January 17, 2010 in Blog by Amer

Two Dynamics AX 2009 Development Books

Two new books have been published in the last period. Those books are talking about Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 development.  Both are published by PACKT Publishing.

The first book: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 Development Cookbook (available in PDF)

This book talks about development in Dynamics AX in an exciting way that is discussing 60 of the common scenarios in Dynamics AX development that developers usually face. From the index of contents of this book I feel that it assumes that the reader knows a bit about how to deal with MorphX. I recommend this book for junior level technical consultants that they need to step forward after spending some time on MohrphX.

Here is a short description of what this book cover:

• Explore data manipulation concepts in Dynamics AX – build data queries and modify the existing data
• Build scripts to assist data migration processes
• Organize data in Dynamics AX forms
• Enhance your application by using advanced form controls
• Create custom lookups using AOT forms and dynamically generate them from the X++ code
• Create and post Dynamics AX journals from code
• Create and manage purchase and sales orders from code
• Create a custom electronic payment format and process a vendor payment using it
• Integrate your application with Microsoft Office Suite
• Create various MS Office documents that can be used for exporting/importing business data for further distribution or analysis

The second book is: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009: Getting Started (available in PDF)

If you are new to Dynamics AX then you will like this book. I liked the way this book is structured. It encapsulates the complications that you might face in other materials and focuses on the things that you always are in need to. It starts with the very elementary basics of Dynamics AX development and goes forward up to integrating with other modules of Dynamics AX and external systems. I recommend this book for new AXers.

Here is a short description of what this book cover:

• Get to grips with the AX Development environment
• Understand the basics of the  X++ language
• Reduce the time spent on coding by storing and relating data
• Create Reporting Services reports in Visual Studio using the new Reporting Service extensions
• Optimize data retrieval to ensure each transfer contains only the data necessary for the further operations
• Manipulate data in X++
• Effectively handle transaction scope by using different operators
• Develop a .Net class in Visual Studio and then use it in AX
• Build rich web portals with Enterprise Portal and ASP.NET
• Optimize application performance and extensibility
• Create services and expose them to external applications+
• Build a new module in AX

January 4, 2010 in Blog by Amer

Microsoft Communities in Saudi and GDC ’09 at AlArabiya TV!

Do I look fat????

December 30, 2009 in Blog by Amer

Microsoft Office Project 2010

I had the experience of trying the new Microsoft Office Project 2010.

The first look ever once you open it you would notice the beauty of the new interface that looks so much like Microsoft Office 2007 applications. If you drilled down more and more you would be definitely noticing the east of interacting with the system and how much fast it is to go through the different functions and diagrams of the project.

The key investment areas are targeted at letting you choose the right tools that can evolve with you:

• Enhance user experience and appeal
  • Fluent user interface
  • User controlled scheduling
  • Powerful new views
  • Web-based project editing
• Improve execution with effective collaboration
  • Integration with SharePoint Server 2010
  • Richer workgroup collaboration
  • Enhanced time/status tracking
• Unify project and portfolio management
  • Common user experience through full PPM lifecycle
  • Improved demand management
  • Better reporting and BI
• Simplify deployment and extend interoperability
  • Microsoft Exchange integration
  • 64-bit compatibility of client and server
  • No ActiveX dependency

I just liked to share with you my little experience in this, here are some photos of Microsoft Office Project 2010:

MS Office Project 2010

Styles of MS Office Project 2010

File Menu

Very interesting time planner

December 30, 2009 in Blog by Amer

GDC ’09 at AlArabiya TV

A report that has been recorded by AlArabiy TV (an Arabic TV news channel, http://www.alarabiya.net) will be aired in the following times today 30 Dec, 2009 and tomorrow 31 Dec, 2009:

KSA GMT Program
16:00 13:00 News / الأخبار
17:00 14:00 News/ الأخبار
18:00 15:00 News / الأخبار
20:00 17:00 News / الأخبار
21:00 18:00 News / الأخبار
01:00 22:00 News / الأخبار
02:00 23:00 News / الأخبار

I will be recording the report and display it in here. Have fun.

December 22, 2009 in Blog by Amer

Hijri date in Dynamics AX

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, Hirji calendar (the Islamic calendar) is not yet supported although Hirji date is there in the background of Dynamics AX 2009!

To enable the Hirji Calendar, you should modify some X++ code in the User Options form. To do so, go to: SysUserSetup –> Methods –> run and change the following blue code into the red:

Enabeling Hijri Calendar in User Options form in X++

  By doing this, you will have a drop down list in the User Options shown in the General tab like the following:

Hijri date in User Options form

With this options, you could clearly understand that Microsoft is putting something to enable the Hijri calendar. I have done some testing over this options. It looks that they’re using a middleware to convert the “actual” Gregorian date that is in the database so the user see the data in Hijri format. Unfortunately, I couldn’t complete the testing with successful results… it started to get me weird results. That’s why Microsoft is not yet supporting it.

Till Microsoft supports it, you could use a very easy to use function in the SQL server: convert(datetime,’12-22-2009′,102), 131)  

To solve the Hirji date problem, you could create a class with two methods:  

1. One that takes a “date”  and returns a Hirji date after calling this SQL method: select convert(varchar,convert(datetime,’12-22-2009′,102), 131)  –try to run this in SQL Server to see the result. 
2. Other that takes a Hijri date in an str format, and returns a date by executing this SQL code:  select convert(datetime,’22-01-1417′, 131) –try to run this in SQL Server to see the result

 By this, you could have the ability to show the user a StringEdit control that uses edit moeth to write a Hirji date and you save the result of conversion in the normal Gregorian date, like this:

Edit method to show Hirji date from Gregorian date

This is the result:

Hiji StringEdit control and DateEdit control

December 21, 2009 in Blog by Amer

Number to Text in ARABIC

In my last session in GDC ’09, Integrating Dynamics AX with External Systems, I have demonstrated how you easily could reference you managed code assembly inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 and use it in X++ through CLR Interoperability functionality.

And to demonstrate CLR Interoperability, one of the examples was creating a managed code a dll library in Visual Studio .NET 2008. The library I created contained a function that converts numbers (come through parameters) to Arabic text. It looks that this small function attracted some of the attendees, they requested it from me by the end of the session.

And here it is available to be downloaded. I have put it in a dll project that you could immediately use.

December 17, 2009 in Blog by Amer

GDC Session-III: Integrating Microsoft Dynamics AX with External Systems

Cool session. It was all about showing muscles of Dynamics AX of how this enterprise software could manage the integration with external systems.

It was all about AIF, .NET business connector and CLR Interoperability.

For each of them I gave a simple application, like the following:

·         For AIF, I created a service using the Document Service Wizard. Then we extending it by adding a new operation. Then we published it on the local IIS. After this we were able to create a very simple console application to get data from Dynamics AX through the created web service.

·         For .NET Business connector, I created I windows application from Visual Studio .NET to call using the .NET business connector a static method that is written in X++.

·         For the CLR Interoperability, we called System.IO .NET library from within the X++. And then we a simple library in Visual Studio .NET, referenced it in Dynamics AX and then called it from within an AOT Job and X++.

Download the presentation from here.

December 17, 2009 in Blog by Amer

GDC Session-II: Microsoft Dynamics AX with other Microsoft Technologies and Products

Although I was putting a great expectations on the result of this session, this session was hardest. All because of the Workflow!

The recommendation from Microsoft before the DGS was to not the exceed of level 100 of technicality. Although I did not exceed this level, talking about workflow to people who saw Dynamics AX for two or three times in their lives is exactly like if I’m talking in Turkish J!!!

What then happened is when I tried configure the workflow template generated in the session using Workflow for Dummies.. the configuration just crashed. What a luck!

Fortunately I continued with a hotter topic that is how to use Dynamics AX web controls and ASP.NET controls to interact with Dynamics AX on the Enterprise Portal.

After that I closed the session by creating a report in SQL Server Reporting Services and the saving it in the Report Library of Dynamics AX AOT.

You could download the power point presentations from here.

December 17, 2009 in Blog by Amer

GDC Session-I: Introduction to Dynamics AX Architecture and Development Environment

In the morning of Sunday 14^th of December, 2009 the first session  of Microsoft Dynamics AX was started with more than 40 attendees. The session title was: Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics AX Architecture and Development Environment.

I started by introducing Dynamics AX functionally and technically. I then turned to show the basic and components architecture diagrams. After this I spent lots of time describing the different tools of MorphX. Finally I started the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 desktop client. From there I have shown quickly the AOT, forms, methods, X++… etc.

Download the presentation files down from here.

December 13, 2009 in Blog by Amer

Dynamics AX 6.0 – X++ Editor

I have read a very interesting article talking about the new editor of X++ that will be shipped as part of the new version of Dynamics AX, 6.0.

The new editor looks more “fashionable” than the current one. You could specify font styles, colors, sizes… etc. Also types of words that you write in the editor are now more colorful. Integers, operators, and others are now recognized in different colors.

Mainly, these are the features of the new Dynamics AX editor:

• Support for multiple fonts and styles (comments are in a different font in italic)
• Differentiated coloring of strings and numbers
• Operators coloring
• Change tacking margin

Here are some pics for it