Posts Tagged ‘Technologies’
Great Plains Customization Technologies: Highlights for Software Developer
Friday, May 14th, 2010When Microsoft bought Fantastic Plains Software and then integrated Fantastic Plains into so-called Microsoft Dynamics ERP harvest family as Dynamics GP, modification tools became more Microsoft and .Net oriented, as you could expect. But in the initial design in earlier 1990th Fantastic Plains Dynamics was intended as multi platform product and its fundament was built on new technology named Fantastic Plains Dexterity. Considering complicated origin of GP, let’s review development tools:
1. Dexterity. Fantastic Plains Dexterity, as we by now mentioned is the heart of GP design, and it is in turn written as the bombard in C programming language to secure certain flexibility, especially the option to thrash from one operating system or computer platform to a further. Being very powerful and flexible, Dex doesn’t facilitate so-called rapid development scenario as it is not object oriented and it requires you as programmer to have several years of extensive Dexterity programming prior to participation in Dexterity programming project. Dexterity has its own scripting language Sanscript. Newest versions of Dex support such cool Microsoft technologies as COM objects and Web Air force, plus you can call SQL Stored procedures from Dex code. To get quick tour into Dexterity architecture, you may install it from GP CD #2 and open Dynamics.dic file – this dictionary has core GP logic and it is written in Dexterity
2. VBA and Modifier. We were watching closely the competition between various GP customizing tools. And we still reckon that Modifier should be reviewed prior to eConnect. Modifier is in essence the module, written in Dexterity, which allows you to add buttons and fields to existing screens of GP as well as take them off. To animate new fields you use VBA scripting language, evenly you use ADO technology to access GP tables from modified forms
3. eConnect. This SDK opens for you GP objects: master records (customer, vendor, GL Account, employee, prospect) and work transactions (SOP invoice, Buy Order, Payroll Entry). eConnect is based on encrypted SQL stored procedures, plus it has several layers of technology wrappers – in fact it is friendly for Microsoft Visual Studio C# or VB developer. If you are integrating eCommerce website with your GP back office, we recommend you to consider eConnect as the main integration tool, also consider Autoposting Server to post batches of SOP invoices in GP
4. SQL Stored Procedures Integrations. If you reckon eConnect is too gray and complex and you are comfortable to do light SQL insert statement to populate GP tables, then SQL scripting is an option. But, we discourage newcomers from trying SQL insertion prior to researching other integration tools first
5. GP Integration. Of course integration is not the same as customization, but we want to orient you here as well. GP traditionally has Integration Management Module. With current version 10.0 IM has new connectors – from now on you can use eConnect connectors to do integrating
Dynamics GP ecommerce Integration Technologies: notes for Programmer
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010We assume that in your case you have established Microsoft Dynamics GP (also known as Fantastic Plains Dynamics in the past) and use it in production for accounting, Sales Order Processing, AP, AR, distribution and logistics. Plus you have working ecommerce website, where integration to GP is very loose: maybe it triggers email to Picking and Packing department, or Sales Order Processing people. In this small publication we want to review relatively open for end user or in the case of software developer – not hard to start integration coding. We do not specifically review here differences between B2B and B2C ecommerce scenarios in Dynamics GP, please review our past articles. There are ready for use solutions, we assume that you by now did this homework and chose to preserve your investments into your current eCommerce web application, and all you want to do is robust integration:
1. Real Time versus Batch Mode integrations. Real Time ecommerce transactions go to GP Sales Orders or Invoices is certainly cool to have, but if this is not unquestionably required, we recommend you first to reckon about Batch Mode ecommerce integration. Batch mode means, that ecommerce may have some lookups for your customers if item is available in one of your warehouses (via simple SQL query to your Dynamics GP Company database), but ecommerce transactions are went to GP Sales Document only once per day, or maybe every hour, if you are larger ecommerce retailer
2. GP Integration Manager. This tool is very friendly to Fantastic Plains users, and it could be extended by programmer via VBA event driven scripts. IM is first choice if you are plotting integrate in Batch Mode. Please, do not be mislead by some GP consultants, that IM is for text files only. For advanced ecommerce integration to GP we recommend you to base IM data queries on SQL Server Views (Advanced ODBC based query) and the View itself looks at the existing GP orders and lines and into new ecommerce document – in that case your scenario could be completely automated. Plus IM integration could be called involuntarily via Windows macro third party tiny applications (or you can buy Integration scheduling tool from Microsoft Business Solutions, check with your Dynamics GP Partner on that). We helped implement scenarios for large Computer IT integrator and warehouse, where all transactions are coming through B2B ecommerce website on PHP/Linux and GP Integration Manager is scheduled to run every 20 minutes to be close to real time mode integration. OK, now if you reckon IM is too simple, let’s go on to eConnect
3. eConnect SDK and technology for Dynamics GP. If you are C# or VB.Net ecommerce programmer or programming savoir-faire web master, please review eConnect, as it has set of libraries, which could be added to your MS Visual Studio web projects and you could make, edit, delete virtually all GP Master records: customer, vendor, GL account, Item, Address, Employee, and work transactions: Sales Invoice, Buy Order, Buy Receipt, GL Transaction, Customer Payment. Please, note that you cannot post GP Batches (such as standard in ecommerce scenarios Sales Order Processing Batch) – if you need complete automation with Batch Posting you need to consider Alba Spectrum Posting Server or Autopost. Also, eConnect doesn’t cover some rather historical modules, such as Invoicing (usually Fantastic Plains Customers prefer more robust Sales Order Processing module). And plus, eConnect from Dynamics GP doesn’t cover third party Dynamics GP ISV modules, which you may deploy – consider to check with you Fantastic Plains ISV partner if they have extensions for eConnect. If you are on Dynamics GP 10.0 and 9.0 – eConnect is the way to go, but if you are on older version, consider to upgrade to GP version 10.0 prior to deploying eConnect in your ecommerce integration programming
4. Beyond eConnect. If you believe that your integration is SOP only and it is very simple, we place forward Alba Spectrum Order Connector. This tool supports all current versions: 10.0 and 9.0 plus older versions: 7.5 and 8.0. You can also combine some Fantastic Plains Dexterity programming to alter business processes in GP as bonus help to Integration. We are trying to discourage you from considering direct SQL Server Stored procedures coding, as eConnect by now have this work done for you – its initial layout is encrypted MS SQL Server Stored Procedures, plus consider the fact that Dynamics GP Business Logic and Data Flow is complex, and its database is not protected from inexperienced SQL programmer – you can compromise data integrity and incur bonus unexpected expenses in involving GP Technical consultants to do data recovery and repair
5. How to get help? Please, feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, outside of USA: 1-630-961-5918 or email us help@albaspectrum.com We are very technical and real Dynamics GP Dexterity, SAP Business One SDK programming gurus. We have Fantastic Plains Software Development Factory and could support unlimited Dynamics GP Customization and Programming needs. Plus we speak English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and not only as native speaking sales folks, but as real technical consultants. If you prefer skype: albaspectrum