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Explore the power of Business Connectivity Services with Brett Lonsdale. Learn about its capabilities, server and client features, external lists, and tools. Discover how BCS integrates disparate data sources into a unified application. Follow along with demonstrations and Q&A sessions.
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Introducing Business Connectivity Services Brett Lonsdale
About Me • Email: brett@lightningtools.com • Web: www.lightningtools.com • Web: www.sharepointpodshow.com • Blog: www.brettlonsdale.com • Twitter: @brettlonsdale
Agenda • Problems Solved by BCS • Overview of BCS • What’s new? • Server Capabilities • Client Capabilities • External Lists in Detail • Tooling • Demonstration
Problems solved by BCS • Islands of data into 1 application IT Extranet Collaboration Site Human Resources Weekly Issue Tracking Meeting Finance
Overview of BCS SPD VS SAP Siebel LOB CRM
What’s new? • Entities become External Content Types • Now more than just a schema • ECT’s describe behavior • WCF and .NET Assembly Shims • External Lists • Client Runtime • Read/Write • Access consumes BCS • Tools
Terminology • Enterprise Content Type – Table/View etc • Finder Method – Returns multiple columns/rows • Specific Finder – Displays a row • IDEnumerator – Used by the Enterprise Search to enumerate the rows • Action – URL and Parameters • Association – Join (Relationship)
Server Capabilities • External Lists • Backend data presented in a SharePoint style list • InfoPath and Web Forms for Updating | Inserting data • Business Data Web Parts • Now Ajaxian • Really only here for backwards compatibility • External Data Column • Use LOB data in Lists & Libraries • Workflow • Search
Client Capabilities • SharePoint Workspace • Outlook • Office Business Parts (OBPs) • List of Items • Single Item • Word • Access • VSTO
External Lists • Create, Read, Update Delete operations • Sort/Filter • Standard and Customizable Views • Manipulation via the SPList OM • Portable Across Sites • Extend with InfoPath Forms, Custom Columns, SPList • No Datasheet view or RSS Feeds • Item Level permissions on External Data • Alerts
Tools • SharePoint Designer • No code solution • Create External Content Types • Configure the connection to the Datasource • Define Methods • Simple Associations • Visual Studio • Code solution • Mashups of Datasources • Complex Associations • Output a .NET Assembly • Lightning Strikes Twice! BCS Meta Man
Demonstration • Use SharePoint Designer to connect to a Line of Business system • Create and use an External List • Take data offline using Outlook and SharePoint Workspace • Using the External Data Column