Chapter 9: Interfacing

When the first version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Windows was released in 1995 the system was very closed. It was possible to import and export data using flat text files and that was basically it. These flat text files would be placed on a floppy disk and sent by postal mail. Internet and e-mail were just coming and large USB sticks were a dream.

Since then the world has changed tremendously. Internet, e-mail, ActiveX, SQL Server and .NET changed the way we think about interfacing with applications.

Today Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 has a completely open database and supports a wide range of interfacing possibilities which we will learn in this chapter.

In this chapter, we will first discuss the available interfacing technologies and the interfaces available in the standard product. Then we will talk about interfacing methodology and how to create reliable interfaces.

At the end of the chapter, we will create some sample interfaces and see how...