Posts Tagged ‘microsoft sql server’

Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP is good platform for integration with your current and legacy applications: ecommerce, CRM, EDI, Microsoft Access and even non-Microsoft platforms, such as Oracle, Lotus Notes Domino, MySQL/PHP, DB2. In this small publication we would like to review Dynamics GP or Great Plains (as it was previously known) integrating tools and scenarios:

1. Dynamics GP Integration Manager text integrations. This module is user friendly and you can easy build CSV or Tab delimited text files integrations. IM has predefined destinations to such popular GP objects as Customer, Vendor, Employee, GL Account, plus Transactions: Sales Order Processing (Quote, Invoice, Sales Order), Purchase Order Processing (Purchase Order, Receiving Transaction). If you are Payroll outsourcing company – you can easily integrate your customers’ employee time cards to give you the idea about typical industry case

2. Integration Manager Advanced cases. Here you have more challenging scenarios, when you have to pull data from external database. In IM you likely will need to deploy Advanced ODBC queries, based on Microsoft SQL Server Views (which might be heterogeneous: SQL Linked Server to Oracle DB, for example). Plus advanced ODBC query should be considered when you have Text file to be integrated, which has non-structured format (you have to weed out comment lines, headers, footers and other attribute of human report). Also, consider the case, when you have to produce document header and lines from single text file – Advanced ODBC query with union construction should be considered

3. eConnect. This SDK has various exposures, however the core of this connector is set of encrypted stored procedures. Great Plains 10.0 installation automatically installs eConnect stored procs, for earlier versions, such as 9.0 you can install eConnect Runtime manually. We do not recommend eConnect to Great Plains customers, who are on version, earlier than 9.0. So, if you are on GP 8.0 or 7.5 – you can consider deploying eConnect, but just the fact of SDK maturity should incline you to the idea to upgrade your Great Plains installation to 10.0 or 9.0. eConnect is open for C# or VB.Net Microsoft Visual Studio programmer, who is also familiar with XML and SQL Stored Procedures concept. Just one warning – eConnect doesn’t post GP batches, consider Great Plains Auto Posting Server to fill this gap

4. Dexterity. Great Plains Dexterity is the EDI and fundament of GP architecture. Dex is almighty, when you are thinking about Great Plains customization and integration. However Dex requires professional Great Plains Dexterity programmer to be involved, and it might be not feasible to train your IT internal programmers to begin software development in Dexterity. Dexterity is good fit to program integration, when eConnect doesn’t provide functionality – good example is GP invoicing module

5. SQL Stored Procedures. As Great Plains, since version 8.0 is available exclusively on MS SQL Server DB platform, it is natural temptation to try program integration in SQL stored procedures. The drawback of this method is long learning curve in understanding the nature of programmed transactions, the disadvantage of “competing” with eConnect stored procedures, where all the work is already done

Author: Andrew Karasev
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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I’m currently connected to a local Microsoft SQL server. I’m new to windows programming and i need the code snippets to connect my windows C# application to a remote Mysql database. I have a website which is connected to my web host’s Mysql database. I want to be able to connect my windows C# app. to that same data base. Need your expert advice. By the way, I’m using visual studio.

When Great Plains Software was designing and developing Great Plains Dynamics/Dynamics CS+/eEnterprise – it placed several fundamental principles into the system

1. Computer platform independence. If you consider the situation in the computer software industry those days (earlier 1990-th) – nobody knew which office computer platform will be the winner: IBM PC clones with Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh with Mac OS or something like Sun SPARC. This is why graphical multiplatform idea was popular among software developers. Also there was a myth about C/C++ languages, working similar on all computers.

2. Database platform independence – there was the need for future surviving. Competition on the database market was also very tough: Oracle, Ingress, Sybase, DB2, Ctree/Faircom, Btrieve (Pervasive SQL 2000 later on)

In order to realize these two principles Great Plains Software created its own development environment and programming language – Great Plains Dexterity (DYNAMICS.DIC, REPORTS.DIC, FORMS.DIC are Dexterity dictionaries).

At this point customization standards were clarified:

1. If you need seamless integration with Great Plains Dynamics, working in the realm of Dynamics security and database independent data access/modification – you do it in Great Plains Dexterity.

2. If your customization should be light then you appeal to the customization tools coming with your computer platform. Very soon Microsoft Windows took the market, so VBA was the way to go.

3. As soon as Microsoft Windows kicked Mac OS from the office computers market, standard third party Microsoft-friendly tools were recommended – good example is Crystal Reports

4. When Microsoft SQL Server won the database market – Great Plains Software began migration campaign from Ctree/Faircom, Btrieve/Pervasive SQL to MS SQL Server 7.0 and later 2000

Finally, when Microsoft bought Great Plains Software, Microsoft Business Solutions turned to be more concerned about its ERP products migration and transformation into so-called suites: Microsoft Financial, Microsoft Logistics, Microsoft Manufacturing, Microsoft Human Resources and pretty much abandoned the promotion of traditional tools: Great Plains Dexterity, VBA, ReportWriter, Continuum, Integration Manager. As a temporary patch to enable .Net programming it released such tools as eConnect.

Right now (2004-2005) we are in the transformation phase when old tools, such as Dexterity are still playing important role, but if you are thinking about customization, you probably better consider SQL Server scripts/views/stored procs, if you have customization budget – make a research on eConnect. Try to make as much web publishing in Visual Studio.Net as possible. Use Crystal Reports design and our recommendation is to base Crystal Report on SQL View or Stored Procedure.

Good luck with installation, implementation, customization, development, upgrade and if you have issues or concerns we are here to help! If you want us to do the job – give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Author: Andrew Karasev
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision (Denmark based software development company). At this time Great Plains Software already was active ERP applications consolidation player – it already acquired Solomon Software couple of years prior. Then in 2002 Microsoft released Microsoft CRM (Client Relation Management system). Also Microsoft decided to attack retail marked and acquired QuickSell (now Microsoft Retail Management System/ Microsoft RMS).

At this time Microsoft had robust package to automate business processes for small, midsize and large company and it formed so-called Microsoft Business Solutions (at the earlier stage the official name was Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions – later Great Plains words were dropped)

We would like to make brief review of customization options for such products as Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM and Microsoft RMS

Technology overview. Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM and Microsoft RMS have similar database platform – Microsoft SQL Server. There are differences in the tables design between three – due to the fact that they were originally developed by three different companies. Great Plains has Great Plains Dexterity core (this is Great Plains Software proprietary c-language based technology and development environment), and as it was primarily targeted to be platform independence – Great Plains has old-fashioned UNIX style of tables names: RM00101 stays for customer master file, GL00100 – account master file, etc. At the same time Microsoft RMS and Microsoft CRM have more natural language based names: Microsoft CRM: Account, Activity, Contact, Lead; Microsoft RMS: Customer, Transaction, Tender, Register – we believe that these structures are self explanatory.

Now to the Customization Options:

• Great Plains Dexterity – please install Dexterity from CD #2 and take a look at its manuals – this is again legacy and proprietary Great Plains technology. We have described it in this article: http://www.albaspectrum.com/Customizations_Whitepapers/Dexterity_SQL_VBA_Crystal/DexterityCustomizationOptions.htm
• Microsoft CRM Customization – this is the whole topic – we would like to reference you to our posting: http://www.albaspectrum.com/Customizations_Whitepapers/Dexterity_SQL_VBA_Crystal/MSCRMCustomizationOptions.htm
• Microsoft RMS. Please review this article: http://www.albaspectrum.com/Customizations_Whitepapers/Dexterity_SQL_VBA_Crystal/GPRMSIntegrationOptions.htm

Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job – give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Author: Andrew Karasev
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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