We are in the process of implementing the sharepoint application, we would like to know the the pros and cons of SharePoint workflow versus Windows workflow.
Workflows in SharePoint are implemented using the Windows Workflow Foundation, so they are not that different, but there still are some things to be aware of regarding that implementation.
SharePoint is a Windows Workflow host, so you don't have to implement your own host which is fine if you agree with the decisions made by the SharePoint team:
Workflow instances are persisted in the content database
Communication with the user is through SharePoint tasks
Every workflow instance is tied to a list/library item
Tracking is not implemented
If these choices are to your liking then by all means use the SharePoint workflows.
If not then implement your own host and make your own decisions.
They are the same thing. The current Windows Workflow Engine was created for SharePoint.
Now it should be noted, that the Workflow engine is going to be overhauled with the release of .Net 4.0. I don't know the specifics, but I've been told the differences are significant. I woudld assume this is going to be used in Sharepoint 2010, but I don't have any information on that.
Here is a link describing the upgrade in 4.0.
You haven’t specified whether you’re building a custom coded application in SharePoint or configuring an out of the box solution via the browser. Either way, here are a few options for workflows in SharePoint.
Use the native workflows built into SharePoint and readily accessible from any list. They’re very basic (mostly simple approvals with one or two steps), but they’ll get you up and running very quickly and it can all be done via the browser.
Use SharePoint Designer to build slightly more complex workflows. This will give you access to conditional logic (i.e. route a workflow based on a list value) and unlimited steps and well as a number of other features that allow you to introduce more logic into the process. The downside is you have to work with SharePoint Designer which, to be frank, can be a real pain.
Custom code your workflows in WF. Windows Workflow underlies the first two options which are essentially abstractions on top of the underlying framework. The main difference with this approach is that you’re not limited to the functions that the browser or SPD surface. The downside is that this becomes a more complex process (although admittedly the workflows will likely be more complex) and you have to go through the rigmarole of coding against SharePoint, packaging deployments, publishing, etc.
I find the best balance in terms of ease of development and functionality is to try and work through the above list in the order I provided them and only progress to the next option if you definitely can’t implement the requirement with the current point.
It's basically the same technology. If you know one you can easily work with / switch to the other.
When you add the SharePoint dll to your solution you get some specific SharePoint 'activities' that you can use in your workflow. (create task, ...)
Your SharePoint Server will act as a host for your workflows.
The best way to deploy a workflow in SharePoint is by using a SharePoint feature. This tells SharePoint what dll (assemblies) to use and which (input) pages to show.
As input pages you can use simple .net aspx pages or infopath forms. Both require some trial and error to get the hang of it.
SharePoint simply uses windows workflow Foundation (WF) as its workflow engine. WF in itself is just a generic workflow engine.
In order to use WF you must implement a host process for the execution of workflows, and configure it so it persists instances to database etc (these days most people use a WCF service as a workflow host, see here or here).
SharePoint comes with everything already configured and implements its own workflow host, so you can start using workflows out of the box. Apart from that, it comes with custom activities and other goodies specific to SharePoint.
As stated in other answers, they are the same, as they use the Windows WOrkflow Foundation. That being said, there is a major thing to keep in mind when it comes to Workflows created through SharePOint Designer: They are not "portable" out of the box, meaning that you can create one bound to list a, then save the list as a template and then create another list based on that template, the workflow will NOT work (you have rebind it as it is still referencing the original list's id (guid).
Related
We have an existing cross-platform Mobile Application, that also has an accompanying web application, that uses AWS as a back end (RDS for Database, Four server instances, and a Load Balancer to distribute traffic). APK and IPA files are packaged and sent to the stores, while components are retrieved from our server per request, which enables us to reduce the number of store builds, and make the process easier for getting changes out to clients.
We are at the stage of Development that we need to move to another platform to better facilitate our fast growing client base.
Due to the conditions upon our clients, these things must be considered.
must be cross platform (Android / iOS).
must be offline based (users need to be able to access without an internet connection)
must be able to sync with an existing database when there is a connection
requires Authentication
Cloud based (? may not be the right term, but meaning the ability for us to store components on a server and have a device check for updates and download a local copy - enabling us to work and distribute fixes faster)
Ideally compatible with AWS
We are currently looking at Xamarin to facilitate us for this move, however there is a lot of documentation and plugins out there to do all sorts of different things.
As developers, we all have some .net / c# experience, however none particularly with Xamarin.
We have a particular timeline that we need to adhere to (and need to ramp up in the next couple of weeks), and right now are essentially stuck in Limbo in a research phase, as we can't afford to get some things right. We are unable to move forward until we know Xamarin (or some other framework) is able to do everything that we need it to do.
It's hard to escape from the 'code it all ourselves' mentality - especially as we don't know where to start looking in terms of third party packages for Xamarin, and their documentation itself.
A lot of documentation mentions various systems of Azure - we would not be against moving to Azure over AWS if it _had to be done*, but because of the existing infrastructure with AWS - staying with AWS is obviously the preferred option (users need to access the current system whilst we build the new system)
This stack overflow post is to ask for recommendations, comments, or other observations on anything and everything involved with the process in regards to choosing frameworks, design patterns, methodologies, third party packages, etc.
Obviously we would like to use best practises for everything moving forward for optimum scalability and cleaner, more robust code. It's just hard to know where to start!
Any input will be highly appreciated.
Cheers!
edit: I am aware that this is 'asking for recommendations' which is 'specifically off-topic'. I have read the posting guidelines about open ended discussion, and am quite confident that this case is different. There is an underlying problem here, in that we are seeking advice on combinations of frameworks and plugins that are fully compatible with all of the items in the list (above)
Let's try to breakdown each of your requirement and constraint mentioned in the question.
1. You need a offline first architecture (With Sync mechanism)
Xamarin + Azure would make a good comdo for you, as it would support offline storage out of box (With a simple PullAsync call).
Albeit there are AWS SDK available for Xamarin. Here it goes http://docs.aws.amazon.com/mobile/sdkforxamarin/developerguide/setup.html
So the call is yours. There are few other ways to achieve caching offline storage in Xamarin, you can build upon those strategy in your logic. Alternatively there is a very interesting C# library Akavache for caching and offline storage.
2. OAuth 2.0 Authentication
Xamarin has a very good library named Xamarin.Auth. Though I would not say it is very easily extendible at this but there has been some serious work going on from Xamarin on this library.
But I would say it is very easy to use. The apps I have developed so far that includes - Google OAuth, Facebook integration, Microsoft account integration. It worked fine for all of them.
3. Cloud based distribution
There are nice tools available with Microsoft. Which makes the distribution easy. Have a look at https://mobile.azure.com . Also hockeyApp is good for distribution I found.
Where to start:
A very good starting point for you would be https://channel9.msdn.com . Just go there search with keyword "Xamarin" and view some videos. May be all these cross platform dynamics will be much easier for you.
Overall I found Xamarin a cool product to work with. Because anything that can be done in native Objective C/Swift or Java can very well be done in Xamarin using C#.
I am looking to automate the deployment process for CRM between different Environments eg.Development Env, Test Env and UAT.
I am wondering if there is existing tools(s) available on market to automate the deployment for me?
If NO, Is it possible to automate the CRM deployment between different environments and what is the best practics for doing that?
Thanks
Where I work we are currently working with the exact same issue. I spend quite some time initially looking for of-the-shelves products that could help us, but I have not found anything promising. Therefore we have undertaken the task ourselves.
Some guys from Microsoft made a short "whitepaper" on the subject which I found quite helpful. It can be found here at Deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and CRM Online Solutions from Development through Test and Production Environments.
I will not claim that we are using "best" practices, but we have chosen to try and script everything in PowerShell or through .net based CmdLets in our own PS-module. CRM server comes with a PowerShell snap-in that sports some basic functionality for creating/removing organizations, but you are more or less on your own when it comes to actually "deploying" CRM-customization, configuration data, users etc.
It would be interesting to know, which approach you choose (if any)? And if you have any specific question, please don't hesitate to ask!
How about this?
The xRM CI Framework is a set of tools that allows you to quickly and easily implement Continuous Integration for your Dynamics CRM solutions.
PowerShell and the XRMCI framework will serve you well for solution deployments, the downside being that for Standing or configuration data that cant be added to a solution (or for solution items that are currently buggy in CRM 2015 e.g. Case Creation Rules, SLA Items etc.). In this case, my client and I have created powershell C# CmdLets that use the SDK and API to create standing data such as Users, Teams, Memberships, Queue's, Case Creation Rules (although its unsupported, the API does allow it), and to configure mailboxes etc.
So in combination, the XRMCI framework, C#, and PowerShell can be used to automate a deployment of one environment to the next. The key is to take it slow, manually execute the scripts to begin with and build trust in the process, tweak and add more elements. Once that trust is achieved, move onto integrating it with TFS in as a CI/CD process.
As for best practice, my own research suggests that this is still a "he/she who dares" area with no real "best practice", in time the players such as Chef, Puppet, Octopus and Microsoft (with DSC) will contribute, but for now....
I'm a junior VB.net developer with little application design knowledge. I've been reading a lot of material online regarding different design patterns, frameworks, and methodologies. It's become a bit confusing for me.
Right now I'm trying to decide on what language would be best suited to convert an existing VB6 application (with SQL server backend.) I need to update the UI and add more user functionality and reporting capabilities. Initially I was thinking of using WPF and attempting the MVVM model for this big project. Reports would be generated from SSRS.
A peer suggested using ASP.net and I don't have enough experience to determine what would be better. The senior programmers here are stuck on using VB6 and don't have any input on what to use. They are encouraging me to use the latest technologies.
This application would be for ~20 users in a central location. Ideally I would stick to a Microsoft .net language. Current interface is similar to a datagrid table where the user would click in to see the detail of each record. They would need to have multiple records open at any given time.
I look forward to all the advice I can get.
EDIT 2010/04/22 2:47 PM EST
What is your audience? Internal clients within an intranet
How complex are the interactions you expect to implement? not very... displaying data from SQL server to UI. Allow user updates to said data. Typically just one user modifying a record.
Do you require near real-time data updates? no
How often do you expect to update the application after the first release? twice/year
Do you expect a well-defined set of client platforms? Yes, windows xp environment, potentially upgrading to Win7. Currently in IE.6 moving to IE7 or 8 within a couple of months.
Do users need access from anywhere? No, just from their PC.
What would be wrong about building a simple ASP.Net application in VB.Net using Gridviews for allowing the data access and manipulation? Seems like a simple ADO.Net trial application if you aren't familiar with it in the beginning you will be by the end. CRUD applications are pretty common so it shouldn't be too hard to build it and then refine it as more requirements become apparent.
Sounds like you need to use a web-based solution--this eliminates alot of your potential distribution woes with multiple users. You could use silverlight, but if you are locked into SSRS, this might not be the way to go.
My organisation is in the final stages of acquiring CRM 4.0 for use as a general purpose software development platform. The company who is selling it to us has convinced upper management that CRM will solve all our productivity problems and make software development as easy as point and click. (They don't read Brooks.)
Having resigned to the fact that I can't stop CRM from being foisted upon us developers, I have been doing research on how to manage the complexities of large scale CRM development.
I have so far identified the following complexities that need to be addressed:
CRM seems wholly incompatible with basic configuration management practices.
Keeping the black box CRM database in bidirectional synchronisation with external LOB systems is both very hard and critical to project success.
What other complexities must I take into account when building a large scale CRM application?
What limitations does CRM have as a development platform?
Edit: This topic provided additional insight.
I've worked with MS CRM 3.0 and now 4.0 here's my take:
Whenever possible focus on standard best practices. Don't get overly confused by what CRM is doing or wants you to do.
Don't be afraid to break what's "supported" by MS. With some caveats on 2 major factors - will your company let you think outside the box to solve problems and do customizations/integrations that are not officially supported? - and are you comfortable enough with .Net, SQL, javascript etc to weave through their code and implement what you need?
I have sometimes banged me head 100 times trying to do something in a "supported" fashion when one small tweak to a js file here or a small db modification there gave me what I needed.
If constant data integration with other LOB apps is critical you should consider a 3rd party tool like Scribe (http://www.scribesoft.com/). It's not cheap but can basically get you 90% of the way when it comes to integrating with your other LOB apps.
As a general rule, MS CRM is great at contact management - doing things like tracking appointments, doing mail merges, etc. Could you use it as your core HR system - probably. Finance system - maybe a bit more difficult. The further you go from it's core competency of performing contact management the more custom work you'll have to do. The more custom work you have to do the more you should consider if MS CRM is the right solution to that problem.
I know you're likely well underway into your deployment of Dynamics CRM, but just a few quick tips:
I'd avoid making unsupported changes purely because it becomes too hard to track the changes eventually. Since Dynamics CRM allows developers to make C# Plugins and access to web services, it's usually unnecessary to make unsupported changes for anything non-trivial. Plus you run the roulette of having to hide changes from MS if you have to call their support. I know many people will include external javascript files (jquery, etc) and other somewhat benign changes, but try to mentally stop yourself when an unsupported edit involves anything non-visual.
Look into the phrase Microsoft Dynamics Xrm, there are several books on the subject that are excellent, http://www.thecrmbook.com/ is particularly good because it comes with some nice custom code to use with your CRM.
Source Control your customizations xml's and don't let people touch the database, also, Google Halan CRM tool, and use it for scripting out CRM customizations and javascript files. Easier than writing custom powershell scripts to do the same job.
Transaction Support
If your application require transaction support from the underlying platform, Dynamics CRM is not the correct choice. The reason is because currently Dynamics CRM SDK web service doesn't support transaction.
The reference thread is here : Does MSCRM web-service support database transactions?
Since you would like to utilize Dynamics CRM as a platform, that means all the business logic should utilize Dynamics CRM SDK Web Services as data access layer. But imagine without the transaction support and you're invoking a series of web service calls as a unit of work, and one of the web service calls fails. That means you potentially will encounter data integrity issue.
Configuration
Usually i create a custom entity called Configuration, which will store all the necessary related configuration for the current CRM application. After it has been created, you can use Dynamics CRM SDK Web Service to read all the necessary configurations from the Configuration custom entity
Present:
The product development is done in Visual Studio at the moment using .Net technologies, so it's important to stay in the same set of tools. Roles apart from developers are using spreadsheets, docs and diagramming tools, photoshop to do their work.
Future:
We want to build a workflow (a sequential process with roles, queues for action items, passing on info from one role to the other, approval etc) for a product development. The software product will be in enhancement stage forever, more the reason to establish this flow.
Typical users are designers, business analysts, content creators, developers, code reviewers, testers.
Let's say a new webpage needs to be developed. It will be,
thought about by the analyst in the
tool, will enter the information in
some format
a designer will use drag and drop to
build the page look, pass it over to
the
content creator, who will add
content(help text, hyperlinks, pure
text etc) to the page
a developer will check his queue to start
building logic around this page and
make it functional.
I am thinking about Visual Studio Isolated shell to be used as a tool framework mainly due to it's IDE capabilities et al, to build this. Has anyone worked on a similar set of requirements? Any patterns/solutions/ideas around how to go about this in the VS Shell paradigm?
Update: Visual Studio Team System is already being used by the developers and testers, but there is no customized workflow for them (& analysts, designers etc) available in TFS. Also Visual Studio is not the place for non-dev users that want to do things like, - define navigation flow, design the page elements etc.
Sounds exactly like Microsoft Visual Studio Team System.
I think there is a market for this product as I could not find anything close. There are disparate tools and products but no unified IDE like experience available and needs to be built on our own.
VS Isolated Shell 2010 is the starting point and platform on which this can be built. Needs several man months and may be years. However TFS ALM application lifecycle management has several overlaps of features with this idea, although not all, because it doesn't provide a customized experience per your custom workflow.
Jury is out, needs figuring out.