SDK or SAP Business One Integration via Custom Programming

In the phase two of your new accounting application implementation you might be in the position to go ahead and program data import interface with external system or database.  There are tools available from ISV channel but in this publication we would like to give you some high lights about native instruments such as Software Development Kit.

SDK projects could be done in Microsoft Visual Studio and code samples are available in such programming languages as VB or C#.  We would like to give you example of custom logic:

1. First step or prepare custom tables and add fields to existing table directly in user interface.  Of course in your programming project you could address tables created directly in SQL Server Management Studio but better way is to create them directly in SAP B1 setting.   Here is the path in menu: Tools -> Customization Tools -> User Defined Tables setup.  There are following advantages.  First one is the fact that new user defined objects are immediately available via simple data entry and update forms.  If you are extending existing table then fields are available on the form where this table is deployed.  Second advantage is in the future when you are doing version upgrade.  Objects are created directly in metadata and to its turn it is stored directly in the company SQL database.  Update process recognizes custom fields and tables and respects them by making available in the new version

2. Programming in SDK anatomy.  It could be described in brief by the following example.  You are programming login to the system then creating new document or retrieving existing one.  Then you are doing whatever you would be doing in user interface or such things as modifying fields.  Next steps are saving your changes and log off.  As you may expect that this abstraction level isolates the possibility to compromise database.  SAP BO architecture has three tiers such as database, application server and user interface.  In such architecture it is not recommended to feed data or change documents directly via SQL insert or update statements

3. Coding by example.  Code snippets are the fuel of modern software developing.  SAP B1 is not an exception.  As we already mentioned that SDK gives you code samples in C# and VB.Net and this is a good reason to recommend these programming languages for the integration

4. Cross Platform Integrations.  We often hear the question about so-called ‘cross platform’ integration logic where you have to push records into Business One from Linux, Oracle or Mac.  Is it possible to program Software Development Kit from non-Microsoft platforms?  We would like to suggest the following idea.  Try to think about creation of web services which could be called via SOAP protocol from Linux for example.  Something like the following: you are creating Web Service project in Microsoft Visual Studio and deploying your custom web service on Windows IIS available for being called via internet or locally

5. Version Upgrade or how to secure the future.  SDK programming could be subcontracted to independent software developer or consulting firm.  However it is important to understand that version updates are expected in every few years and if you have customization then its source code should be recompiled in Visual Studio in order to update references to new versions of DLLs and other objects.  This is why initial arrangement with your consulting team should include the clause about source code ownership

6. Second Opinion or emerging Business One secondary consulting market.  We already had a chance to educate our potential customers by explaining the difference between consulting organization pursuing initial software sale and implementation with the firm dedicated to technology consulting.  Feel free to ask about second opinion when you are in the situation of your customization project about to fail

7. Please call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904 (for international customers, where our representative pick up the phone in St. Joseph, MI call center).  help@efaru.com  We have local presence in Chicagoland, Southern California, South West Michigan, Houston and Dallas areas of Texas. We serve customers USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil nationwide and internationally via web sessions and phone conferences (Skype is welcomed). Our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese.  Our core expertise is in International Business