Hi LayneDad,
Feel sorry for you. But cheer up and let's get to the answers! Hopefully this will clear out your doubts and we are here to help, so no worries! :)
1. Entities in CRM can basically be compared to tables in Databases. Don't start comparing yet, because you'll find some differences. Entities in CRM are basically containers that are used to hold records of a type, say for example Contact records in Contact
entity, Account records in Account entity. Also, the entities can be related to each other in a similar way as how tables in Databases have foreign-key references (except for the fact that if you look into the database you won't actually find those relationships
since they are enforced in the application layer code).
2. Yes, if you went into the database, you'll find that for each entity in CRM, there are two tables in the database, the EntityBase and the EntityExtendedBase. For example Contact entity will have two tables ContactBase and ContactExtendedBase. The Base
table holds the default fields of an entity, and the ExtendedBase tables holds the extra fields that you might have added for your needs. One thing to be mentioned here is that when you create an Entity from CRM frontend, the application layer creates these
two tables in the database and fills them up with some default fields, in addition to which you can always add yours. Also, each Entity in CRM has a View in the database called as EntityFillteredView, like ContactFilteredView and it is recommended if you have
to generate some reports directly from CRM use the View instead of the tables. The View combines both the Base and ExtendedBase tables to give all fields.
3. An attribute of an Entity is actually a column name in the database table. But what you see in the database table is the logical name of the attribute. Now, each attribute has two properties (as you might consider); the display name like "First Name"
and logical name "firstname". Note how the logical name has no spaces. This logical name is what you see in the database. There is a separate table in CRM database that holds the metadata that has a mapping between the display name and logical name;
so when you open up CRM front end, the mapping is fetched in the application layer and hence the data from the table.
4. Well, that's something you SHOULD HAVE! Ask the concerned person to give you the access. I mean without the access, you're going to have a tough time deciphering what attributes are there in each entity. You can find it out from the database, but it's
going to be difficult and why do it that way. Microsoft NEVER recommends you to touch the database; always use CRM exposed web services and the front end.
5. CRM has various web service methods exposed, and almost always every requirement that you have can be achieved through these methods. The methods CRM has exposed are the Discovery Service (to discover CRM organisations), Data Service (to perform data
oriented operations like create, update, fetch, delete, etc.) and the Metadata Service (to modify metadata of entities like adding a new attribute to an entity, etc.) Have a look
here for the details. If you're looking to create a complex query, you can do it using the CRM methods. Have a look
here and
here for the list of methods available. Also, I would recommend downloading the CRM SDK (CRM
2011 SDK or
CRM 2013 SDK).
5 (again). CRM has a lot of other methods other than the ones that you listed. Visit the links I provided and you should get an idea. Also, the SDK here is really really helpful; so download it and go through the .chm file.
6. Once you invoke a CRM web service method, the web service does the job of inserting data into the respective tables. You don't even need to worry about that. It's internal stuff and Microsoft recommends you never do modifications in the database directly.
If the data was properly inserted, you should receive a response or sometimes no response after invoking the method. But if it fails due to some reason, you are going to get an exception, so you know your code didn't work.
7. Well, you don't exactly need a CRM course, but it would be a great thing to have someone give you the basic ideas of CRM, and help you a bit initially with the code. Also, there are tons of blogs, youtube videos and articles that you can read to grasp
CRM. But like I said, a initial help would be a great one.
CRM is not difficult to grab, definitely not as a developer if you're from the .NET background (even if you have basic knowledge). But it does take some time for anyone to get a strong grip. I wouldn't mean to discourage you, but picking up CRM in 2 days
is definitely not the way to go! But having said, I really appreciate you trying to get into it and learn about it. Any questions, just ask!
Cheers!
Admin QuikView Solution for CRM 2013
