From 0a8c9a85560204e2fe75a1180767330bcfb62581 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Michael Dieringer <65093775+MichaelDieringer@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:48:17 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/3] 18 AL/BC patterns: style, data-modeling, web-services, appsource, breaking-changes, performance, testing (#156) * Add 18 community AL/BC patterns across style, data-modeling, web-services, appsource, breaking-changes, performance, and testing Contributed by CURABIS ApS, generalized from patterns observed across real AppSource/PTE development. Each article follows the knowledge file format (frontmatter, Description/Best Practice/Anti Pattern, sibling .good.al/.bad.al samples). * Address Jesper Schulz-Wedde's review on PR #156 - Rename 3 articles so their .good.al/.bad.al companion stems match (do-not-change-primary-key, testfield-required-setup-field, al-identifiers-english), fixing the R14 orphan-sample errors. - do-not-change-primary-key.good.al: include Flow in the new table's own primary key so it actually models the discriminating dimension. - al-build-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md: drop the unsubstantiated AL0197 causal claim and the non-existent al.outputPath setting; reframe as build-artifact hygiene sourced from ALTool --outfolder / al_build outputPath. - prefer-email-module.md: Email Message is Codeunit 8904, not a table; distinguish it from the underlying Sent/Outbox/Draft storage. - file-datatype-saas.md: File.Open/Create/Read/Write fails to compile against a Cloud-scoped project, it does not compile and silently fail at runtime. - namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md: narrow to "resolve from the referenced object's source or symbols," since source-file line one is not the only authoritative source (symbol packages, comments before the namespace line). - test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.md: drop "assume an empty database" and "collision-free" absolutes; reframe around independence from unrelated business records and reserving explicit values for scenario-defining inputs. - binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md: scope to genuine true/false semantics, not mechanical two-member-enum-to-boolean conversion. - document-report-word-layout.md: scope down to a sourced Microsoft Learn recommendation instead of an unconditional performance guarantee; cite the three Learn pages. - Wire the new articles into their review skills' candidate-selection signals (file-datatype-saas, prefer-email-module, namespace-must-be-verified-from-source, var-parameters-require-an- addressable-variable) so they can actually enter a worklist. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 * Fix dimension-management-wiring.md: ValidateShortcutDimCode and CreateDim do not exist on the current DimensionManagement codeunit Verified against microsoft/BCApps: the real master-table validation procedure is ValidateDimValueCode (or ValidateShortcutDimValues when a DimSetID is also needed), and the real document-side inheritance procedure is GetDefaultDimID, not CreateDim. Caught from Jesper Schulz-Wedde's review thread, which had been partially hidden by GitHub's comment folding. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 * Address second round of Jesper Schulz-Wedde's review on PR #156 - dimension-management-wiring.md/.good.al: split into the two distinct models the article was conflating - master data (Default Dimension records via ValidateDimValueCode/SaveDefaultDim) vs. transactional/ document data (a single Dimension Set ID assembled via AddDimSource + GetDefaultDimID, verified against BCApps' ExchRateAdjmtProcess.Codeunit.al). Added a compiling document-table example alongside the existing master table one. - Deleted api-page-flowfields-must-be-calcfields (.md/.good.al/.bad.al): Microsoft's own FlowFields documentation states a FlowField used as a control's direct source expression is automatically calculated on any page - no API-page exception is documented, and none could be reproduced. - prefer-email-module.bad.al/.md: Codeunit Mail has no Send/GetErrorDesc members; fixed to the real current 7-argument CreateMessage signature, and corrected the claim that the legacy path "still runs" - its base implementation no longer sends anything, only raises integration events. - check-post-line-batch-pattern.md/.good.al: reframed from a universal invariant to the standard shape, naming the real Gen./Item/CA/Res./Job/ Insurance/Mfg. Item/FA Jnl.-Check Line/-Post Line/-Post Batch codeunits it's based on. Added the missing Check Line companion codeunit so the good fixture is internally complete. - test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al: removed leftover "collision-free" wording contradicting the already-corrected article text. - fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md: removed the reintroduced state-count heuristic ("the line is the state count"), aligned with binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md's semantics-based distinction. - namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md: removed the false claim that the compiler and AL Language Server use different namespace-resolution rules. - intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md: removed the unverified claim that PascalCase is the VS Code formatter's default output. Worklist completeness: added cues for the 8 rules in data-modeling, testing, performance, and web-services that had none (Jesper's explicit ask), plus the same gap in all 7 style rules from this PR (not explicitly named this round, but the identical systemic issue) - 15 cues total across al-data-modeling-review.md, al-testing-review.md, al-performance-review.md, al-web-services-review.md, and al-style-review.md. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 * Fix remaining correctness issues from Jesper's 2026-09-15 re-review - dimension-management-wiring: SaveDefaultDim's third argument is the shortcut dimension number (1-8), not the field's AL field ID; the fixture passed FieldNo(...) = 10. GetDefaultDimID's InheritFromDimSetID must be 0 when recomputing after the linking record changes, not the document's existing Dimension Set ID (which would retain the previous customer's leftover dimensions). Verified against DimensionManagement.Codeunit.al and BankDepositHeader.Table.al in the BCApps reference clone. - check-post-line-batch-pattern: "Post Line writes exactly one line to the ledger" overclaimed - Gen. Jnl.-Post Line alone calls InsertGLEntry from a dozen call sites (balancing entry, VAT, currency rounding, deferrals) and can write several G/L Entries per journal line. Reworded to "posts exactly one journal line" and softened the "distinct, non-overlapping responsibilities" absolute. - namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al: dropped the "resolves in a local build, fails in VS Code" comment (taught an inherent compiler/language-server disagreement that isn't real); reframed as stale/cached symbols, matching the prose fix already made. - file-datatype-saas.good.al: replaced the deprecated 5-argument UploadIntoStream overload with the current 2-argument one, and actually staged through TempBlob as the article's own Best Practice instructs (the declared TempBlob variable was previously unused). - test-data-must-be-random-and-complete: no longer treats a short-but-valid value as defective merely for being "underfilled" - AL field lengths are maxima, not minimums. Scoped to missing values or a scenario with an explicit length/format requirement (e.g. a truncation test). Updated the al-testing-review.md routing cue to match. - stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly: stopped mandating source-field exposure as part of the core pattern: the good fixture exposed only one of the derived value's two inputs (Hours Used, not Budgeted Hours), making the claimed "so the consumer can verify it" impossible. Reframed as an optional, all-or-nothing addition and fixed the fixture to expose both inputs. Rebased onto upstream/main to resolve conflicts in al-breaking-changes-review.md, al-data-modeling-review.md, al-performance-review.md, and al-style-review.md against merged PRs #148 and #153; all sides' worklist tokens/cues retained. * Fix remaining READ-convention sample links across this PR's 18 articles The same plain-backtick "See sample: \`x.good.al\`." form fixed on al-methods-limited-during-write-transactions (PR #161) turned up repo-wide on 15 more of this PR's articles - Knowledge-Retrieval.ps1 requires the markdown-link form to associate a sample with its article. All 16 fixed; the four local validators (frontmatter, knowledge-index, knowledge-retrieval, review-fixtures, skill-index) pass. * Fix two merge-critical correctness issues from Jesper's 2026-09-22 review - api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al and stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al: both were writable API pages missing DelayedInsert = true, contradicting this repo's own api-page-delayedinsert-true rule - the canonical "good" samples were teaching code BCQuality itself flags. - dimension-management-wiring.good.al: UpdateDimensionSetID exited early when Customer.Get failed, leaving the previous customer's shortcut dimension and Dimension Set ID in place - the same staleness bug the InheritFromDimSetID = 0 fix (from the prior review round) was meant to prevent, just triggered by a failed lookup instead of a successful one. Now clears the shortcut field and recomputes with an empty source list on a failed lookup too, so GetDefaultDimID correctly returns an empty Dimension Set ID instead of never running. --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 5 --- .../appsource/file-datatype-saas.bad.al | 13 +++ .../appsource/file-datatype-saas.good.al | 24 +++++ .../knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.md | 28 ++++++ .../prefer-email-module.bad.al | 9 ++ .../prefer-email-module.good.al | 11 +++ .../breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.md | 28 ++++++ .../check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al | 22 +++++ .../check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al | 42 +++++++++ .../check-post-line-batch-pattern.md | 28 ++++++ .../dimension-management-wiring.bad.al | 13 +++ .../dimension-management-wiring.good.al | 89 +++++++++++++++++++ .../dimension-management-wiring.md | 35 ++++++++ .../do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al | 14 +++ .../do-not-change-primary-key.good.al | 24 +++++ .../do-not-change-primary-key.md | 28 ++++++ .../testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al | 12 +++ .../testfield-required-setup-field.good.al | 9 ++ .../testfield-required-setup-field.md | 28 ++++++ .../document-report-word-layout.bad.al | 16 ++++ .../document-report-word-layout.good.al | 17 ++++ .../document-report-word-layout.md | 34 +++++++ ...ld-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md | 24 +++++ .../style/al-identifiers-english.bad.al | 11 +++ .../style/al-identifiers-english.good.al | 11 +++ .../knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.md | 28 ++++++ .../binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al | 22 +++++ .../binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al | 16 ++++ .../style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md | 28 ++++++ ...hoice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al | 22 +++++ ...oice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al | 17 ++++ ...ed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md | 28 ++++++ ...al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al | 12 +++ ...l-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al | 12 +++ ...sic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md | 28 ++++++ ...espace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al | 13 +++ ...space-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al | 16 ++++ .../namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md | 28 ++++++ ...ers-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al | 15 ++++ ...rs-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al | 17 ++++ ...ameters-require-an-addressable-variable.md | 28 ++++++ ...st-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al | 14 +++ ...t-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al | 13 +++ .../test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.md | 30 +++++++ ...y-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al | 27 ++++++ ...-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al | 25 ++++++ ...e-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.md | 28 ++++++ ...fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al | 24 +++++ ...ields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al | 33 +++++++ ...ved-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.md | 28 ++++++ .../skills/review/al-appsource-review.md | 1 + .../review/al-breaking-changes-review.md | 4 +- .../skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md | 4 + .../skills/review/al-performance-review.md | 1 + microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md | 12 ++- microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md | 1 + .../skills/review/al-web-services-review.md | 2 + 56 files changed, 1144 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/al-build-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.md diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..05ab0ffc --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +codeunit 50104 "Import File Reader" +{ + procedure ImportFile() + var + ImportFile: File; + InStream: InStream; + begin + ImportFile.WriteMode(false); + ImportFile.TextMode(true); + ImportFile.Open('C:\Import\data.txt'); // fails in SaaS — no local filesystem + ImportFile.CreateInStream(InStream); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8703c338 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +codeunit 50104 "Import File Reader" +{ + procedure ImportFile() + var + TempBlob: Codeunit "Temp Blob"; + FromInStream: InStream; + ToOutStream: OutStream; + InStream: InStream; + begin + if not UploadIntoStream('All Files (*.*)|*.*', FromInStream) then + exit; + + TempBlob.CreateOutStream(ToOutStream); + CopyStream(ToOutStream, FromInStream); + + TempBlob.CreateInStream(InStream); + ParseStream(InStream); + end; + + local procedure ParseStream(var InStream: InStream) + begin + // parse InStream content here + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.md b/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f46a5655 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/file-datatype-saas.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: appsource +keywords: [file-datatype, saas, onprem, uploadintostream, downloadfromstream, instream, outstream, streaming] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# The File data type's direct I/O methods are OnPrem-only + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +The classic `File` variable type — `Open`/`Create`/`Read`/`Write`/`Close` against a path on the local or server filesystem — is scoped OnPrem-only. Code targeting Business Central Online that calls `File.Open`, `File.Create`, `File.Read`, or `File.Write` fails to compile against a Cloud-scoped project; it does not compile successfully and fail or get silently skipped at runtime. Separately, and regardless of the compile-time scoping, no server/local filesystem path is available to an extension actually running in Business Central Online. + +## Best Practice + +Use the stream-based equivalents: `UploadIntoStream` to read user-selected file content into an `InStream`, and `DownloadFromStream` to write an `OutStream`'s content to a file the user saves. Stage the content in a `TempBlob` between the stream and the rest of the parsing/formatting code. + +See sample: [`file-datatype-saas.good.al`](file-datatype-saas.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Opening a hardcoded or user-supplied filesystem path with the `File` variable type. This is a strong signal the code was written for on-premises only, or copied from material that predates the cloud-first streaming APIs. + +See sample: [`file-datatype-saas.bad.al`](file-datatype-saas.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..78e593f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +codeunit 50103 "Order Confirmation Notifier" +{ + procedure Send(ToAddress: Text; Subject: Text; Body: Text) + var + Mail: Codeunit Mail; + begin + Mail.CreateMessage(ToAddress, '', '', Subject, Body, false, false); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c9a1da4d --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +codeunit 50103 "Order Confirmation Notifier" +{ + procedure Send(ToAddress: Text; Subject: Text; Body: Text) + var + Email: Codeunit Email; + EmailMessage: Codeunit "Email Message"; + begin + EmailMessage.Create(ToAddress, Subject, Body, true); + Email.Send(EmailMessage, Enum::"Email Scenario"::Default); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.md b/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6c04b37d --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/breaking-changes/prefer-email-module.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: breaking-changes +keywords: [email, codeunit-mail, email-message, email-scenario, email-account, smtp, sending-email] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Send email through the Email module, not Codeunit Mail (397) + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +Older AL code sends email by calling `Codeunit Mail (397)`. Business Central's current extensibility model is a different, richer object set — `Codeunit Email`, `Codeunit "Email Message"`, `enum "Email Scenario"`, and the `Email Account`/`Email Connector` interface (Microsoft 365, Current User, SMTP, or a custom connector). `Codeunit "Email Message"` is the in-memory object you build the message on; it is not itself the persisted Sent/Outbox/Draft record — that storage is managed separately once the message is queued or sent. New code built on `Codeunit Mail` inherits its SMTP-era, single-connector assumptions and leaves no Sent/Outbox trail behind. + +## Best Practice + +Build on `Codeunit Email` and `Codeunit "Email Message"`. Route the message through an `Email Scenario` so different document types can use different accounts without the calling code needing to know which account that is, and get a tracked Sent/Outbox/Draft record for free. + +See sample: [`prefer-email-module.good.al`](prefer-email-module.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Calling `Codeunit Mail`'s `CreateMessage`. It still compiles and runs, but current `Codeunit Mail`'s own implementation of `CreateMessage` no longer sends anything by itself — it only raises integration events for a legacy subscriber to act on — so building new code on it means depending on whatever compatibility shim happens to still be wired up, with no first-class connector selection and no queryable Sent/Outbox/Draft record. `Send` and `GetErrorDesc` are not current members of `Codeunit Mail` at all; do not reference them. + +See sample: [`prefer-email-module.bad.al`](prefer-email-module.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0a13e1c1 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +codeunit 50101 "Meter Jnl.-Post" +{ + procedure Post(var MeterJnlLine: Record "Meter Journal Line") + var + MeterLedgEntry: Record "Meter Ledger Entry"; + begin + // Validation, Journal access, and posting all mixed in one routine. + if not Confirm('Post journal lines?') then + exit; + + if MeterJnlLine.FindSet() then + repeat + if MeterJnlLine.Quantity = 0 then + Error('Quantity must not be zero.'); + + MeterLedgEntry.Init(); + MeterLedgEntry.TransferFields(MeterJnlLine); + MeterLedgEntry.Insert(); + MeterJnlLine.Delete(); + until MeterJnlLine.Next() = 0; + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6bfa93eb --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Meter Jnl.-Check Line" +{ + procedure CheckLine(var MeterJnlLine: Record "Meter Journal Line") + begin + // Reads setup/dimension data only, shows no UI beyond errors. + if MeterJnlLine.Quantity = 0 then + Error('Quantity must not be zero.'); + end; +} + +codeunit 50101 "Meter Jnl.-Post Line" +{ + procedure PostLine(var MeterJnlLine: Record "Meter Journal Line") + var + MeterLedgEntry: Record "Meter Ledger Entry"; + begin + // Posts exactly one journal line; never touches the Journal table. + MeterLedgEntry.Init(); + MeterLedgEntry.TransferFields(MeterJnlLine); + MeterLedgEntry.Insert(); + end; +} + +codeunit 50102 "Meter Jnl.-Post Batch" +{ + procedure PostBatch(var MeterJnlLine: Record "Meter Journal Line") + var + CheckLine: Codeunit "Meter Jnl.-Check Line"; + PostLine: Codeunit "Meter Jnl.-Post Line"; + begin + if MeterJnlLine.FindSet() then + repeat + CheckLine.CheckLine(MeterJnlLine); + until MeterJnlLine.Next() = 0; + + if MeterJnlLine.FindSet() then + repeat + PostLine.PostLine(MeterJnlLine); + MeterJnlLine.Delete(); + until MeterJnlLine.Next() = 0; + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.md b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e6b1229e --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/check-post-line-batch-pattern.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: data-modeling +keywords: [posting-routine, check-line, post-line, post-batch, companion-codeunit, yes-no-wrapper, journal] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Split posting routines into Check Line / Post Line / Post Batch + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +Business Central's own journal-based posting routines consistently follow a three-codeunit split, each with one primary responsibility — `Codeunit "Gen. Jnl.-Check Line"` / `"Gen. Jnl.-Post Line"` / `"Gen. Jnl.-Post Batch"` for the general journal, and the same `-Check Line` / `-Post Line` / `-Post Batch` shape repeated for Item, Resource, Job, Fixed Asset, Insurance, and Cost Accounting journals: `Check Line` validates one line, `Post Line` posts exactly one journal line — `Gen. Jnl.-Post Line` itself can write more than one G/L Entry per call (a balancing entry, VAT, currency rounding, deferrals), so "exactly one line" describes its input, not a one-entry-out guarantee — and `Post Batch` loops both across the journal. A document posting routine (posting one document at a time) calls `Post Line` directly and skips `Post Batch`. This is the standard shape to evaluate a new journal-based posting routine against, not a platform-enforced constraint — a routine with a genuinely different transaction/reuse shape may legitimately organize itself differently, and the three codeunits' responsibilities are a useful default split, not a guarantee that every implementation keeps them non-overlapping. But a new routine that blurs this split without a specific reason either misses functionality other code expects to call directly, or exposes an interaction surface it shouldn't. + +## Best Practice + +`Check Line` reads setup/dimension data only on its first call and shows no UI beyond errors. `Post Line` only operates on the record passed to it — never the Journal table — so it can be called directly by other posting code, including a document posting routine. `Post Batch` is the only one of the three that reads and updates the Journal table, and it is the only one invoked from the Post action on a journal page. A `-Post` document codeunit is never called directly from a page; a page calls a `-Post (Yes/No)` confirmation wrapper instead, so the same `-Post` codeunit can also run unattended from a batch-posting report. + +See sample: [`check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al`](check-post-line-batch-pattern.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +A single monolithic posting codeunit that reads the Journal table, validates lines, writes ledger entries, and shows confirmation dialogs all in one procedure. It cannot be reused by another posting routine without fabricating journal records, and it cannot run unattended because it insists on user interaction. + +See sample: [`check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al`](check-post-line-batch-pattern.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8e3bce48 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +table 50100 "Course" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + field(10; "Global Dimension 1 Code"; Code[20]) + { + // No CaptionClass, no OnValidate call into DimensionManagement. + // Accepts any value; never becomes a Default Dimension record. + TableRelation = "Dimension Value".Code; + } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b5feae08 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +// Master data: Default Dimension records, no Dimension Set ID field. +table 50100 "Course" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + field(10; "Global Dimension 1 Code"; Code[20]) + { + CaptionClass = '1,1,1'; + TableRelation = "Dimension Value".Code where( + "Global Dimension No." = const(1), Blocked = const(false)); + + trigger OnValidate() + var + DimMgt: Codeunit DimensionManagement; + begin + DimMgt.ValidateDimValueCode(1, "Global Dimension 1 Code"); + DimMgt.SaveDefaultDim(Database::Course, "No.", 1, "Global Dimension 1 Code"); + end; + } + } + + trigger OnDelete() + var + DimMgt: Codeunit DimensionManagement; + begin + DimMgt.DeleteDefaultDim(Database::Course, "No."); + end; +} + +// Transactional/document data: a single Dimension Set ID, inherited from the +// related master record and overridable via shortcut dimension fields. +table 50101 "Course Registration Header" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + field(2; "Customer No."; Code[20]) + { + TableRelation = Customer; + + trigger OnValidate() + begin + UpdateDimensionSetID(); + end; + } + field(10; "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code"; Code[20]) + { + CaptionClass = '1,1,1'; + TableRelation = "Dimension Value".Code where( + "Global Dimension No." = const(1), Blocked = const(false)); + + trigger OnValidate() + var + DimMgt: Codeunit DimensionManagement; + begin + DimMgt.ValidateShortcutDimValues(1, "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code", "Dimension Set ID"); + end; + } + field(480; "Dimension Set ID"; Integer) + { + Editable = false; + TableRelation = "Dimension Set Entry"."Dimension Set ID"; + } + } + + local procedure UpdateDimensionSetID() + var + Customer: Record Customer; + DimMgt: Codeunit DimensionManagement; + DefaultDimSource: List of [Dictionary of [Integer, Code[20]]]; + GlobalDim2Code: Code[20]; + begin + // Recompute from scratch (InheritFromDimSetID = 0) whether or not the + // customer lookup succeeds. Passing the existing "Dimension Set ID" + // here would inherit dimensions from whichever record the document + // was previously linked to, and exiting early on a failed Get would + // leave that same stale data in place — both defeat the point of + // this procedure. Clearing the shortcut field and recomputing with + // an empty source list (when the customer doesn't exist) correctly + // clears the document's dimensions instead of leaving old ones. + "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code" := ''; + if Customer.Get("Customer No.") then + DimMgt.AddDimSource(DefaultDimSource, Database::Customer, "Customer No."); + "Dimension Set ID" := + DimMgt.GetDefaultDimID( + DefaultDimSource, '', "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code", GlobalDim2Code, 0, 0); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.md b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d7eec388 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/dimension-management-wiring.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: data-modeling +keywords: [dimensions, dimensionmanagement, global-dimension, shortcut-dimension, default-dimension, validatedimvaluecode, getdefaultdimid] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Wire dimension support through DimensionManagement, not ad hoc fields + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +Adding dimension support to a custom table is not just a matter of adding a `Code[20]` field, and master tables and document/transactional tables wire into `Codeunit "Dimension Management"` through two different models — treating them as one mechanism is itself the mistake this article corrects: + +- **Master data** (a custom master table, e.g. "Course") persists **Default Dimension** records: each shortcut dimension field validates through `ValidateDimValueCode`, then the result is saved via `SaveDefaultDim`, and `DeleteDefaultDim` removes them again in `OnDelete`. Both `ValidateDimValueCode` and `SaveDefaultDim` take the shortcut dimension *number* (1-8, matching `General Ledger Setup`'s "Shortcut Dimension N Code" fields) as their first/third argument respectively — not the AL field ID of the table field being validated. The master record itself carries no `Dimension Set ID` field. +- **Transactional/document data** (a custom document or journal-line table) carries a single **`Dimension Set ID`** field — a pointer to a shared, deduplicated set of dimension values in `Dimension Set Entry`, assembled from whatever the document inherited plus whatever the user overrode. A document does not acquire that ID by calling `SaveDefaultDim`; it builds a source list with `AddDimSource` (naming the related master table and its key, e.g. `Database::Customer`), then calls `GetDefaultDimID` to compute a new `Dimension Set ID` that inherits the master's Default Dimension records. Editing a shortcut dimension field directly on the document validates through `ValidateShortcutDimValues`, which updates the same `Dimension Set ID` in place rather than writing a separate Default Dimension record. + +Skipping the model that actually matches the table's kind produces a field that looks correct in the designer but silently fails to save, validate, or carry through to postings — or, for a document, one that never picks up the customer's/vendor's own dimensions at all. + +## Best Practice + +For a master table, validate each shortcut dimension field through `ValidateDimValueCode`, save the result with `SaveDefaultDim`, and delete the matching Default Dimension records in `OnDelete`. + +For a document table, when the field that attaches the document to a master record changes (e.g. `Customer No.`), call `AddDimSource` naming that master table and key, then `GetDefaultDimID` to compute the document's new `Dimension Set ID`, inheriting the master's Default Dimension records. Pass `0` for `GetDefaultDimID`'s `InheritFromDimSetID` argument in this case — passing the document's *existing* `Dimension Set ID` instead inherits whatever dimensions were already in it, so a value the previous linked record supplied can survive into the new one even where the new record has no default for that dimension. Run this same recompute — clear the shortcut field, call `GetDefaultDimID` with no source added — when the lookup on the new key fails (blank or an invalid value), too: exiting early instead leaves the previous record's dimensions in place, which is the same staleness bug the `InheritFromDimSetID = 0` rule exists to prevent. Validate the document's own Shortcut Dimension fields through `ValidateShortcutDimValues`, which updates that same `Dimension Set ID` in place rather than persisting a separate Default Dimension record. + +See sample: [`dimension-management-wiring.good.al`](dimension-management-wiring.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Adding a dimension-looking field with only a `TableRelation` to Dimension Value, and no call into `DimensionManagement` at all. The field accepts input but never becomes a real Default Dimension record, so it does not validate against blocked values and does not flow into postings. + +See sample: [`dimension-management-wiring.bad.al`](dimension-management-wiring.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cc52ae2f --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +table 50100 "Period Stats" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "Period Start"; Date) { } + field(2; Flow; Enum "Some Flow") { } + } + keys + { + // Table already shipped with key(PK; "Period Start"). + // Adding Flow here breaks every upgrade with AS0009. + key(PK; Flow, "Period Start") { Clustered = true; } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4739c49b --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +table 50100 "Period Stats" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "Period Start"; Date) { } + } + keys + { + key(PK; "Period Start") { Clustered = true; } + } +} + +table 50101 "Period Stats By Flow" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "Period Start"; Date) { } + field(2; Flow; Enum "Some Flow") { } + } + keys + { + key(PK; Flow, "Period Start") { Clustered = true; } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.md b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..37cb3e3e --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/do-not-change-primary-key.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: data-modeling +keywords: [primary-key, clustered-key, table-design, appsource, breaking-change, schema-upgrade] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Never Change a Published Table's Primary or Clustered Key Field List + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +Once a table has shipped — to AppSource, or to any customer environment that has already upgraded onto it — its primary key, and any other key marked `Clustered = true`, is frozen. This includes adding a field to the key, not only removing or reordering one: Business Central identifies existing rows by their key value, so any change to which fields compose that key invalidates every row already stored under the old shape, and the platform's upgrade validation rejects it outright (`AS0009`). This is easy to trip over because it doesn't look like the well-known "don't delete a field" mistake — the field being added is often brand new, and folding a new discriminating dimension straight into the existing key feels like the natural, un-denormalized way to model it. On an unpublished table that is correct; on a published one it is a breaking schema change regardless of which direction the field list changed, and there is no in-place fix once the upgrade is rejected, only reverting the key to its published shape. + +## Best Practice + +Leave a published table's key exactly as shipped. Model a new discriminating dimension as a separate table with its own key instead of adding a field to the existing key, and branch orchestration code by the new dimension rather than filtering one shared table on an extra key field. + +See sample: [`do-not-change-primary-key.good.al`](do-not-change-primary-key.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Adding a field to a published table's primary or clustered key to distinguish a new case. This fails AppSource validation or any customer upgrade with `AS0009` as soon as rows already exist under the old key shape, whether the field is being added, removed, or reordered. + +See sample: [`do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al`](do-not-change-primary-key.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2ee7bc1c --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Tax Posting Helper" +{ + procedure GetTaxAccount(var Setup: Record "Sales & Receivables Setup"): Code[20] + var + DefaultTaxAccountTxt: Label 'DEFAULT-TAX'; + begin + Setup.Get(); + if Setup."Tax Account No." <> '' then + exit(Setup."Tax Account No."); + exit(DefaultTaxAccountTxt); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d35db264 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Tax Posting Helper" +{ + procedure GetTaxAccount(var Setup: Record "Sales & Receivables Setup"): Code[20] + begin + Setup.Get(); + Setup.TestField("Tax Account No."); + exit(Setup."Tax Account No."); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.md b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..37ad5758 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/testfield-required-setup-field.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: data-modeling +keywords: [testfield, setup-table, configuration, mandatory-field, silent-fallback, correctness] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# TestField a Setup-Table Value Before Using It in a Correctness-Critical Branch + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +A procedure that reads a field from a setup or configuration table inside a branch where the surrounding logic has already decided that value is required needs to guard against it being blank. A common anti-pattern silently treats "blank" as "feature not wanted": it checks the field for emptiness and falls through to a default instead of raising an error. `Get()` succeeding on the setup record only proves the record exists, not that the specific field was ever configured, so the fallback path makes a missing configuration indistinguishable from a deliberate one — and the wrong outcome, especially in financial, tax, or compliance postings, surfaces silently rather than as a crash a tester would notice. + +## Best Practice + +Once a business rule has decided that a setup-table field's value is required for a branch to behave correctly, call `TestField` on it before use, even though a plain read would "work" by returning a blank or zero without erroring. Write a test that blanks the setup field and asserts the resulting error, so the guard itself is verified rather than merely present. + +See sample: [`testfield-required-setup-field.good.al`](testfield-required-setup-field.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Reading a required setup-table field behind a presence check that falls through to a default value instead of erroring. This looks defensive because it never crashes, but it converts "administrator forgot to configure this" into "system silently did something else" — worse than a hard failure, because nobody is told anything went wrong. + +See sample: [`testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al`](testfield-required-setup-field.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0da274f4 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +report 50105 "Sales Quote Confirmation" +{ + UsageCategory = Documents; + ApplicationArea = All; + + rendering + { + layout(RDLC) + { + Type = RDLC; + LayoutFile = './Layouts/SalesQuoteConfirmation.rdl'; + } + } + + DefaultRenderingLayout = RDLC; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f9e5e243 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +report 50105 "Sales Quote Confirmation" +{ + UsageCategory = Documents; + ApplicationArea = All; + + rendering + { + layout(Word) + { + Type = Word; + LayoutFile = './Layouts/SalesQuoteConfirmation.docx'; + Caption = 'Word Layout'; + } + } + + DefaultRenderingLayout = Word; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.md b/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..06159aad --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/performance/document-report-word-layout.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: performance +keywords: [report-layout, word-layout, rdlc, document-report, sandbox-app-domain, rendering] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Document reports should default to a Word layout, not RDLC + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +For a document report — an invoice, statement, order confirmation, or any report meant to be printed, emailed, or exported as a single-record document — Microsoft's own guidance recommends a `Word` rendering layout over `RDLC`: "RDL layouts can result in slower performance with document reports, regarding actions that are related to the user interface (for example, like sending emails) compared to Word layouts," and "we recommend that you design Word layouts instead of RDL" for this report shape (see Sources). This is a documented recommendation, not a universal guarantee that Word outperforms RDLC for every workload, and it does not apply to every report: tabular/list reports with heavy aggregation or calculated columns are still often a better fit for RDLC or Excel. + +## Best Practice + +For document reports, prefer a `Word` layout (`DefaultRenderingLayout = Word`) over RDLC unless specific layout requirements favor RDLC. Reserve RDLC (or Excel) for reports that represent a data listing rather than a document. + +## Sources + +- [Report Design Overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/developer/devenv-report-design-overview) +- [Creating an RDL layout report](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/developer/devenv-report-performance) +- [Troubleshooting reports / Report performance](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/developer/devenv-reports-troubleshooting) + +See sample: [`document-report-word-layout.good.al`](document-report-word-layout.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Defaulting a document report's layout to RDLC out of habit or because a template happened to use it. This inherits RDLC's sandboxed-app-domain performance cost with no benefit tied to the report's actual content or calculation needs. + +See sample: [`document-report-word-layout.bad.al`](document-report-word-layout.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-build-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-build-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4e5a57a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-build-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [build, output, alpackages, artifact-hygiene, outfolder, project-root] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Write AL Build Artifacts to an Intentional Output Location + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +An AL project's compiled `.app` file can be written to the project root by default, and current tooling explicitly supports choosing a different destination instead — `ALTool`'s `--outfolder` option and the `al_build` agent tool's `outputPath` parameter both exist for this. The problem this rule addresses is not that root-level output is technically invalid; it is agents leaving generated `.app` files scattered through arbitrary source locations, or treating a compiled artefact as if it were part of the source tree (committing it, editing around it, referencing it as a dependency by hand). + +## Best Practice + +Write build artifacts to a deliberate, dedicated output location — configured via the build tool actually in use (e.g. `ALTool --outfolder`, or an explicit `outputPath` on the agent build tool) — and add that folder to `.gitignore`. Treat a compiled `.app` as a build artifact, never as a source file to commit or hand-edit around. + +## Anti Pattern + +Letting `.app` files accumulate in arbitrary or unversioned locations without a deliberate output path, or committing compiled artefacts into source control alongside the AL files that produced them. diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e4d62da5 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Sales Amount Calculator" +{ + procedure BeregnTotalbeloeb(var Salgslinje: Record "Sales Line"): Decimal + var + Beloeb: Decimal; + begin + Salgslinje.CalcSums(Amount); + Beloeb := Salgslinje.Amount; + exit(Beloeb); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0b17ec18 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Sales Amount Calculator" +{ + procedure CalculateTotalAmount(var SalesLine: Record "Sales Line"): Decimal + var + TotalAmount: Decimal; + begin + SalesLine.CalcSums(Amount); + TotalAmount := SalesLine.Amount; + exit(TotalAmount); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5feda9f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/al-identifiers-english.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [identifiers, naming, english, captions, translation] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Write AL Identifiers in English Only + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +All AL identifiers — variables, procedures, parameters, fields, object names, enum values, and label identifiers — must be written in English, regardless of the developer's native language. Translations are handled separately through captions, tooltips, and XLIFF files, never by writing Danish, German, or other non-English identifiers directly into AL source code. This is not a stylistic preference: the public `microsoft/BCApps` codebase, maintained by engineers of many nationalities across hundreds of thousands of lines of AL, uses exclusively English identifiers, with all localization handled via caption properties and XLIFF rather than by changing identifier names. On any multi-contributor codebase, non-English identifiers make the code unreadable to contributors who don't share that language. + +## Best Practice + +Write every identifier in English, and translate developer intent rather than transliterating it — when a requirement is described in another language, the resulting variable, procedure, and field names should still read as English. Captions and tooltips may carry target-language text in the source file, with locale translations managed through XLIFF. + +See sample: [`al-identifiers-english.good.al`](al-identifiers-english.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Using native-language identifiers such as a Danish variable or procedure name in AL source code, relying on the fact that the code still compiles and runs correctly. This makes the code unreadable to non-native-language contributors and mixes localization concerns into source that should stay language-neutral. + +See sample: [`al-identifiers-english.bad.al`](al-identifiers-english.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2201ea3d --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +table 50100 "Sales Task" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + field(10; Status; Option) + { + OptionMembers = Active,Blocked; + } + } +} + +codeunit 50100 "Sales Task Check" +{ + procedure IsOverdue(DueDate: Date): Integer + begin + // 0 = No, 1 = Yes + if DueDate < Today then + exit(1); + exit(0); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ac62b0f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +table 50100 "Sales Task" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + field(10; Blocked; Boolean) { } + } +} + +codeunit 50100 "Sales Task Check" +{ + procedure IsOverdue(DueDate: Date): Boolean + begin + exit(DueDate < Today); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ec0c4a5e --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [boolean, option, yes-no, magic-number, variable-typing, field-typing] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Binary yes/no choices must be typed as Boolean, not Option or Integer + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +When a field or variable represents a genuine true/false state — yes/no, on/off, active/inactive, blocked/not blocked — it should be typed `Boolean`. Modeling that same predicate as an `Option`/`Enum` with two members, or as an `Integer` with two magic-number values, adds a layer of indirection a reader has to resolve before understanding the code. This is about semantics, not member count: a domain concept that currently has exactly two named alternatives — Inbound/Outbound, Debit/Credit, Buy/Sell — is not automatically a Boolean in disguise. An `Enum` can be the clearer model there, including when it needs to implement an interface, preserve an existing contract, or leave room for a future third value. The distinction is whether the domain is genuinely a stable predicate, not how many states it currently has. + +## Best Practice + +Type a field or variable as `Boolean` when the domain concept is inherently a true/false state. Do not replace a meaningful two-option domain model with a Boolean solely because it currently has two values. + +See sample: [`binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al`](binary-choice-must-be-boolean.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Modeling a yes/no choice as an `Option` with two members, or as an `Integer` with magic-number values, forces every caller to remember which value means what and leaves room for a meaningless third value. + +See sample: [`binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al`](binary-choice-must-be-boolean.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..77facce7 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +table 50101 "Course" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + // 1 = Beginner, 2..3 = Intermediate, 4+ = Advanced + field(10; Difficulty; Integer) { } + } +} + +codeunit 50100 "Course Level Helper" +{ + procedure LevelText(Difficulty: Integer): Text + begin + case Difficulty of + 1: + exit('Beginner'); + 2, 3: + exit('Intermediate'); + end; + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ef0175b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +enum 50100 "Course Difficulty" +{ + Extensible = true; + + value(0; Beginner) { } + value(1; Intermediate) { } + value(2; Advanced) { } +} + +table 50101 "Course" +{ + fields + { + field(1; "No."; Code[20]) { } + field(10; Difficulty; Enum "Course Difficulty") { } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..112b977a --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [enum, option, integer, magic-number, variable-typing, field-typing] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# A fixed set of named choices must use Enum, not a raw Integer + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +When a variable or field represents a fixed set of named, mutually exclusive states — a difficulty level, a document type, a processing status — it should be typed as `Enum` (or `Option` when extending an object that still uses the legacy type). Representing that same state as a plain `Integer` and tracking the meaning of each value in a comment or in a developer's head is a magic-number anti-pattern: the compiler cannot catch an out-of-range value, and branches read as opaque numbers instead of names. This is about semantics, not member count, matching `binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md`'s own distinction: a domain concept that is genuinely a stable true/false predicate belongs in `Boolean` even if someone represents it as a two-value `Enum`, while a domain concept with exactly two current named states is not automatically a Boolean in disguise — it stays an `Enum` when the states are named alternatives rather than a yes/no flag, or when it needs to implement an interface, preserve an existing contract, or leave room for a future third value. + +## Best Practice + +Declare an `Enum` with named values and branch on the enum value, not a raw number. + +See sample: [`fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al`](fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Using a plain `Integer` field with the meaning of each value tracked only in a comment pushes the documentation of the states into something the compiler cannot check and a future maintainer cannot rely on. + +See sample: [`fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al`](fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..755991b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Sales Task Notify" +{ + procedure NotifyUpdate(Count: Integer; CustomerNo: Code[20]) + begin + MESSAGE('%1 records updated.', Count); + + IF NOT CONFIRM('Delete %1?', FALSE, CustomerNo) THEN + EXIT; + + ERROR(STRSUBSTNO('%1 must not be blank.', CustomerNo)); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a8551b41 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Sales Task Notify" +{ + procedure NotifyUpdate(Count: Integer; CustomerNo: Code[20]) + begin + Message('%1 records updated.', Count); + + if not Confirm('Delete %1?', false, CustomerNo) then + exit; + + Error(StrSubstNo('%1 must not be blank.', CustomerNo)); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..761650b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [casing, intrinsic-function, built-in-function, message, error, confirm, strsubstno, legacy, c-al, pascalcase] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Intrinsic AL function calls use modern casing, not legacy ALL-CAPS + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +AL is case-insensitive, so `MESSAGE(...)`, `ERROR(...)`, `CONFIRM(...)`, and `STRSUBSTNO(...)` compile and run identically to `Message(...)`, `Error(...)`, `Confirm(...)`, and `StrSubstNo(...)`. Modern AL — Microsoft's own current samples and current reference codebases — writes intrinsic/built-in function calls in the casing Microsoft assigns to the function's declared name, typically PascalCase. This is a codebase-convention claim, not a claim about what the VS Code formatter enforces: the formatter normalizes particular syntax but is not a mechanism for recasing every intrinsic function call, so do not cite formatter behavior as the reason to follow this convention. ALL-CAPS calls are a holdover from classic C/AL and signal code that has not been modernized, even though it compiles and runs correctly. Reserved keywords such as `if`, `begin`, and `for` are a separate, already-tooled concern; intrinsic function names are identifiers, not keywords, so that tooling does not catch ALL-CAPS intrinsic function calls. + +## Best Practice + +Call intrinsic functions in their modern, PascalCase form. + +See sample: [`intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al`](intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +ALL-CAPS intrinsic function calls trip no compiler error, but they are a reliable signal that a code block was copied from old C/AL material or outdated training content rather than written against current AL conventions. + +See sample: [`intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al`](intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0cd54b72 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +namespace Contoso.Extensions; + +using System.Performance; // guessed; never verified against the source file + +codeunit 50100 "Tooling Extension" +{ + procedure Run() + var + ToolingPage: Page "Some Tooling Page"; // guessed namespace; can still resolve against a stale or cached symbol package, then fail once checked against the object's current source or a freshly downloaded one + begin + ToolingPage.Run(); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2a8e34a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +// Verified by reading line 1 of the source file for "Some Tooling Page": +// namespace System.Tooling; + +namespace Contoso.Extensions; + +using System.Tooling; + +codeunit 50100 "Tooling Extension" +{ + procedure Run() + var + ToolingPage: Page "Some Tooling Page"; + begin + ToolingPage.Run(); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..52e8bbc1 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [namespace, verification, source-of-truth, using-statement] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Resolve a namespace from the referenced object's source or symbols, never by guessing + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +Since Business Central 2024 release wave 1, Microsoft's own objects are organized under a deep `Microsoft.*` namespace tree that has been renamed and restructured repeatedly. When adding a `using` directive for an existing AL object (table, codeunit, page, enum, interface, etc.), guessing its namespace from the object's name, from an older codebase, or from general familiarity produces a statement that can look plausible and still resolve to the wrong object, or fail to resolve at all, once checked against the object's actual current namespace. The reliable sources are the object's own source file (its `namespace` declaration) or, for a dependency without accessible source, its AL symbol package — not the object's name or a remembered convention. + +## Best Practice + +When referencing an existing AL object, resolve its namespace from that object's actual source file or symbol definition — never infer or invent one from its name, functional area, or naming convention. + +See sample: [`namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al`](namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Writing a `using` statement from memory, from an incomplete path, or from a plausible-looking guess. It can appear correct while actually resolving to the wrong object, or fail to resolve, once checked against stale or mismatched symbols, a different build configuration, or the object's actual current source — not because the compiler and the AL Language Server apply different namespace-resolution rules; they don't. + +See sample: [`namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al`](namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5c9dbe78 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Customer Lookup" +{ + procedure GetCustomerName(CustomerNo: Code[20]; var Name: Text[100]) + var + Customer: Record Customer; + begin + if Customer.Get(CustomerNo) then + Name := Customer.Name; + end; + + procedure Sample() + begin + GetCustomerName('10000', 'placeholder'); // compile error: literal is not addressable + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3c20da1d --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +codeunit 50100 "Customer Lookup" +{ + procedure GetCustomerName(CustomerNo: Code[20]; var Name: Text[100]) + var + Customer: Record Customer; + begin + if Customer.Get(CustomerNo) then + Name := Customer.Name; + end; + + procedure Sample() + var + CustName: Text[100]; + begin + GetCustomerName('10000', CustName); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.md b/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..81f6fbb5 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/style/var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: style +keywords: [var-parameter, by-reference, pass-by-reference, literal, constant, compile-error, procedure-call] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# A `var` parameter must be called with a variable, never a literal or expression + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +When a procedure declares a parameter with `var`, that parameter is passed by reference: the callee writes back into the caller's own memory location. This means the argument at the call site must be an actual variable, something with an address. A string literal, a numeric constant, or a computed expression has no address to write back to, so passing one to a `var` parameter fails to compile. Before writing a call, check the callee's signature for `var` on each parameter position being supplied a literal or expression — if present, a variable declared in the caller's own scope must be used instead. + +## Best Practice + +Declare a variable in the caller's scope and pass it to the `var` parameter. + +See sample: [`var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al`](var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Passing a literal or a computed expression to a `var` parameter position fails to compile, because neither has an address the callee can write back to. + +See sample: [`var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al`](var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..34c13e48 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +[Test] +procedure PostsSalesOrderForCashCustomer() +var + Customer: Record Customer; + SalesHeader: Record "Sales Header"; +begin + // Assumes a 'CASH' customer already exists in the environment — + // fails on any database where it doesn't. + Customer.Get('CASH'); + LibrarySales.CreateSalesHeader( + SalesHeader, SalesHeader."Document Type"::Order, Customer."No."); + + // ... add lines, post, assert ... +end; diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..75518f1a --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +[Test] +procedure PostsSalesOrderForRandomCustomer() +var + Customer: Record Customer; + SalesHeader: Record "Sales Header"; +begin + // Freshly created customer, owned by this test — no assumption about what exists. + LibrarySales.CreateCustomer(Customer); + LibrarySales.CreateSalesHeader( + SalesHeader, SalesHeader."Document Type"::Order, Customer."No."); + + // ... add lines, post, assert ... +end; diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.md b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c78a0d58 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.md @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: testing +keywords: [testing, test-data, random, library, any] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Generate Test Data Programmatically, Never Assume Existing Records + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +A BC test company normally contains initialized system/setup data — an AL test suite should not assume an empty database, but it must be independent of unrelated business records: create the records and setup it owns rather than looking up a specific code, number, or name assumed to already exist, since that makes the test fail for reasons unrelated to the code under test. Every mandatory field on a created record also needs an actual value — leaving one blank because setup-time validation happens to allow it produces a record that doesn't reflect a real one and can fail later, elsewhere in the flow (posting, a report, a later assertion), for a reason unrelated to what the test claims to check. A short-but-valid value is not itself a defect: AL field lengths are maxima, not minimums, so a two-character value in a `Text[100]` field is fine unless the scenario specifically depends on the field's length or shape — for example, a test that verifies truncation or a format check needs a value chosen to exercise that boundary, not an arbitrary short one. + +Not every value should be generated, though. Incidental fixture data — identifiers, names, descriptions — should generally come from the standard library codeunits rather than be tied to specific existing data. But values that materially define the scenario under test — amounts, quantities, percentages, dates, thresholds, rounding precision — should stay explicit and deliberately chosen, not randomized: a rounding test needs values placed deliberately around the rounding boundary, not a random one that might miss it entirely. + +## Best Practice + +Use the standard library codeunits (`Library - ERM`, `Library - Inventory`, `Library - Sales`, `Library - Utility`) to generate incidental fixture values — they produce valid, unique-enough data via number series and controlled randomness, not a mathematical collision-free guarantee — and fill every mandatory field with correctly-sized data. Keep values that define the scenario's expected outcome explicit and fixed. Reserve hardcoded values for tests that validate an external contract itself — a fixed JSON schema, an EDIFACT message, a counterparty code — where the hardcoded value documents the specification rather than arbitrary test logic. + +See sample: [`test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al`](test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Looking up a record assumed to already exist (a hardcoded payment method or customer number) instead of creating it, or leaving a mandatory field empty because setup-time validation happens to allow it. Also an anti-pattern, narrower: using a value that doesn't satisfy a scenario's explicit length or format requirement — for example a truncation test that never actually exceeds the field it's meant to overflow. + +See sample: [`test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al`](test-data-must-be-random-and-complete.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8b8e240f --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +page 50101 "Customer Info API" +{ + PageType = API; + APIPublisher = 'contoso'; + APIGroup = 'sales'; + APIVersion = 'v1.0'; + EntityName = 'customerInfo'; + EntitySetName = 'customerInfos'; + SourceTable = Customer; + ODataKeyFields = "No."; + InsertAllowed = true; + + layout + { + area(content) + { + repeater(General) + { + field(customerNo; Rec."No.") + { + Editable = false; // consumer must supply "No." on POST — this rejects it + } + field(name; Rec.Name) { } + } + } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..af6c5de1 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +page 50101 "Customer Info API" +{ + PageType = API; + APIPublisher = 'contoso'; + APIGroup = 'sales'; + APIVersion = 'v1.0'; + EntityName = 'customerInfo'; + EntitySetName = 'customerInfos'; + SourceTable = Customer; + ODataKeyFields = "No."; + InsertAllowed = true; + DelayedInsert = true; + + layout + { + area(content) + { + repeater(General) + { + field(customerNo; Rec."No.") { } + field(name; Rec.Name) { } + } + } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.md b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..84887c19 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: web-services +keywords: [api-page, key-fields, editable, insert, odata] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Keep Consumer-Provided Key Fields Editable on API Pages + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +A field listed in `ODataKeyFields` cannot have `Editable = false` when the API page allows inserts and the field's value must be supplied by the caller. Marking it read-only removes the field from the OData write schema, so a POST that includes it is rejected as an unknown property. This only applies to keys the consumer must supply — a system-generated key such as `SystemId` is a valid exception, since Business Central assigns its value automatically on insert. + +## Best Practice + +Leave every consumer-supplied key field referenced in `ODataKeyFields` without `Editable = false` on pages where `InsertAllowed = true`, so the OData layer accepts it as a writable property on POST. + +See sample: [`api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al`](api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Marking a consumer-provided key field `Editable = false`, out of habit or for perceived safety. This silently breaks create operations with a generic `BadRequest` instead of a clear validation error. + +See sample: [`api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al`](api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9938612d --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +page 50102 "Project Task API" +{ + PageType = API; + APIPublisher = 'contoso'; + APIGroup = 'jobs'; + APIVersion = 'v1.0'; + EntityName = 'projectTask'; + EntitySetName = 'projectTasks'; + SourceTable = "Project Task"; + + layout + { + area(content) + { + repeater(General) + { + // "Remaining Hours" is a stored field, set inside the + // OnValidate of "Budgeted Hours" — it goes stale whenever + // "Hours Used" changes through any other path. + field(remainingHours; Rec."Remaining Hours") { } + } + } + } +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1ab78dbc --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +page 50102 "Project Task API" +{ + PageType = API; + APIPublisher = 'contoso'; + APIGroup = 'jobs'; + APIVersion = 'v1.0'; + EntityName = 'projectTask'; + EntitySetName = 'projectTasks'; + SourceTable = "Project Task"; + DelayedInsert = true; + + layout + { + area(content) + { + repeater(General) + { + field(remainingHours; RemainingHoursCalc) { } + field(budgetedHours; Rec."Budgeted Hours") { } + field(hoursUsed; Rec."Hours Used") { } + } + } + } + + trigger OnAfterGetRecord() + begin + Rec.CalcFields("Hours Used"); + RemainingHoursCalc := Rec."Budgeted Hours" - Rec."Hours Used"; + end; + + var + RemainingHoursCalc: Decimal; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.md b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2d02f938 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/web-services/stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: web-services +keywords: [api-page, derived-fields, exposure, odata] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Recalculate Stored Derived Fields Before Exposing Them on API Pages + +> Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article. + +## Description + +A stored field whose value is derived from other fields inside an `OnValidate` trigger only updates when that specific trigger fires. If the underlying source data changes through some other path, the stored value goes stale without raising any error. Exposing such a field directly on an API page hands external consumers a snapshot that may be significantly out of date. + +## Best Practice + +Recalculate the derived value in `OnAfterGetRecord` from its authoritative source — typically a FlowField — using a page-level variable, and expose that recalculated value instead of the stale stored field. Whether to also expose the source fields is a separate design decision, not a requirement of this pattern; keep the API contract scoped to what consumers actually need. If letting the consumer verify the recalculation is itself a requirement, expose every field the calculation reads, not just one of them — a derived value with two inputs needs both exposed, or the "verification" is incomplete. + +See sample: [`stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al`](stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Exposing the stored field directly via `Rec`, trusting that it was kept in sync by whichever trigger last touched it. + +See sample: [`stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al`](stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-appsource-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-appsource-review.md index 3f6a2218..2efc0493 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-appsource-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-appsource-review.md @@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ The following targeted checks cover every current `appsource` article across the - A page or report that repository context identifies as a direct user entry point omits `UsageCategory` or sets it to `None` — `set-usagecategory-on-searchable-entry-points`. Do not select this article based only on object type; exclude supporting parts, dialogs, API pages, and objects intentionally reached through another page. - A `DateTime` assignment adds or subtracts a fixed duration to represent an assumed regional offset — `do-not-hard-code-time-zone-offsets`. Require contextual evidence such as an hour-sized constant, offset-oriented name, or time-zone comment; do not flag deadlines, schedules, or elapsed-time calculations. - For BC v27 or later, `app.json` adds or changes the `help` URL to a path deeper than two levels, or a changed Copilot/context-sensitive help arrangement would ground the app under an overly broad truncated parent — `keep-copilot-help-url-to-two-path-levels`. +- Changed code declares or calls `File.Open`/`File.Create`/`File.Read`/`File.Write` in an app targeting Business Central Online — `file-datatype-saas`. Once the candidate worklist is known, resolve layer-precedence conflicts per READ. Drop lower-precedence files whose normative guidance (`## Best Practice` or `## Anti Pattern`) directly contradicts a higher-precedence candidate, and record each dropped file in `suppressed` with `reason: "layer-precedence"`. Files that would have been candidates but are hidden because their layer is disabled in consumer configuration are recorded with `reason: "configuration"`. Files that never became candidates are NOT recorded in `suppressed`. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-breaking-changes-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-breaking-changes-review.md index 7f307139..5e2f3aa9 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-breaking-changes-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-breaking-changes-review.md @@ -50,7 +50,9 @@ The following targeted checks cover every current `breaking-changes` article: - A published procedure changes parameter count/order/type/name, `var`, return type, or array shape instead of preserving the old signature and adding an overload — `do-not-change-published-procedure-signatures`. - A public procedure/event/interface exposes a credential or other sensitive value through `Text` or an externally callable contract — `do-not-expose-sensitive-data-through-public-api`. - Code already marked obsolete is expanded with new behavior instead of routing new callers to its replacement — `do-not-modify-code-already-marked-obsolete`. -- A shipped table field is deleted, renamed, renumbered, or replaced without retaining the original field as `ObsoleteState = Pending` and migrating its data — `obsolete-table-fields-instead-of-deleting-them`. +- A shipped table field is deleted, renamed, renumbered, or replaced without retaining the original field as `ObsoleteState = Pending` and migrating its data — `obsolete-table-fields-instead-of-deleting-them`. This owns AS0005 field-name changes; do not substitute the namespace article. +- A published object's namespace changes between the base and changed source while its identity otherwise remains — `namespace-is-part-of-published-object-identity`. Do not apply it to a new, unshipped object or to an ordinary object-name change with no namespace change. +- New or changed code calls `Codeunit Mail`'s `CreateMessage`/`Send`/`GetErrorDesc` instead of `Codeunit Email`/`Codeunit "Email Message"` — `prefer-email-module`. For `obsolete-table-fields-instead-of-deleting-them`, compare the baseline ID and name before emitting. When the original field remains under the same ID and name with `ObsoleteState = Pending`, and the replacement uses a new ID, the change follows the rule and must not be flagged. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md index 3fca8ecb..23183045 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md @@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ The following targeted checks cover every current `data-modeling` article. Treat - A `Media` or `MediaSet` field is assigned directly between different table types or different field IDs instead of registering each shared item with `MediaSet.Insert` — `share-mediaset-items-with-insert-not-field-assignment`. - A custom document header assigns defaults outside an `InitRecord` boundary, calls `InitRecord` before assigning its number, or places UI-independent defaults only in a page trigger — `initialize-document-defaults-in-initrecord`. - Directed `Round` calls use `'<'` as mathematical floor or `'>'` as mathematical ceiling, especially where negative amounts are possible — `round-direction-symbols-use-magnitude`. +- A new field is typed `Code`/`Text` and its `OnValidate` calls `DimensionManagement`/`DimMgt`, or a table adds Shortcut Dimension fields, a `Dimension Set ID` field, or `AddDimSource`/`GetDefaultDimID` — `dimension-management-wiring`. A master table calling `SaveDefaultDim` and a document/journal table computing its own `Dimension Set ID` are two different valid shapes; do not flag a master table for lacking a `Dimension Set ID` field or a document for lacking `SaveDefaultDim`. +- A journal-based posting codeunit is added or changed and validation, Journal-table access, ledger writes, and user-interaction (`Confirm`/dialogs) all occur in one procedure or one codeunit, rather than split across `Check Line`/`Post Line`/`Post Batch`-shaped companions — `check-post-line-batch-pattern`. A document posting routine calling `Post Line` directly without a `Post Batch` companion is not this anti-pattern. +- An existing, already-published table's `keys` block adds, removes, or reorders a field in its primary key or any `Clustered = true` key — `do-not-change-primary-key`. A new table defining its own key for the first time is not this anti-pattern; requires repository/publication context to know the table has already shipped. +- Code reads a setup/configuration-table field inside a branch that has already decided the value is required, and blank/zero is handled with a fallback to a default rather than `TestField`/an equivalent guard — `testfield-required-setup-field`. A read that is genuinely optional in that branch, or one already guarded by `TestField`, is not this anti-pattern. Once the candidate worklist is known, resolve layer-precedence conflicts per READ. Drop lower-precedence files whose normative guidance (`## Best Practice` or `## Anti Pattern`) directly contradicts a higher-precedence candidate, and record each dropped file in `suppressed` with `reason: "layer-precedence"`. Files that would have been candidates but are hidden because their layer is disabled in consumer configuration are recorded with `reason: "configuration"`. Files that never became candidates are NOT recorded in `suppressed`. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-performance-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-performance-review.md index 7829d705..6109f7b0 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-performance-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-performance-review.md @@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ Apply these targeted cues even when simple token overlap would rank the article - Worklist `job-queue-on-hold-does-not-stop-running-work.md` when a running job queue handler polls the entry's `Status` or `On Hold` value as a cancellation signal. Exclude application-owned stop requests that are checked before every bounded unit of work, including the first, when completed work and its checkpoint remain consistent and resume logic clears the request. - Worklist `job-queue-category-code-serializes-conflicting-jobs.md` when two or more job queue entries in the same company are shown by the changed context to require mutual exclusion but have empty or different Job Queue Category Codes. Do not infer a conflict merely because jobs touch the same tables, and do not recommend a category to coordinate across companies, environments, or workers outside the job queue dispatcher. - Worklist `store-scheduled-task-id-to-avoid-duplicate-tasks.md` when `TaskScheduler.CreateTask` runs from initialization, login, setup, or another repeatable path without persisting its returned GUID and checking it with `TaskScheduler.TaskExists` before creating a replacement. Exclude one-shot creation and correctly persisted check-before-create flows; concurrent callers still require serialization around that sequence. +- A new or changed report object whose usage/name/caption identifies it as a single-record document (invoice, statement, order confirmation) sets or retains `DefaultRenderingLayout = RDLC` — `document-report-word-layout.md`. Do not worklist this from a tabular/list report with heavy aggregation or calculated columns; RDLC/Excel remains the better fit there. These targeted inclusions and exclusions override generic token overlap. Do not retain an excluded article solely because the diff contains one of its keywords. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md index 5b0b6b6c..0cc747e6 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md @@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ Discard files that are not applicable. Retain conditionally applicable files onl Narrow the relevant files to the subset that applies to the changes under review. For each relevant file, compute overlap against: - Changed AL objects — especially API pages (`PageType = API`), tables and pages declaring Labels/TextConsts, codeunits issuing `Error`/`Message`/`Confirm`, and any file whose name violates the `..al` convention. -- Changed declarations, weighted toward `: Label '...'`, `: TextConst '...'`, temporary record variables, `DateFormula` declarations and their `Evaluate` call sites, error-handling call sites, and API declarations. -- Tokens extracted from the diff (`Label`, `TextConst`, `Locked`, `Comment`, `MaxLength`, `temporary`, `DateFormula`, `Evaluate`, `CalcDate`, `APIPublisher`, `APIGroup`, `APIVersion`, `EntityName`, `EntitySetName`, `DelayedInsert`, `FieldCaption`, `TableCaption`, `FieldName`, `TableName`, `Page.RunModal`, `Report.Run`, `StrSubstNo`). +- Changed declarations, weighted toward `: Label '...'`, `: TextConst '...'`, temporary record variables, option fields, `DateFormula` declarations and their `Evaluate` call sites, error-handling call sites, API declarations, and codeunit-internal method calls. +- Tokens extracted from the diff (`Label`, `TextConst`, `Locked`, `Comment`, `MaxLength`, `temporary`, `DateFormula`, `Evaluate`, `CalcDate`, `OptionMembers`, `OptionCaption`, `APIPublisher`, `APIGroup`, `APIVersion`, `EntityName`, `EntitySetName`, `DelayedInsert`, `FieldCaption`, `TableCaption`, `FieldName`, `TableName`, `Page.RunModal`, `Report.Run`, `this.`, `StrSubstNo`, `namespace`, `using`, `var `). A file enters the candidate worklist when its `keywords` intersect the extracted tokens or its topic (derived from the index entry's `path`, `title`, and `description`) matches a changed object or declaration. Read an article's full file — its `## Best Practice` / `## Anti Pattern` bodies — only after it makes the worklist; candidate selection uses the index alone. @@ -51,6 +51,14 @@ Apply these high-signal mappings before fuzzy topic ranking: - A `Label` or `TextConst` contains multiple or ambiguous placeholders but has no `Comment`, or its Comment does not explain every placeholder — `label-comment-explains-placeholders.md`. A single placeholder whose meaning is explicit in the text, such as `Customer %1`, is allowed without a Comment and must not be flagged. - A normal two-argument `Evaluate` has a resolved `DateFormula` destination and a hard-coded non-angle-bracket date-formula literal, directly or through a visible constant — `dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.md`. Do not use this cue for dynamic/localized external input, already invariant `<...>` input, or direct `CalcDate(Text, ...)` calls. +- `function-call-parentheses-required.md` applies only to a zero-argument invocation written without `()`. Never worklist it from an invocation that already has parentheses or supplies arguments, including `Error(Label, Arg1, Arg2)`. +- A new `.app` build artifact appears at the project root or another unversioned/arbitrary location, or is added to source control alongside the AL source that produced it — `al-build-output-must-not-pollute-project-root.md`. A deliberate `--outfolder`/`outputPath` destination added to `.gitignore` is the compliant shape, not the signal to flag. +- A new or renamed AL identifier (variable, procedure, parameter, field, object, enum value, or label identifier) contains non-English words — `al-identifiers-english.md`. A caption, tooltip, or other user-facing text value in a non-English language is not this anti-pattern; only the identifier itself is in scope. +- A field or variable is typed `Boolean` and its two possible values are genuinely named domain alternatives (a status pair like Inbound/Outbound, Debit/Credit, Buy/Sell) rather than a true/false predicate, or an `Option`/`Enum`/`Integer` models a domain concept that is intrinsically a yes/no flag — `binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md`. The signal is a semantic mismatch between the type and the domain concept, not the current number of states. +- A field or variable is typed `Integer` with the meaning of each value tracked only in a comment, or an `Enum` with more than two members is proposed as `Boolean`-like — `fixed-choice-set-must-use-enum-not-integer.md`. Do not flag a genuinely two-state `Enum`/`Option` for having "too few" members; that overlaps `binary-choice-must-be-boolean.md` instead when the domain is a true/false predicate. +- A new `using` directive is added for an existing AL object without the diff also showing that object's own `namespace` declaration or a symbol-package lookup backing the choice — `namespace-must-be-verified-from-source.md`. Require repository/dependency context; a single new `using` line cannot itself prove whether the namespace was verified or guessed. +- An intrinsic/built-in AL function call (`MESSAGE`, `ERROR`, `CONFIRM`, `STRSUBSTNO`, etc.) is written in ALL-CAPS or another non-PascalCase form — `intrinsic-al-functions-must-use-modern-casing.md`. +- A procedure call passes a literal or a computed expression (not a caller-scope variable) to a parameter position the callee declares `var` — `var-parameters-require-an-addressable-variable.md`. This is a compile-time-guaranteed shape; flag it only when the callee's declared signature is visible in the diff or resolvable from context. Once the candidate worklist is known, resolve layer-precedence conflicts per READ and record suppressions. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md index c96ac833..de0c9be1 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md @@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ The following targeted checks cover every current `testing` article. Treat each - Test fixture code manually calls `Init`/`Insert`, invents keys or prerequisite records, or bypasses available `LibrarySales`, `LibraryPurchase`, `LibraryERM`, `LibraryInventory`, `LibraryRandom`, or equivalent library codeunits — `use-library-codeunits-for-test-fixtures`. - `asserterror` is added or changed without a following `Assert.ExpectedError`, `Assert.ExpectedErrorCode`, or a purpose-built assertion such as `ExpectedTestFieldError` — `asserterror-needs-expectederror-and-code`. - A test path raises UI and `[HandlerFunctions(...)]` does not match the invoked handlers, or the test has no meaningful evidence of the UI result (for example, it treats a Boolean set before the action as proof of success) — `ui-handlers-in-tests`. A capture/reset/assert-after-`RunModal` pattern is valid. Enqueue/dequeue and `AssertEmpty` are required only when order, count, text, replies, or a scripted sequence is part of the contract. Only nonoptional handlers have to execute: a listed handler declared `[SendNotificationHandler(true)]` or `[RecallNotificationHandler(true)]` is optional by design, so do not treat it as unmatched when the run never raises the notification. +- A test's `[GIVEN]`/setup looks up a hardcoded code/number/name assumed to already exist instead of creating it, leaves a mandatory field on a created record empty, uses a value that doesn't satisfy the scenario's own explicit length/format requirement (for example a truncation test whose value never exceeds the field), or a scenario-defining value (amount, quantity, percentage, date, threshold, rounding precision) is generated/randomized instead of an explicit chosen value — `test-data-must-be-random-and-complete`. Generating incidental fixture values (identifiers, names, descriptions) via the standard library codeunits is the compliant shape, not the signal to flag, and neither is a short-but-valid value in an otherwise-unremarkable field. Once the candidate worklist is known, resolve layer-precedence conflicts per READ. Drop lower-precedence files whose normative guidance (`## Best Practice` or `## Anti Pattern`) directly contradicts a higher-precedence candidate, and record each dropped file in `suppressed` with `reason: "layer-precedence"`. Files that would have been candidates but are hidden because their layer is disabled in consumer configuration are recorded with `reason: "configuration"`. Files that never became candidates are NOT recorded in `suppressed`. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-web-services-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-web-services-review.md index 19d07355..c486c88f 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-web-services-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-web-services-review.md @@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ Narrow the relevant files to the subset that applies to the changes under review - The changed AL object names and types — especially pages declared with `PageType = API`, API page `part` controls, queries declared with `QueryType = API`, and procedures that expose bound actions. - The changed properties and triggers, weighted toward API page metadata (`APIPublisher`, `APIGroup`, `APIVersion`, `EntityName`, `EntitySetName`, `ODataKeyFields`, `SourceTable`, `SourceTableTemporary`), navigation metadata (`SubPageLink`, `Multiplicity`, and visible singleton or collection semantics), CRUD guards (`InsertAllowed`, `ModifyAllowed`, `DeleteAllowed`, `Editable`), the `OnOpenPage` trigger, and `OnValidate` triggers on exposed fields. - Webhook subscriber handlers and subscription lifecycle code, especially code that creates or renews subscriptions, handles `validationToken`, schedules from `expirationDateTime`, or targets resources whose eligibility is visible in the diff. +- An API page (`PageType = API`) with `InsertAllowed = true` lists a field in `ODataKeyFields` and that same field control sets `Editable = false` — `api-page-key-fields-must-be-editable-on-insert.md`. A system-generated key such as `SystemId` marked read-only is not this anti-pattern. +- An API page exposes a field via `Rec` directly, and that field is a stored value computed from other fields inside an `OnValidate` trigger rather than a FlowField recalculated in `OnAfterGetRecord` — `stored-derived-fields-must-not-be-exposed-directly.md`. Exposing a genuine FlowField, or a value already recalculated in `OnAfterGetRecord`, is not this anti-pattern. - Tokens extracted from the diff that relate to API surface and behaviour (`PageType`, `QueryType`, `API`, `api-page`, `page-part`, `APIPublisher`, `APIGroup`, `APIVersion`, `EntityName`, `EntitySetName`, `ODataKeyFields`, `SystemId`, `SubPageLink`, `subpagelink`, `Multiplicity`, `multiplicity`, `Many`, `ZeroOrOne`, `SourceTableTemporary`, `Job Queue Entry`, `webhook`, `webhookSupportedResources`, `webhook-supported-resources`, `subscriptions`, `notificationUrl`, `validationToken`, `validationtoken`, `expirationDateTime`, `expirationdatetime`, `ServiceEnabled`, `WebServiceActionContext`, `SetActionResponse`, `ReadIsolation`, `IsolationLevel`, `ReadCommitted`, `InsertAllowed`, `ModifyAllowed`, `DeleteAllowed`, `Editable`, `SourceTable`). A file enters the candidate worklist when its `keywords` intersect the extracted tokens or its topic (derived from the index entry's `path`, `title`, and `description`) matches a changed object type. Read an article's full file — its `## Best Practice` / `## Anti Pattern` bodies — only after it makes the worklist; candidate selection uses the index alone. From 186691f815c288a06cd538075729e98dc5469013 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Michael Dieringer <65093775+MichaelDieringer@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:49:11 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 2/3] 3 AL/BC patterns from CURABIS's internal automated-testing training material (#158) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit * Add 3 more AL/BC patterns from CURABIS Academy testing course material Third batch from CURABIS ApS: item-ledger-entry document-no lookup after Ship-and-Invoice posting, TestPage.Visible()/.Enabled() as the mechanism for verifying field UI state, and LibraryUtility.GenerateGUID() for collision-free test fixture values. * Address Jesper Schulz-Wedde's review on PR #158 - use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md: GenerateGUID() is a Code[10] number-series value, not a real GUID; truncating it with CopyStr for a shorter field cuts off the changing digits. Point to GenerateRandomCode/GenerateRandomCodeWithLength/GenerateRandomXMLText instead, which verify uniqueness against the actual table. - Split use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.md: drop its editability claim (the sample opens with OpenView() and asserts Enabled(), which verifies enabled state, not editability — Editable() and Enabled() are distinct TestField methods). New companion article use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md covers Editable() with OpenEdit() specifically. - Wire GenerateGUID/CopyStr and TestPage Visible/Enabled/Editable cues into al-testing-review.md, and the Item Ledger Entry/Last Shipping No. posting cue into al-data-modeling-review.md. The Item Ledger Entry article itself was independently verified against current BCApps source and needs no changes. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 * Address second round of Jesper Schulz-Wedde's review on PR #158 - use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md/.good.al: documented each LibraryUtility helper's actual behavior, verified against LibraryUtility.Codeunit.al. GenerateRandomCode opens the target table as a temporary RecordRef, so despite taking TableNo it never checks real data. GenerateRandomXMLText performs no table lookup at all. Only GenerateRandomCodeWithLength/GenerateRandomCode20 (capped at Code[10]/ Code[20]) genuinely verify against the real table. Fixture switched to GenerateRandomCodeWithLength where the comment claims verified uniqueness. - al-testing-review.md: rewired the cue to catch the actual anti-pattern (hardcoded literals, hand-built uniqueness, short-field GUID truncation) instead of only matching the compliant GenerateGUID()+CopyStr shape; broadened tokens to include TestPage, Library - Utility, and .Visible()/.Enabled()/.Editable(). - al-data-modeling-review.md: restricted the Item Ledger Entry Last-Shipping-No. cue to sales combined posting; purchase combined posting is Receive+Invoice and uses different fields entirely. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 * Fix remaining correctness issues from Jesper's 2026-09-15 re-review - use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md: narrowed the collision rule to primary-key/unique-lookup fields - an ordinary descriptive field carries no uniqueness constraint, so a hardcoded or deterministic value there isn't the anti-pattern (the article and its al-testing-review.md worklist cue both said "primary-key or descriptive field"). Also corrected GenerateRandomCode: it opens its target table as a temporary RecordRef that starts and stays empty, so its repeat/until loop always exits after one iteration and never retries even within a single test run - the "non-colliding within a test run" claim was false. It's the rightmost N characters of GenerateGUID()'s sequential series, so a short field's value cycles (Code[1] repeats every 10 calls, Code[2] every 100). Verified against LibraryUtility.Codeunit.al in the BCApps reference clone. - item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no: both fixtures called FindSet() without consuming its optional Boolean, which raises a runtime error on an empty result set - the opposite of the article's own claimed "silently matches zero rows, no error" behavior. Wrapped in `if ... then;` per the existing guard-database-reads.good.al idiom. - al-data-modeling-review.md: widened both not-applicable scope clauses (intro and outcome) to include dimension wiring, posting- routine structure, and Item Ledger Entry document-number lookups - the leaf declared itself not-applicable outside setup/master/key/ numbering/block/audit surfaces despite having a targeted cue for this PR's own new article. - Converted this PR's 8 plain-backtick "See sample: `x.good.al`." references (across all 4 new articles) to the READ-convention markdown-link form required by Knowledge-Retrieval.ps1. Rebased onto upstream/main (one conflict in al-data-modeling-review.md intro wording, merged). * Stop routing GenerateRandomCode20 as compliant for shorter fields al-testing-review.md's cue presented GenerateRandomCodeWithLength and GenerateRandomCode20 as interchangeable options for "a shorter field needing real verified uniqueness." They aren't: verified against LibraryUtility.Codeunit.al, GenerateRandomCode20 truncates GenerateGUID()'s sequential value down to the target field's length by keeping the leftmost (slowest-changing) characters via PadStr, so its retry loop against a field shorter than 20 can churn through the same truncated prefix for a long time. GenerateRandomCodeWithLength has no such problem (it generates exactly the requested length of random text). The knowledge article itself already scoped GenerateRandomCode20 to Code[20] correctly - only the skill cue needed narrowing to match. --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 5 --- ...ocument-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al | 12 +++++++ ...cument-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al | 13 ++++++++ ...ry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.md | 26 +++++++++++++++ ...guid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al | 10 ++++++ ...uid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al | 21 ++++++++++++ ...rateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md | 33 +++++++++++++++++++ ...ditable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al | 27 +++++++++++++++ ...itable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al | 26 +++++++++++++++ ...ge-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md | 26 +++++++++++++++ ...le-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al | 14 ++++++++ ...e-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al | 15 +++++++++ ...isible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.md | 26 +++++++++++++++ .../skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md | 5 +-- microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md | 4 ++- 14 files changed, 255 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al create mode 100644 microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.md diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f0683423 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +codeunit 50130 "Sample Item Ledger Lookup" +{ + procedure GetPostedItemLedgerEntries(var SalesHeader: Record "Sales Header"; var ItemLedgerEntry: Record "Item Ledger Entry") + var + LibrarySales: Codeunit "Library - Sales"; + InvoiceNo: Code[20]; + begin + InvoiceNo := LibrarySales.PostSalesDocument(SalesHeader, true, true); + ItemLedgerEntry.SetRange("Document No.", InvoiceNo); + if ItemLedgerEntry.FindSet() then; + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f396d9b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +codeunit 50130 "Sample Item Ledger Lookup" +{ + procedure GetPostedItemLedgerEntries(var SalesHeader: Record "Sales Header"; var ItemLedgerEntry: Record "Item Ledger Entry") + var + LibrarySales: Codeunit "Library - Sales"; + ShippingNo: Code[20]; + begin + LibrarySales.PostSalesDocument(SalesHeader, true, true); + ShippingNo := SalesHeader."Last Shipping No."; + ItemLedgerEntry.SetRange("Document No.", ShippingNo); + if ItemLedgerEntry.FindSet() then; + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.md b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3b5d9399 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: data-modeling +keywords: [item-ledger-entry, document-no, last-shipping-no, ship-and-invoice, posting, sales-order] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# After Ship-and-Invoice posting, Item Ledger Entry carries the shipment document number + +## Description + +Posting a sales order with both Ship and Invoice in one call creates the Item Ledger Entry during the shipment leg of that combined post, so the entry's `Document No.` is stamped with the value assigned to the shipment — `Sales Header."Last Shipping No."` — not the posted sales invoice number the posting call returns. Code that filters Item Ledger Entry by the invoice number instead finds nothing: `SetRange`/`FindSet` simply return zero rows, with no error to signal the mistake. + +## Best Practice + +After posting a sales order with Ship and Invoice together, read `SalesHeader."Last Shipping No."` (populated during the post) and filter Item Ledger Entry by that value, not by the invoice number the posting routine returns. + +See sample: [`item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al`](item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Filtering Item Ledger Entry by the posted sales invoice number after a combined Ship-and-Invoice post. The filter compiles and runs without error but matches zero rows, because the entry belongs to the shipment leg of the posting, not the invoice leg. + +See sample: [`item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al`](item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c718bc7f --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +codeunit 50132 "Sample Customer Type Library" +{ + procedure CreateCustomerType(var CustomerType: Record "Customer Type") + begin + CustomerType.Init(); + CustomerType.Code := 'TEST001'; + CustomerType.Description := 'Test Customer Type'; + CustomerType.Insert(true); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..25a194e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +codeunit 50132 "Sample Customer Type Library" +{ + var + LibraryUtility: Codeunit "Library - Utility"; + + procedure CreateCustomerType(var CustomerType: Record "Customer Type") + begin + CustomerType.Init(); + // Code is shorter than GenerateGUID()'s 10 characters, and this field's + // uniqueness matters, so use GenerateRandomCodeWithLength: it opens the + // real (non-temporary) table and loops until the value doesn't collide. + // GenerateRandomCode would not do this — it opens the table as temporary, + // so its own emptiness check never inspects real rows. + CustomerType.Code := + LibraryUtility.GenerateRandomCodeWithLength(CustomerType.FieldNo(Code), Database::"Customer Type", MaxStrLen(CustomerType.Code)); + // Description is long enough to hold the full GenerateGUID() value + // untruncated, and only needs to be incidental, not verified-unique. + CustomerType.Description := CopyStr(LibraryUtility.GenerateGUID(), 1, MaxStrLen(CustomerType.Description)); + CustomerType.Insert(true); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e06f7383 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.md @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: testing +keywords: [generateguid, library-utility, test-fixtures, uniqueness, generaterandomcode, maxstrlen] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Generate unique test fixture values with LibraryUtility helpers, not hardcoded literals + +## Description + +A fixture helper that assigns a hardcoded literal to a primary-key field, or to any field the test relies on as a unique lookup identifier, collides the moment two tests, or two runs of the same test, create that fixture without cleanup — and a literal longer than the field allows raises a truncation or insert error. An ordinary descriptive field carries no such constraint: two rows with the same description do not collide on insert, and a deterministic descriptive value is often exactly what an exact-match assertion needs, so none of this applies to it. `LibraryUtility.GenerateGUID()` is not a real GUID — it is a `Code[10]` number-series value (`GU00000000`–`GU99999999`) — and it returns the full 10 characters unshortened. Truncating it yourself with `CopyStr(..., 1, MaxStrLen(ShorterField))` for a field under 10 characters is unsafe: the changing digits sit at the right end and are exactly what gets cut off, so consecutive calls into a short field can produce the same truncated value. `GenerateGUID()` is only safe as-is for a field that holds the full 10 characters. + +## Best Practice + +For a field that holds the full 10 characters, assign `LibraryUtility.GenerateGUID()` directly. For a shorter field, do not truncate a GUID yourself — but also do not assume every `LibraryUtility` helper verifies uniqueness against the real table, because they don't all behave the same way: + +- `GenerateRandomCode(FieldNo, TableNo)` opens the target table as a **temporary** `RecordRef`: the buffer starts and stays empty, so its `repeat...until RecRef.IsEmpty()` loop always exits after one iteration — despite taking `TableNo`, it never checks the real table, and it never retries even within its own call. Its value is the rightmost `FieldRef.Length` characters of `GenerateGUID()`'s sequential `GU00000000`–`GU99999999` series, so for a short field that window of digits cycles: a 1-character field repeats every 10 calls, a 2-character field every 100, and so on. It is a finite short-field namespace with a low collision *chance* within one test run — not a guarantee at any scope, unlike the table-checking helpers below. +- `GenerateRandomCodeWithLength(FieldNo, TableNo, CodeLength)` opens the real (non-temporary) table and loops until the generated value doesn't collide — a genuine verified-unique guarantee — but it returns `Code[10]` regardless of the requested `CodeLength`, so it's only useful for a field of 10 characters or fewer. +- `GenerateRandomCode20(FieldNo, TableNo)` is the same real, verified-against-the-table pattern as `GenerateRandomCodeWithLength`, sized for a `Code[20]` field. +- `GenerateRandomXMLText(Length)` performs no table lookup at all — it's a plain random-text generator, appropriate for a descriptive/incidental field where uniqueness doesn't matter, not for a value that needs to be collision-checked. + +Pick `GenerateRandomCodeWithLength`/`GenerateRandomCode20` when the test genuinely needs a code verified unique against the table; use `GenerateRandomCode`/`GenerateGUID`/`GenerateRandomXMLText` for incidental values where a low collision *chance* is enough. + +See sample: [`use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al`](use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Hardcoding a primary-key or unique-lookup fixture value such as `'TEST001'`, which collides across parallel or repeated test runs — a fixed descriptive value is not this anti-pattern, since the field carries no uniqueness constraint. Equally an anti-pattern: truncating `GenerateGUID()`'s result with `CopyStr(..., 1, MaxStrLen(Field))` for a field shorter than 10 characters — the truncation removes the part of the value that actually varies. + +See sample: [`use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al`](use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ddaf0ff0 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +codeunit 50134 "Sample Customer Type Edit Test" +{ + Subtype = Test; + + [Test] + procedure CustomerTypeFieldNotEditable_WhenLocked() + var + Assert: Codeunit Assert; + CustomerType: Record "Customer Type"; + CustomerTypeCard: TestPage "Customer Type Card"; + begin + // [GIVEN] a customer type record whose Locked flag is set + CustomerType.Init(); + CustomerType.Locked := true; + CustomerType.Insert(true); + + // [WHEN] the page is opened in VIEW mode — editability logic that only + // applies in edit mode is not exercised the same way + CustomerTypeCard.OpenView(); + CustomerTypeCard.GoToRecord(CustomerType); + + // [THEN] wrong function: Enabled() does not verify editability + Assert.IsFalse(CustomerTypeCard.Description.Enabled(), 'Description should not be editable while Locked is set.'); + + CustomerTypeCard.Close(); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d683f0b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +codeunit 50133 "Sample Customer Type Edit Test" +{ + Subtype = Test; + + [Test] + procedure CustomerTypeFieldNotEditable_WhenLocked() + var + Assert: Codeunit Assert; + CustomerType: Record "Customer Type"; + CustomerTypeCard: TestPage "Customer Type Card"; + begin + // [GIVEN] a customer type record whose Locked flag is set + CustomerType.Init(); + CustomerType.Locked := true; + CustomerType.Insert(true); + + // [WHEN] the page is opened in edit mode on that record + CustomerTypeCard.OpenEdit(); + CustomerTypeCard.GoToRecord(CustomerType); + + // [THEN] the field's actual editable state reflects the lock + Assert.IsFalse(CustomerTypeCard.Description.Editable(), 'Description should not be editable while Locked is set.'); + + CustomerTypeCard.Close(); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f94c792f --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: testing +keywords: [testpage, editable, openedit, ui-state, field-verification] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Verify field editability with TestPage.Editable(), opened in edit mode + +## Description + +Whether a field can actually be changed is a distinct state from whether it is shown or enabled — `Editable()` and `Enabled()` are separate `TestField` functions. Verifying editability also requires opening the `TestPage` with `OpenEdit()`, not `OpenView()`: `OpenView()` opens the page in view mode, so it does not exercise the field's own conditional editability logic the way an actual edit-mode session does. + +## Best Practice + +Open the `TestPage` with `OpenEdit()`, navigate to the relevant record, then assert against `TestPageField.Editable()` to verify whether the field can be changed under the given precondition. + +See sample: [`use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al`](use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +Asserting `Enabled()` (or checking nothing at all) when the actual claim is about editability, or opening the page with `OpenView()` when the field's editability depends on business logic that only applies in edit mode. + +See sample: [`use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al`](use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..410af398 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +codeunit 50131 "Sample Customer Type UI Test" +{ + Subtype = Test; + + [Test] + procedure CustomerTypeFieldIsEnabledOnCustomerCard() + var + CustomerCard: TestPage "Customer Card"; + begin + // Confirms only that the page opens - never checks the field's actual UI state + CustomerCard.OpenView(); + CustomerCard.Close(); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6e03c06e --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +codeunit 50131 "Sample Customer Type UI Test" +{ + Subtype = Test; + + [Test] + procedure CustomerTypeFieldIsEnabledOnCustomerCard() + var + Assert: Codeunit Assert; + CustomerCard: TestPage "Customer Card"; + begin + CustomerCard.OpenView(); + Assert.IsTrue(CustomerCard."Customer Type".Enabled(), 'Customer Type should be enabled on the Customer Card.'); + Assert.IsTrue(CustomerCard."Customer Type".Visible(), 'Customer Type should be visible on the Customer Card.'); + end; +} diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.md b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ff6bd869 --- /dev/null +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/testing/use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +--- +bc-version: [all] +domain: testing +keywords: [testpage, visible, enabled, ui-state, headless-test, field-verification] +technologies: [al] +countries: [w1] +application-area: [all] +--- + +# Verify field visibility and enabled state with TestPage.Visible()/.Enabled() + +## Description + +A UI test codeunit does not need to inspect table or page properties indirectly to confirm a field is shown or enabled under given conditions. The `TestPage` object exposes a `Visible()` and an `Enabled()` function on each field, reflecting the page's actual rendered state, callable directly from a `[Test]` procedure. `Enabled()` and `Editable()` are distinct states — this article covers visibility/enabled state specifically; see `use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability.md` for verifying whether a field can actually be changed. + +## Best Practice + +Open the `TestPage`, navigate to the relevant record if needed, then assert against `TestPageField.Visible()` and `TestPageField.Enabled()` to verify the field's shown/enabled state, rather than checking an unrelated table/page property or skipping the check. + +See sample: [`use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al`](use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.good.al). + +## Anti Pattern + +A test that opens the `TestPage` but never asserts against `Visible()`/`Enabled()` on the field in question — confirming only that the page opens, not that the field behaves as expected. + +See sample: [`use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al`](use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state.bad.al). diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md index 23183045..e58b6b09 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-data-modeling-review.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ application-area: [all] Reviews AL source changes against the `data-modeling` knowledge domain in BCQuality and emits a findings report. This is a leaf action skill: it invokes no sub-skills. It is one of the skills composed by `al-code-review`. -An orchestrator invokes this skill with a `pr-diff`, `file-path`, or `folder-path`. Data-modeling findings are narrow by design — they apply when the review scope contains setup or master tables, their card pages, primary keys, number-series assignment, block enforcement, or audit fields. The skill returns `not-applicable` when none of those apply. +An orchestrator invokes this skill with a `pr-diff`, `file-path`, or `folder-path`. Data-modeling findings are narrow by design — they apply when the review scope contains setup or master tables, their card pages, primary keys, number-series assignment, block enforcement, audit fields, dimension wiring, journal-based posting-routine structure, or Item Ledger Entry document-number lookups after a combined sales post. The skill returns `not-applicable` when none of those apply. ## Source @@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ A file enters the candidate worklist when its `keywords` intersect the extracted The following targeted checks cover every current `data-modeling` article. Treat each as a candidate-selection cue: when the signal appears in changed code, add the named article to the worklist and evaluate it in Action. - A `* Setup` table or its page changes singleton structure, uses a nonblank or generated key, permits insert/delete, uses a List page, or does not ensure the blank-keyed row exists — `setup-table-is-a-singleton`. +- Code reads `Item Ledger Entry."Document No."` (or `"Last Shipping No."`/`"Last Posting No."`) after a combined Ship+Invoice **sales** post — `item-ledger-entry-document-no-follows-last-shipping-no`. This is a sales-specific rule: purchase combined posting is Receive+Invoice and uses receiving fields such as `"Last Receiving No."`, not the shipment/document-number behavior this article describes. Do not worklist it from purchase posting code. - A custom master table changes its primary key, `No.`/`No. Series` fields, or `OnInsert` without assigning a blank `No.` from setup through a number series — `master-table-no-from-number-series-in-oninsert`. - BC v22 or later code introduces or retains `NoSeriesManagement`, `InitSeries`, `SelectSeries`, or `SetSeries`, or number assignment/manual-entry checks do not use codeunit `"No. Series"` methods such as `GetNextNo`, `IsManual`, or `TestManual` — `use-no-series-codeunit-not-noseriesmanagement`. - A master gains or changes `Blocked`, or a document line, journal line, reference-field `OnValidate`, or posting routine uses that master without `TestField(Blocked, false)` at the point of use; also cue when the check is placed only in the master's own triggers — `check-blocked-in-referencing-code-not-in-master`. @@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ Outcome selection: - `completed` — the skill evaluated every worklist item. - `no-knowledge` — no applicable data-modeling knowledge survived filtering. -- `not-applicable` — the diff touches no setup/master table, page, key, numbering, block-check, or audit-field surface. +- `not-applicable` — the diff touches no setup/master table, page, key, numbering, block-check, audit-field, dimension-wiring, posting-routine-structure, or Item-Ledger-Entry-document-number surface. - `partial` — a budget was hit before the worklist was exhausted. - `failed` — an unrecoverable error occurred. diff --git a/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md b/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md index de0c9be1..6986977d 100644 --- a/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md +++ b/microsoft/skills/review/al-testing-review.md @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Narrow the relevant files to the subset that applies to the changes under review - The changed AL object names and types — especially codeunits with `Subtype = Test`, test runner codeunits with `TestIsolation`, test libraries, and codeunits that define UI handlers. - The changed methods and attributes, weighted toward `[Test]`, `[TransactionModel(...)]`, `[TestPermissions(...)]`, `[HandlerFunctions(...)]`, handler attributes, `asserterror`, `ExpectedError`, `ExpectedErrorCode`, fixture initialization, and test-library calls. -- Tokens extracted from the diff that relate to testing (`Subtype = Test`, `Subtype = TestRunner`, `TestIsolation`, `TestPermissions`, `Restrictive`, `NonRestrictive`, `Disabled`, `Permissions Mock`, `Library - Lower Permissions`, `TransactionModel`, `AutoRollback`, `AutoCommit`, `Commit`, `asserterror`, `ExpectedError`, `ExpectedErrorCode`, `HandlerFunctions`, `ConfirmHandler`, `MessageHandler`, `StrMenuHandler`, `ModalPageHandler`, `SendNotificationHandler`, `RecallNotificationHandler`, `Enqueue`, `Dequeue`, `AssertEmpty`, `Library Assert`, `LibraryVariableStorage`, `LibrarySales`, `LibraryPurchase`, `LibraryERM`, `LibraryInventory`, `LibraryRandom`, `Init`, `Insert`). +- Tokens extracted from the diff that relate to testing (`Subtype = Test`, `Subtype = TestRunner`, `TestIsolation`, `TestPermissions`, `Restrictive`, `NonRestrictive`, `Disabled`, `Permissions Mock`, `Library - Lower Permissions`, `TransactionModel`, `AutoRollback`, `AutoCommit`, `Commit`, `asserterror`, `ExpectedError`, `ExpectedErrorCode`, `HandlerFunctions`, `ConfirmHandler`, `MessageHandler`, `StrMenuHandler`, `ModalPageHandler`, `SendNotificationHandler`, `RecallNotificationHandler`, `Enqueue`, `Dequeue`, `AssertEmpty`, `Library Assert`, `LibraryVariableStorage`, `LibrarySales`, `LibraryPurchase`, `LibraryERM`, `LibraryInventory`, `LibraryRandom`, `Library - Utility`, `LibraryUtility`, `GenerateGUID`, `GenerateRandomCode`, `TestPage`, `.Visible(`, `.Enabled(`, `.Editable(`, `OpenNew`, `OpenView`, `OpenEdit`, `Init`, `Insert`). A file enters the candidate worklist when its `keywords` intersect the extracted tokens or its topic (derived from the index entry's `path`, `title`, and `description`) matches a changed object type. Read an article's full file — its `## Best Practice` / `## Anti Pattern` bodies — only after it makes the worklist; candidate selection uses the index alone. When the diff contains no testing-related changes by any of the above signals, return `outcome: "not-applicable"` without evaluating files. @@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ The following targeted checks cover every current `testing` article. Treat each - A permission-sensitive test uses `TestPermissions = Disabled`, claims to test a restricted user without `"Permissions Mock"`/`"Library - Lower Permissions"`, or declares `[TestPermissions(...)]` without applying that context — `permission-tests-must-lower-the-execution-context`. - Test fixture code manually calls `Init`/`Insert`, invents keys or prerequisite records, or bypasses available `LibrarySales`, `LibraryPurchase`, `LibraryERM`, `LibraryInventory`, `LibraryRandom`, or equivalent library codeunits — `use-library-codeunits-for-test-fixtures`. - `asserterror` is added or changed without a following `Assert.ExpectedError`, `Assert.ExpectedErrorCode`, or a purpose-built assertion such as `ExpectedTestFieldError` — `asserterror-needs-expectederror-and-code`. +- Test fixture code assigns a hardcoded literal to a primary-key field or a field the test relies on as a unique lookup identifier, hand-builds a "unique" value for such a field (string concatenation, a counter, `Format(CurrentDateTime)`), or truncates `LibraryUtility.GenerateGUID()`'s result with `CopyStr` for such a field shorter than 10 characters — `use-generateguid-for-unique-test-fixture-values`. Calling `GenerateGUID()` untruncated into a full-length field, `GenerateRandomCodeWithLength` for a shorter field needing real verified uniqueness, or `GenerateRandomCode20` specifically for a `Code[20]` field, is the compliant shape, not the signal to flag. `GenerateRandomCode20` is not a substitute for `GenerateRandomCodeWithLength` on a shorter field — it truncates `GenerateGUID()`'s sequential value down to the field's length by keeping the *leftmost* characters, which change the slowest, so retries against a short field can churn through the same truncated prefix far longer than `GenerateRandomCodeWithLength`'s equivalent. A hardcoded or deterministic value in an ordinary descriptive field is not this anti-pattern — that field carries no uniqueness constraint. Do not claim `GenerateRandomCode` (without `WithLength`/`20`) or `GenerateRandomXMLText` verify uniqueness against the real table, or that `GenerateRandomCode` is collision-free even within one test run for a short field — none of that is true. +- A test asserts against a `TestPage` field's `.Visible()` or `.Enabled()` — `use-testpage-visible-enabled-to-verify-field-ui-state`. When the assertion is against `.Editable()`, or the page is opened with `OpenEdit()` specifically to check editability — `use-testpage-editable-to-verify-field-editability`. - A test path raises UI and `[HandlerFunctions(...)]` does not match the invoked handlers, or the test has no meaningful evidence of the UI result (for example, it treats a Boolean set before the action as proof of success) — `ui-handlers-in-tests`. A capture/reset/assert-after-`RunModal` pattern is valid. Enqueue/dequeue and `AssertEmpty` are required only when order, count, text, replies, or a scripted sequence is part of the contract. Only nonoptional handlers have to execute: a listed handler declared `[SendNotificationHandler(true)]` or `[RecallNotificationHandler(true)]` is optional by design, so do not treat it as unmatched when the run never raises the notification. - A test's `[GIVEN]`/setup looks up a hardcoded code/number/name assumed to already exist instead of creating it, leaves a mandatory field on a created record empty, uses a value that doesn't satisfy the scenario's own explicit length/format requirement (for example a truncation test whose value never exceeds the field), or a scenario-defining value (amount, quantity, percentage, date, threshold, rounding precision) is generated/randomized instead of an explicit chosen value — `test-data-must-be-random-and-complete`. Generating incidental fixture values (identifiers, names, descriptions) via the standard library codeunits is the compliant shape, not the signal to flag, and neither is a short-but-valid value in an otherwise-unremarkable field. From 130d5de6c4bd72d2158240fe431862b6434c735a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Nikolaj=20Jakobi=20N=C3=B8ttrup?= Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:49:55 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 3/3] Fix indirect permission letters in indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access (#199) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Each letter of a permission value is one permission, so `ri` is indirect read plus indirect insert. The good sample granted a read-only "Report Runner" role indirect insert on G/L Entry. Use `r` in the sample, name the lowercase letters in Best Practice, replace the ri/ii/mi/di keywords and cite the Microsoft Learn pages that define the letters. Co-authored-by: Nikolaj Jakobi Nøttrup <242577394+Nikolaj1407@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 --- .../indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al | 2 +- .../security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.md | 8 ++++++-- 2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al b/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al index 9fef5e4f..f69dbc33 100644 --- a/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ permissionset 50203 "Sec Sample Report Runner" { - Permissions = tabledata "G/L Entry" = ri; + Permissions = tabledata "G/L Entry" = r; } diff --git a/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.md b/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.md index 2a39b9ca..8e3d620c 100644 --- a/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.md +++ b/microsoft/knowledge/security/indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.md @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ --- bc-version: [all] domain: security -keywords: [permissionset, indirect-permissions, ri, ii, mi, di, code-mediated] +keywords: [permissionset, indirect-permissions, lowercase, code-mediated] technologies: [al] countries: [w1] application-area: [all] @@ -15,8 +15,12 @@ In a `permissionset`, uppercase letters (`R`, `I`, `M`, `D`) grant **direct** pe ## Best Practice -Use indirect permissions (`ri`, `ii`, `mi`, `di`) when a role needs access to a sensitive table only through a specific codeunit or report — for example, a "Report Runner" role that reads `G/L Entry` only via published reports. Pair the indirect grant with the codeunit or report that mediates access; that object's own permissions (or InherentPermissions) supply the direct rights. Document why indirect permissions are required in the permission set or in the consuming object's comments. See sample: [`indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al`](indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al). +Use indirect permissions (the lowercase letters `r`, `i`, `m`, `d`) when a role needs access to a sensitive table only through a specific codeunit or report — for example, a "Report Runner" role that reads `G/L Entry` only via published reports, granted `tabledata "G/L Entry" = r`. Each letter is one permission: `ri` grants indirect read **and** indirect insert, so grant only the letters the role needs. Pair the indirect grant with the codeunit or report that mediates access; that object's own permissions (or InherentPermissions) supply the direct rights. Document why indirect permissions are required in the permission set or in the consuming object's comments. See sample: [`indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al`](indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.good.al). ## Anti Pattern Granting `RIMD` on a sensitive table when the role only needs to view it through a report — for example `tabledata "G/L Entry" = RIMD` on a "Report Runner" role. Users assigned that role can now query and modify ledger entries directly through any client that respects the permission, bypassing the report entirely. Reviewers should look for uppercase grants on system-of-record tables (G/L Entry, ledger entries, posted documents) where the consuming code path is clearly read-through-report or read-through-API. See sample: [`indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.bad.al`](indirect-permissions-for-elevated-access.bad.al). + +## References + +[Permissions property](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/developer/properties/devenv-permissions-property) and [Permissions on database objects](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/developer/devenv-permissions-on-database-objects) define one letter per permission: `R`/`r` read, `I`/`i` insert, `M`/`m` modify, `D`/`d` delete, uppercase for direct and lowercase for indirect.