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AX developers mostly use Dynamics AX ‘View’ for Reports.... however AX Views can be used on forms and invoked in x++ code just like ordinary tables..
Note: Unlike sql views, AX views are ‘Read Only’. Hence they can be used to present data, but they cannot be used for update or insert operations.
A view essentially is a virtual table that is composed of a result set of a query. Views have fields, methods, field groups and can be accessed just like tables in Dynamics AX.
Views are also a lot easier to handle then queries in x++..
Advantages of using Views:
Accessibility: if there is a specific query that is called upon regularly through various sources (code, reports, etc)... then it’s better to define the query as a View.. So a developer would not have to rewrite the code that makes up the query every time..
Focused on specific data - views enable users to query specific set of data..
Performance - views can improve performance by returning only used fields (field list). Moreover, the view definition is compiled in the database and may provide better performance than calling a query depending on the complexity of the query.
For example..
This view is used to query customers which have credit limit is set to a value less than 50
Also notice that the view only queries 3 fields from the custTable Data source.
This view can now be used in x++
static void viewTest(Args _args)
{
CustWithHighCredit_MR cus;
;
while select cus
{
info(cus.Name);
}
}
Don’t know why...but this blog reminds me of a quote I read ages ago... and I am sure, the context in which the quote was said, had nothing to do with DB views or Dynamics AX, but its relevance is striking.....so remember:
“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding” - Marshall McLuhan
Mohammed Rasheed
www.dynamic-ax.co.uk
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References:
1. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb314551(AX.10).aspx
2. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marshallmc135184.html