly to GP SOP module.  The advantage of Order Connector is high performance, comparing to both Dexterity and eConnect (as we use simplified business logic, assuming that you are following simple ecommerce integration rules)

5. Please, feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

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Dynamics GP Ecommerce Programming and Integration Notes

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Microsoft Dynamics GP is open to ecommerce programmer via eConnect SDK, as well as Microsoft SQL Server programmability tools (typically Stored Procedures and Views).  Previous to you dive into technical project of eConnect programming, please, review Fantastic Plains Integration Manager module and its customization options: VBA scripting of Previous to Document Commit (as very common modification point) event; you can schedule IM integration with Windows Macro or deploy free and ready for buy applications, extending basic Windows Macro with bonus functionalities.  Dynamics GP Integration Manager based (for version 10.0 and future versions 11.0 and up) on eConnect technology (in addition to supporting ancient OLE Server integrations), meaning that IM integration should be able to achieve the same goal with less efforts.  And as you should expect the same limitations for eConnect as you have for Integration Manager – most evenly manifesting limitation is eConnect and Integration Manager Batch Posting incapacity.  Now straight to the Fantastic Plains eCommerce Developing topic:

1. eConnect is Software Development Kit, written in SQL Stored Procedures (encrypted), it allows you to program GP master records (Customer, Vendor, Employee, GL Account, Inventory Item, Address, Project, Budget, etc.) and so-called Work Transactions: SOP Quote, Order and Invoice, POP Buy Order, GL Transaction, Employee Paycheck, Inventory Adjustment and Transfer, to give the thought.  eConnect is friendly and requires very fleeting learning curve for Microsoft Visual Studio .Net C#, VB and other .Net compliant languages programmers.  Bonus pluses if you have XML, SQL Scripting skills

2. Sales Order Processing and Inventory Control modules and tables.  These two are the most standard in ecommerce integrations.  SOP tables have SOP prefix (well-known SOP10100 transaction header and SOP10200 lines), and Inventory INV (INV00101 – item master and INV00102 Quantity master) respectively.  Sometimes, especially in ancient Fantastic Plains ecommerce legacy integrations you find Invoicing module (IV prefix)

3. Posting problem.  In ecommerce application you evenly want to do all the way transaction processing: Sales Invoice creation and modification, applying credit card payment deposit, allocating merchandise, approving and posting Sales Order Processing batch (or individual transaction).  Here, you will hit the wall and realize that Posting functionality is not included in eConnect or Fantastic Plains Integration Manager.  There is no shortcut here (we assume that you are Not Dynamics GP Dexterity software developer with tons of programming experience, including Dexterity Source Code Programming), you will need to buy Dynamics GP Add-On, we recommend Dynamics GP Posting Server, also known as Autopost

4. Dynamics GP eCommerce SQL Scripting.  If you have the opinion that your ecommerce integration routine is very simple and eConnect is too cumbersome and heavy in being considered for deployment, you can always rescue to SQL direct insertion statement.  Please review GP table structure: Dynamics GP -> Settings -> Resource Description -> Tables.  Or, simply install GP Software Development Kit from CD #2.  Dynamics GP Business Logic might be too complex for intuitive programming, so if you will get the buggy situation, consider making test transaction in GP user interface and review the records in GP tables.  If you prefer proven set of stored procedures – we place forward them as Order Connector, feeding data into SOP tables

5. Feel free to call us on Microsoft Dynamics GP eCommerce integrations concerns: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

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Website Building – Do You Need To Master Web Programming?

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

If you are going to do business online, you need to have your own website. Even if it is possible to make cash online without it, your website is your identity in the world of Internet. Moreover, having your own site may open up many possibilities that you could never have imagined.
Nowadays, getting a website onto the internet can be accomplished very easily. Many hosting companies now provide website builders which are very useful to help you build your own website. Some even provide a collection of templates that you can customize with your own links and content. But, you still need to learn a small bit of HTML so that you will not depend on a name else in case you want to edit your works. This skill is very vital to make your site stands out from the crowd.
It is nice to know a small bit of web programming language if you want to build a dynamic website. But, keep in mind that it is usually the concept or the thought and not a programming tool or language which can make you cash on the internet. Unless you plot to become a qualified web developer, there is really no need to learn coding. Just leave the development up to other experienced developers or use a content management system which can be installed for free.
Buidling a website with CMS means you do not even need to touch any HTML editor. There are some content managements systems which can be configured easily. Mambo, for instance, is by now supported by many ready-to-install modules and templates. But you still need to become familiar with the script that you will use to run your site, both on the front end and in the admin area. Spend some time previous to launching your website to get to know how to make some vital configurations properly.
Today, many web hosting providers have by now provided a wide range of conveniences in their hosting plans. Fantastico, for instance, is a feature that enables you to install various scripts very easily. But if you want to use a script which is not currently provided by your hosting company, you might have to follow the installation procedure provided.
Commercial scripts usually come with installation instructions, that can be a as simple as uploading the files to your server, setting the permissions for each file and folder, and irrevocably opening the config file and setting the options to dictate how the script functions. Installing the script yourself is really a handy way for getting to know how it works. In the future, in case the script needs to be updated with the newest version, you do not have to hire anyone to do it.
Having the very basic knowledge on the functions and the tags of HTML is really enough for building a website. But depending on what you want to build, you might need to know how to setup a database on your server. With phpMyAdmin this can be accomplished easily. Additionally, commercial scripts usually have an ability to make required tables involuntarily. That means at the very minimum you only need to find out how to make a database and an authorized user.
How about other technical aspects such as configuring .htaccess file? .htaccess is a file that can be used to perform various tasks. One of the most standard uses of .htaccess is to make a website search engine friendly. But, even if vital, most of the time you will never touch the file. Many scripts today can make this file for you involuntarily so all you need to do is to follow the installation procedure as outlined in the manual.
In summary, building a website does not require you to be very knowledgeable about web programming and other complicated technical knowledge . But, at the very least, you need to be able to make HTML code and to utilize some features of your hosting service. Reliable hosting air force will provide you with some useful conveniences that you can use to make various types of websites easily.

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