Professional Business Connectivity Services in SharePoint 2010

390 Pages·2011·15.69 MB·English

by  Scot Hillier, Brad Stevenson

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PROFESSIONAL
BUSINESS CONNECTIVITY SERVICES
IN SHAREPOINT® 2010
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv
CHAPTER 1 Business Connectivity Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
CHAPTER 2 Using BCS Solutions in SharePoint 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
CHAPTER 3 Using BCS Solutions in Offi ce 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
CHAPTER 4 Creating BCS Solutions with the SharePoint Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CHAPTER 5 Programming BCS Solutions in SharePoint 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
CHAPTER 6 Programming BCS Solutions in Offi ce 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
CHAPTER 7 Developing and Using Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
CHAPTER 8 Working with BCS Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
CHAPTER 9 Working with Enterprise Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
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Professional Business Connectivity Services in SharePoint® 2010
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-61790-8
ISBN: 978-1-118-04381-3 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-118-04380-6 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-118-04379-0 (ebk)
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION xxv
CHAPTER 1: BUSINESS CONNECTIVITY SERVICES 1
Challenges Integrating External Data 2
User Challenges 3
IT Challenges 3
Introducing Business Connectivity Services 3
Evolution of the Business Data Catalog 4
BCS and Other Integration Services 5
Architecture Overview 7
Key Capabilities 9
Presentation 9
Connectivity 11
Tooling 12
BCS in SharePoint and Offi ce SKUs 13
Creating Simple BCS Solutions 14
Creating External Content Types 14
Creating External Lists 16
Connecting External Lists to Offi ce 2010 17
Types of Solutions 19
Simple Solution Leveraging Out-of-the-Box Capabilities 20
Intermediate Declarative Solution 20
Advanced Code-Based Solution 21
Solution Packaging 22
ClickOnce Package 23
Deployment Concepts 24
Security 24
Authentication Overview 25
Claims and OAuth 25
Offi ce Client 26
Authorization Overview 26
Summary 27
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2: USING BCS SOLUTIONS IN SHAREPOINT 2010 29
Understanding Business Data Connectivity 29
Introducing the BDC Metadata Model 30
BDC Metadata Store 32
Resource Files 32
Versioning 33
BDC Service Application 34
Managing the BDC Service Application 35
Permissions 36
Model Import 38
Model Export 39
Managing External Content Types 40
Managing Actions 41
Managing Profi le Pages 44
Throttling 46
BDC Server OM 48
Integrating BCS Data with SharePoint 49
Using External Lists 49
Permissions 50
View Settings 50
DateTime Fields 51
Forms 52
Diff erences from Regular Lists 53
Life Cycle and Portability 55
Using External Data Web Parts 56
Using the Chart Web Part 60
Creating External Data Columns 60
Mobile Device Support 63
Time Zone Support 63
User Profi le Enhancements Using ECTs 64
Searching External Systems 65
Using Workfl ow to Access External Data 66
Simple Workfl ows 66
Intermediate Workfl ows 67
Advanced Workfl ows 68
Upgrading from MOSS 2007 69
Summary 71
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 3: USING BCS SOLUTIONS IN OFFICE 2010 73
Understanding Business Data Connectivity 73
Understanding the BDC Client Runtime 74
Understanding the Metadata Cache 75
Understanding Subscriptions in the Metadata Cache 76
Understanding Cache Population 78
Understanding Cache Operations 79
Understanding Solution Deployment 82
Understanding ClickOnce Deployment 83
Understanding ClickOnce Security 84
Connecting External Lists to Outlook 87
Understanding BCS Folder Limitations 87
Understanding Form Limitations 87
Understanding Functional Limitations 89
Understanding SharePoint Security Limitations 89
Synchronizing Outlook Data 89
Managing Client Credentials 90
Updating Outlook Solutions 91
Connecting Lists to the SharePoint Workspace 92
Understanding SPW Architecture 92
Understanding the Offi ce Document Cache 93
Synchronizing External Lists 94
Writing Scripts and Macros 94
Using External Data in Word 96
Using External Data Columns 97
Creating Reusable Site Content Types 97
Understanding External Data Limitations in Word 100
Working with External Data in Microsoft Access 101
Summary 102
CHAPTER 4: CREATING BCS SOLUTIONS WITH
THE SHAREPOINT DESIGNER 103
Working with the BDC Metadata Model 103
Working with External Data Sources 106
Connecting with the SQL Server Connector 107
Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server Databases 107
Connecting to Oracle Databases 108
Connecting to ODBC Data Sources 110
Connecting to OLE DB Data Sources 111
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CONTENTS
Connecting with the WCF Service Connector 111
Connecting to ASP.NET Web Services 112
Connecting to WCF Web Services 114
Creating Methods 115
Implementing Method Stereotypes 117
Defi ning Properties 118
Defi ning Parameters 118
Defi ning Filters 118
Understanding Stereotype Requirements 118
Creating Methods for Databases 122
Creating Finder Methods 122
Modeling Finder Methods 124
Understanding the Default Finder 129
Creating Other Methods 129
Creating Methods for Web Services 130
Defi ning Associations 131
Creating One-to-Many Associations 131
Creating Self-Referential Associations 134
Creating Reverse Associations 136
Working with Many-to-Many Relationships 136
Working with External Lists 137
Creating Custom List Actions 137
Creating Custom Forms 138
Creating ASPX Forms 138
Creating InfoPath Forms 139
Accessing External Lists in Code 140
Using the SPList Object 140
Using the Client Object Model 141
Initiating Workfl ows 143
Developing Solutions 146
Making Solutions Portable 146
Converting ASP.NET Solutions 147
Upgrading BDC 2007 Solutions 149
Summary 150
CHAPTER 5: PROGRAMMING BCS SOLUTIONS IN SHAREPOINT 2010 151
Working with the BDC Server Runtime Object Model 151
Connecting to the Metadata Catalog 153
Retrieving Model Elements 154
Executing Operations 155
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CONTENTS
Executing Finder Methods 158
Executing Specifi cFinder Methods 161
Executing Updater Methods 162
Executing Creator Methods 163
Executing Deleter Methods 164
Executing AssociationNavigator Methods 165
Working with Complex and Unsupported Types 167
Using InfoPathForms for Display 169
Using Complex Formatting for Display 171
Using Custom Field Types for Display 174
Advanced Workfl ow Solutions 178
Developing Visual Studio Workfl ows 179
Developing Pluggable Services 179
Working with Sandbox Workfl ow Actions 182
Working with the BDC Administration Object Model 185
Connecting to the Catalog 185
Creating BDC Metadata Models in Code 186
Importing and Exporting Models 188
BCS Limits 189
Summary 193
CHAPTER 6: PROGRAMMING BCS SOLUTIONS IN OFFICE 2010 195
Creating Outlook Declarative Solutions 195
Generating Artifacts 196
Packaging and Deploying Solutions 200
Creating Custom Form Regions 201
Creating Custom View Defi nitions 203
Including Associations in Declarative Solutions 204
Creating Custom Actions, Ribbons, and Parts 206
Coding the Custom Elements 207
Packaging the Custom Elements 210
Working with the BDC Client Runtime Object Model 213
Connecting to the Metadata Catalog 215
Understanding the Execution Context 216
Executing Cache Operations 218
Exploring the Client Cache 220
Creating Offi ce Add-Ins 224
Adding Ribbon Support 224
Creating a Custom Task Pane 227
Packaging Data-Only Solutions 229
Summary 231
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 7: DEVELOPING AND USING CONNECTORS 233
Developing Connectors 233
Creating .NET Assembly Connectors 234
Understanding the Project Tooling 235
Walking through the Development Process 238
Creating a New Project 238
Creating a New Entity 239
Creating a Finder Method 240
Creating a Specifi cFinder Method 242
Handling Connection Information 243
Implementing the Methods 245
Adding Creator, Updater, and Deleter Methods 246
Adding a StreamAccessor Method 249
Creating Associations between Entities 251
Understanding Non–Foreign Key Relationships 253
Testing the Connector 254
Creating Custom Connectors 254
Understanding Project Elements 255
Walking through the Development Process 255
Starting the Project 256
Handling Connection Information 256
Defi ning the Entity 257
Defi ning the Finder Method 257
Implementing the Finder Method 258
Defi ning the Specifi cFinder Method 260
Implementing the Specifi cFinder Method 261
Defi ning the Creator Method 263
Implementing the Creator Method 263
Defi ning the Updater Method 265
Implementing the Updater Method 266
Defi ning the Deleter Method 267
Implementing the Deleter Method 267
Creating Confi gurable Connection Properties 268
Specifying a Connection Manager 268
Using the Custom Connector 269
Handling Errors in Connectors 272
Handling Runtime and Validation Errors 272
Handling Concurrency Issues 272
Packaging Considerations 277
Summary 279
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