eConnect APIs

eConnect provides a collection of APIs that allow you to use the business objects. There are APIs for Microsoft .NET, and Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ). The variety of eConnect APIs allows you to use the interface that best fits your integration project and the available development tools.

To support its API, eConnect supplies a Windows service named eConnect for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Integration Service. The eConnect Integration Service manages interaction between your application and the eConnect business objects. You must install the eConnect Integration Service in the Services on the computer you use to run your applicaiton. Refer to the eConnect Installation and Administration Guide for information about installing and configuring the eConnect Integration Service.

To use the eConnect API, your application must create or read eConnect XML documents. Refer to eConnect XML Documents for additional information about creating eConnect XML documents.

The eConnect install includes files containing the XML schema for all its documents. A schema is an XML file (with typical extension .xsd) that describes the syntax and semantics of XML documents using a standard XML syntax. An XML schema specifies the content constraints and the vocabulary that compliant documents must accommodate.

You can use these files to perform validation. When eConnect validates a document, it uses the schema to ensure the document contains the expected information. It rejects documents that do not comply with the schema specifications. The schema files can also serve as a reference. Since the files describe each type of eConnect document, you can use them to research questions about the schemas, nodes, and elements a document may contain.

The following APIs use XML documents and the eConnect Integration Service:

Microsoft .NET

When you install the eConnect integration Service, the installer places two .NET assemblies on your computer. The installer also registers these assemblies in the global assembly cache.

You can add these assemblies to a Visual Studio project by adding a reference to each assembly file. Once you include the .NET assemblies in your project, you gain access to the eConnect Integration Service. The .NET assemblies enable your application to parse eConnect XML documents, create a connection to the Microsoft Dynamics GP server and call the eConnect business objects. Your eConnect enabled solution can then use XML documents to create, delete, update, or retrieve Microsoft Dynamics GP data.

Refer to eConnect and .NET for information about creating solutions using the eConnect .NET assemblies.

MSMQ

The MSMQ API includes two Windows services. The services are as follows:

• The Incoming Service monitors a specified queue and retrieves XML documents placed in that queue. The Incoming Service then uses the eConnect Integration Service to parse the XML documents, create a connection to the Microsoft Dynamics GP server, and call the eConnect business objects. To use this API, you create an application that submits XML documents to the specified queue.
• The Outgoing Service publishes XML documents to a queue in response to specified events in Microsoft Dynamics GP. To use this API, you create applications that retrieve the XML documents from the queue and perform actions based on the XML data.

  To develop solutions that use the MSMQ API, you should carefully consider the following:

  • The MSMQ API is asynchronous. Due to the disconnected nature of the API, changes are not immediately reflected in Microsoft Dynamics GP or in the integrating application. In addition, your application cannot immediately determine whether a document submitted using the Incoming Service was successfully processed.
  • All applications that use the MSMQ API must be able to access the specified MSMQ queues.
  • The eConnect Outgoing Service relies on the eConnect Transaction Requester to create SQL triggers in the Microsoft Dynamics GP database. If you plan to use the Outgoing Service, you must use the Transaction Requester to identify the Microsoft Dynamics GP documents and events that you want the Outgoing Service to publish to a specified queue.

    Refer to MSMQ for additional information about creating solutions using MSMQ and the Incoming and Outgoing Services.

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