Extensions: Extend a macro without overlay - pack/unpack

I have a class that implements SysPackable. When I extend this class I want also to extend the list of variables in the macro.

Note: in Ax 2012 you don’t have SysPackExtensions.
otherwise see here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/extensibility/extend-runbase-class

class EF_SysPackableTrial implements SysPackable
{
    Description description;
    str myString;

    #define.CurrentVersion(1)
    #define.version1(1)
    #localmacro.CurrentList
    description,
    myString
    #endmacro
}

public container pack()
{
    return [#CurrentVersion, #CurrentList];
}

public boolean unpack(container packedClass)
{
    int version     = runbase::getVersion(packedClass);

    switch (version)
    {
        case #CurrentVersion:
            [version,#CurrentList] = packedClass;
            return true;
        default :
            return false;
    }

    return false;
}

public static EF_SysPackableTrial create(container _pack)
{
    EF_SysPackableTrial cl = new EF_SysPackableTrial();

    cl.unpack(_pack);
    return cl;
}

public Description parmDescription(Description _description = description)
{
    description = _description;

    return description;
}

public str parmMyString(str _myString = myString)
{
    myString = _myString;

    return myString;
}

in the extend class I modified the pack and unpack methods

class EF_SysPackableTrialExtend extends EF_SysPackableTrial
{
    Name name;

    #define.CurrentVersion(1)
    #define.version1(1)
    #localmacro.CurrentList1
    name
    #endmacro
}

public container pack()
{
    container ret;
    
    ret = [#CurrentVersion, [#CurrentVersion, #CurrentList], [#CurrentVersion, #CurrentList1]];
    
    return ret;
}

public boolean unpack(container packedClass)
{
    int version = SysOperationHelper::getVersion(packedClass);

    switch (version)
    {
        case #CurrentVersion:
            [version,#CurrentList] = conPeek(packedClass,2);
            [version,#CurrentList1] = conPeek(packedClass,3);
            return true;
        default :
            return false;
    }

    return false;
}

public static EF_SysPackableTrialExtend create(container _pack)
{
    EF_SysPackableTrialExtend cl = new EF_SysPackableTrialExtend();

    cl.unpack(_pack);
    return cl;
}

public Name parmName(Name _name = name)
{
    name = _name;

    return name;
}

and here a simple job to prove it works fine:

static void EF_SysPackableTrialExtend(Args _args)
{
    EF_SysPackableTrialExtend EF_SysPackableTrialExtend, sysPackableTrial1;

    EF_SysPackableTrialExtend = new EF_SysPackableTrialExtend();
    EF_SysPackableTrialExtend.parmDescription('ciao1');
    EF_SysPackableTrialExtend.parmMyString('ciao2');
    EF_SysPackableTrialExtend.parmName('pp');

    sysPackableTrial1 = EF_SysPackableTrialExtend::create(EF_SysPackableTrialExtend.pack());

    info(sysPackableTrial1.parmDescription());
    info(sysPackableTrial1.parmMyString());
    info(sysPackableTrial1.parmName());
}

I posted this sample also on the forum https://community.dynamics.com/ax/f/microsoft-dynamics-ax-forum/380610/extensions-extend-a-macro-without-overlay---pack-unpack-in-ax-2012

packed class and Table InMemory Serializer run on server

if you look this class \Classes\HcmPositionCopy follow a pattern to run on server the heavier process.

when I tried to make a similar code for my code I had a problem with an inMemory temp table I wanted to pass as parameter. Here my code how I solved using SysTableInMemorySerializer class.

class EF_ClassPack_Trial1
{
    //same template as \Classes\HcmPositionCopy
    
    //input parameters
    Name name;
    EF_ClassPackTmp_Trial1 tmp;
    PackedTable packedTmp;
    
    //output parameters
    Description descr;
    
    ParametersX packedClass;
    
    #define.CurrentVersion(3)
    #localmacro.CurrentList
    
    name,
    tmp,
    descr,
    packedTmp
    
    #endmacro
}

protected static EF_ClassPack_Trial1 construct()
{
    return new EF_ClassPack_Trial1();
}

public static EF_ClassPack_Trial1 newTrial()
{
    EF_ClassPack_Trial1 cl;
    
    cl = EF_ClassPack_Trial1::construct();
    
    return cl;
}

public Name parmName(Name _name = name)
{
    name = _name;

    return name;
}

public EF_ClassPackTmp_Trial1 parmTmp(EF_ClassPackTmp_Trial1 _tmp = tmp)
{
    EF_ClassPackTmp_Trial1 tmp1;
    
    if (prmisDefault(_tmp))
        SysTableInMemorySerializer::unpackTable(packedTmp, tmp1); 
    else    
        packedTmp = SysTableInMemorySerializer::packTable(_tmp);
            
    return tmp1;    
}

public Description parmDescr(Description _descr = descr)
{
    descr = _descr;

    return descr;
}

public void run()
{
    startLengthyOperation();
    
    packedClass = EF_ClassPack_Trial1::runOnServer(this.pack());
    
    endLengthyOperation();
}

public client server static EF_ClassPack_Trial1 create(container _packedClass)
{
    EF_ClassPack_Trial1 cl = EF_ClassPack_Trial1::construct();

    cl.unpack(_packedClass);

    return cl;
}

public container pack()
{
    return [#CurrentVersion, #CurrentList];
}

public boolean unpack(container _packedClass)
{
    Integer version = conPeek(_packedClass,1);

    switch (version)
    {
        case #CurrentVersion:
            [version, #CurrentList] = _packedClass;
            break;
        default:
            return false;
    }

    return true;
}

public EF_ClassPack_Trial1 getRunOutput()
{
    return EF_ClassPack_Trial1::create(packedClass); 
}

public static server container runOnServer(container _packedClass)
{
    EF_ClassPack_Trial1 cl = EF_ClassPack_Trial1::create(_packedClass);
    cl.doSomeOperation();
    
    return cl.pack();
}

private void doSomeOperation()
{
    Counter tmpCount;
    
    tmp = this.parmTmp();
    
    select count(RecId) from tmp;
    tmpCount = int642int(tmp.RecId);
    
    descr = strFmt('ciao %1 - tot: %2', name, tmpCount);    
}

public static void main(Args _args)
{
    EF_ClassPack_Trial1 cl;
    //EF_ClassPack_Trial1 clOptput;
    EF_ClassPackTmp_Trial1 tmp;
    
    tmp.Field1 = 'ciao';
    tmp.insert();
    
    tmp.Field1 = 'ciao1';
    tmp.insert();
    
    cl = EF_ClassPack_Trial1::newTrial();
    cl.parmName('Giorgio');
    cl.parmTmp(tmp);
    cl.run();
    
    //clOptput = cl.getRunOutput();
    //info(clOptput.parmDescr());
    
    info(cl.getRunOutput().parmDescr());
}

Date effective child form in Dynamics 2012

in a form to display the date effective filter pane you have to add this snippet in the form init method:

DateEffectivenessPaneController::constructWithForm(
        this,
        MYD_ClinicianPositions_ds);

the DateEffectivenessPaneController is responsible of creating all the user interface and the interaction.

if you also have a child form which is also date effective and you want it also to be filtered based on the date effective selection on the parent form you can do this:

public class FormRun extends ObjectRun
{
    SysFormSplitter_X verticalSplitter;
    DateEffectivenessPaneController effectivenessPaneController;
}

public void init()
{
    super();
    //Initialize splitter
    verticalSplitter = new SysFormSplitter_X(VSplitter, GridContainer, element, 300);

    //initialize the DateEffectivenessPaneController
    effectivenessPaneController = DateEffectivenessPaneController::constructWithForm(this, MYD_Mentor_ds);
}

then override the executeQuery method of the subform darasource:

public void executeQuery()
{
    FromDate fromDate = dateNull();
    ToDate toDate = dateMax();
    
    TransDate showAsOfDate;
    FormCheckBoxControl showAllCheckbox;
    boolean showAll;
    
    //get the selection from the parent form date effective toolbar
    showAsOfDate = effectivenessPaneController.parmShowAsOfDate();
    showAllCheckbox =  effectivenessPaneController.parmShowAllCheckbox();
    showAll = showAllCheckbox.value();
    
    if (showAll)
        this.query().validTimeStateDateRange(fromDate, toDate);
        
    if (showAsOfDate)
        this.query().validTimeStateAsOfDate(showAsOfDate);

    super();
}

Index consideration for date effective tables

it is a best practice to add ValidTo to the ValidTimeStateKey index
and on the Properties tab (of the ValidTo field in the index) to
select Yes from the Included Column.

[see: http://dev.goshoom.net/en/2012/04/included-columns-in-ax2012]

but if it is a clustered index see this:

Performance considerations when designing valid time state tables
To help improve performance of valid time state tables, you should index them correctly.
Valid time state tables are modeled with an alternate key that includes the ValidFrom column.
In some models, the ValidTo column may have also be included in the alternate key,
but this is not necessary for uniqueness, and it should be removed from the alternate key constraint.
If the ValidFrom column is a key column of the clustered index,
the ValidTo column should not also be a key column of the clustered index.
If the ValidFrom column is a key column of a non-clustered index,
the ValidTo column should be made an included column in the non-clustered index,
which provides coverage for range queries that involve both ValidTo and ValidFrom columns.

for examples see where the index is a clustered index see:
\Data Dictionary\Tables\LogisticsPostalAddress

or see
\Data Dictionary\Tables\HcmPositionWorkerAssignment

SysExtension framework for Dynamics Ax example

The benefits of using this new extension model are that the base and derived classes are decoupled, and it takes less code to extend the capability of the Microsoft Dynamics AX application.

The getClassFromSysAttribute method works by searching through the classes that are derived from the our base class (EF_ExtFrameworkSample6) until it finds a class that has matching attribute

The input value of the attribute class can be anything, an enum, a string, an integer. For this example I used the class name as input.

1) Create the attribute class

As you see I added in the attribute class also a generic static method that can be used by any extension that might use this attribute

class EF_ClassNameAttribute extends SysAttribute
{
    ClassName className;
}
public void new(ClassName _className)
{
    super();
    className = _className;
}
public ClassName parmClassName(ClassName _className = className)
{
    className = _className;

    return className;
}
//this method should be in the factory class, not here.
//I took the liberty to put it here becuse I might want to share it with multiple factory classes.
public static Object getClassFromSysAttribute(ClassName _baseClassName, ClassName _className)
{
    EF_ClassNameAttribute attr;
    Object cl;

    attr = new EF_ClassNameAttribute(_className);
    cl = SysExtensionAppClassFactory::getClassFromSysAttribute(_baseClassName, attr);

    if (!cl)
    {
        throw error(Error::wrongUseOfFunction(_baseClassName));
    }

    return cl;
}

2) Create the base class

the base class does not need to be abstract, but is a good practice

abstract class EF_ExtFrameworkSample6
{
    Name name;
    MethodName functionName;
}
abstract protected void init()
{
}
public void run()
{
    this.init();
    info(strFmt('Hello my name is %1', name));
    info(strFmt('the class that run is %1', functionName));
}

3) Create the Extensions

[EF_ClassNameAttribute(classStr(EF_ExtFrameworkSample6_1))]
class EF_ExtFrameworkSample6_1 extends EF_ExtFrameworkSample6
{
}
protected void init()
{
    name = 'Pippo';
    functionName = funcName();
}

[EF_ClassNameAttribute(classStr(EF_ExtFrameworkSample6_2))]
class EF_ExtFrameworkSample6_2 extends EF_ExtFrameworkSample6
{
}
protected void init()
{
    name = 'Topolino';
    functionName = funcName();
}

4) Create the Factory class

class EF_ExtFrameworkSample6Factory
{
}
protected void new()
{
}
public static EF_ExtFrameworkSample6 newFromClassName(ClassName _className)
{
    return EF_ClassNameAttribute::getClassFromSysAttribute(classStr(EF_ExtFrameworkSample6), _className);
}
public static EF_ExtFrameworkSample6 newFromSample6_1()
{
    return EF_ExtFrameworkSample6Factory::newFromClassName(classStr(EF_ExtFrameworkSample6_1));
}
public static EF_ExtFrameworkSample6 newFromSample6_2()
{
    return EF_ExtFrameworkSample6Factory::newFromClassName(classStr(EF_ExtFrameworkSample6_2));
}
//just for trials...
public static void main(Args _args)
{
    EF_ExtFrameworkSample6 cl;
    cl = EF_ExtFrameworkSample6Factory::newFromSample6_1();
    cl.run();
}

One side note, The extension framework cache so every time you do some changes during development clear the cache :

static void JobEF_SysExtensionCache(Args _args)
{
    SysExtensionCache::clearAllScopes();
}

Maintain Fast SQL Operations avoid set based operation to fall back to row by row operation using skip methods in Dynamics ax

Sometimes when importing large number of records (Eg. millions of lines), the quickest way is to use:

• insert_recordset
• update_recordset
• delete_from

But these set base operation will roll back to row-by-row operation when either of the following condition is true:

• it is not an SQL table (Eg. temporary table)
• Database log is enabled for the table
• Alert is setup for this table
• Record level security is enabled for the table
• AOSValidation method is overwritten
• when using insert_recordset
  • the .insert() method is overwritten
• when using update_recordset
  • the .update() method is overwritten
• when using delete_from
  • the .delete() method is overwritten
  • DeleteAction is defined

To counter this, you can call a number of skip* methods:

• common.skipDataMethods(true) will skip the insert/update/delete methods
• common.skipDeleteMethod(true) will skip the delete method
• common.skipDeleteActions(true) will not execute the delete actions
• common.skipEvents(true) if alert is setup

see: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamicsax-2012/developer/maintain-fast-sql-operations

I saw an example in this post: https://dynamicsuser.net/ax/f/developers/76285/update_recordset

public server static void MyCustomMethod(SalesLine _salesLine)
{
    salesLine           salesLineUpd;
    InventDim           inventDim;
    
  if ( _salesLine.MyField )
  {
    inventDim = _salesLine.inventDim();

    salesLineUpd.skipDataMethods( true );

    ttsBegin;

    update_recordSet salesLineUpd
    setting PER_ChairSerialNo = inventDim.inventSerialId
    where salesLineUpd.SalesId == _salesLine.SalesId
    && salesLineUpd.RecId != _salesLine.RecId; // update every other line with serial id

    ttsCommit;
  }

I also saw in this other post some suggestions regarding database log
http://www.artofcreation.be/2014/08/11/what-you-should-know-about-database-logging-functional-impact/

If you really want to activate database logging but you have code that need to do a set-based operation, you can get around this issue by using the skipDatabaseLog method in combination with the other skip* methods.

However, in my opinion it is better not to use database log in the first place. So these are my recommendations about database logging:

• Do not use it.
• If you do use it, make sure it is for a good reason and document why.
• Do not use database logging because you do not trust your employees or as a form of “security”.
• When activating the database log for a table, pay close attention to the TableGroup property of the table. It is fairly safe to activate the database log on tables with table group Main, Group and Parameter. Activating it for other groups such as Transaction, TransactionHeader, TransactionLine, WorksheetHeader and WorksheetLine is usually bad.
• If you are a consultant, capture the need for database logging in the analysis phaseand set this up in your DEV/TST/ACC/… environments as early as possible.
• Do not simply activate database logging in a production environment and expect everything to go well, test it first in an other environment as if it were a code change

Simulated Multiple Inheritance fox x++ in Dynamics Ax

We all know that in X++, a class can only extend one class; multiple inheritance is not supported in X++ and to overcome that we can use Interfaces. What I never saw is an example of multiple inheritance in X++. Instead I saw someone saying it’s a bug! I don’t know if was serious or a was making a joke…

Let’s start making things clear:

In Multiple inheritance, one class can have more than one superclass and inherit features from all its parent classes. As shown in the below diagram, class C inherits the features of class A and B.

Most recent languages like C# support only simple inheritance. They don't have multiple inheritance because their designers had to choose between have it in and have all the problems it comes with, or get it out of the language putting away all those problems, and introduce a versatile and less problematic substitute like interfaces and interface inheritance.
Multiple inheritance has a pathological problem:

Imagine, we want to have a class Child which inherits from Parent classes ParentA and ParentB. Both classes have the same methods MethodA and MethodB.
Now, when we instantiate the Class Child then calling MethodA will confuse the compiler that does not know from which class MethodA should be called.

The traditional way to emulate multiple inheritance with interface inheritance.

Let us see how to simulate multiple Inheritance in X++

first we create the interfaces

interface EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass1
{
}
public void x()
{
}
public void y()
{
}

interface EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass2
{
}
public void z()
{
}

next we can create two classes that implement those interfaces

class EF_MultipleInheritaceBaseClass1 implements EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass1
{
}
public void x()
{
    info(funcName());//it shows the class and method name
}
public void y()
{
    info(funcName());
}

class EF_MultipleInheritaceBaseClass2 implements EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass2
{
}
public void z()
{
    info(funcName());
}

now we are ready to create our abstract class that implements the two interfaces

abstract class EF_MultipleInheritaceBaseClass1And2 implements EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass1, EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass2
{
    EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass1 class1;
    EF_IMultipleInheritaceBaseClass2 class2;
}
protected void new()
{
    class1 = classFactory.createClass(classNum(EF_MultipleInheritaceBaseClass1));
    class2 = classFactory.createClass(classNum(EF_MultipleInheritaceBaseClass2));
}
public void x()
{
    class1.x();
}
public void y()
{
    class1.y();
}
public void z()
{
    class2.z();
}

finally we can extend our abstract class and bingo, we simulated multiple inheritance:

class EF_MultipleInheritaceClass1And2 extends EF_MultipleInheritaceBaseClass1And2
{
}
public static EF_IMultipleInheritaceClass1And2 construct()
{
    return new EF_IMultipleInheritaceClass1And2();
}
public static void main(Args _args)
{
    EF_IMultipleInheritaceClass1And2 class1And2;
    class1And2 = EF_IMultipleInheritaceClass1And2::construct();
    class1And2.x();
    class1And2.y();
    class1And2.z();
}