Access denied errors and Code permissions

Sometimes users with limited privileges stumble upon errors like below.

 Microsoft.Dynamics.Ax.Xpp.ErrorException: Exception of type 'Microsoft.Dynamics.Ax.Xpp.ErrorException' was thrown.  
   at Dynamics.Ax.Application.SysOperationController.Checkaccess() in SysOperationController.checkAccess.xpp:line 6  
   at Dynamics.Ax.Application.SysOperationServiceController.Checkaccess() in SysOperationServiceController.checkAccess.xpp:line 24  
   at Dynamics.Ax.Application.SysOperationServiceController.Unpack(Object[] packedState) in   
 SysOperationServiceController.unpack.xpp:line 13  
   at Dynamics.Ax.Application.BatchRun.runJobStatic(Int64 batchId) in BatchRun.runJobStatic.xpp:line 32  
   at BatchRun::runJobStatic(Object[] )  
   at Microsoft.Dynamics.Ax.Xpp.ReflectionCallHelper.MakeStaticCall(Type type, String MethodName, Object[] parameters)  
   at BatchIL.taskThreadEntry(Object threadArg)  

Along with one line like Access denied to %1 class. Clearly these are permissions issues owing to limited privileges added to the user's roles in security. One crude way to resolve the issue would be to simply elevate the access rights for the user, but that's not always practical. Second, more preferred way would be to give granular level access to that particular method where exception occurs. These methods are ususally run on Server and have attribute [SysEntryPointAttribute]. Here we can use Code permissions. Name suggests the purpose itself. Permission to code. See the example below. We have a custom code permission with one server method added. Not the property EffectiveAccess set as Invoke.

And this code permission is bound to the menu item that starts the logic.

Using update_recordset with Views

We know that update_recordset statements should be used in place of while select forupdate wherever we can. We get the benefit of time saved by reduced server-sql trips.

Lets discuss a unique scenario.
Imagine you have to update table A with a status based on count of a particular column on another related table B. While select would look like this.

   ttsbegin;  
   while select forupdate stagingImportTable  
   exists join stagingPurchImport  
   where stagingPurchImport.ImportId == stagingImportTable.RecId  
   exists join stagingImportQueue  
   where stagingImportQueue.ImportID == stagingImportTable.ImportId &&  
   stagingImportQueue.ToDelete  
   {  
     select count(RecId) from stagingPurchImport
       where stagingPurchImport.ImportId == stagingImportTable.RecId &&  
       !stagingPurchImport.PostedId;  
     if (stagingPurchImport.RecId != 0)  
       stagingImportTable.Status = MMSImportStatus::Incomplete;  
     else  
       stagingImportTable.Status = MMSImportStatus::Posted;  
     stagingImportTable.update();  
   }  
   ttscommit;  

Essentially we need to know the count (or any other aggregate value for that matter) of a column to decide which status needs to be set. The above statement can be very time consuming and that's where Views come to the rescue. How do we go about it? First we need a query with table B as primary datasource and range as the column we need the count of, joined by table A. See below image.

Now we create a View with the above query as datasource (just drag and drop) and add two fields. First one we call CountOfRecId, which is an aggregation of RecIds. See below. (Note: when you try adding the field to a view, by default its a string, but when you choose the actual field, the datatype changes). Second field we add (ImportID) is to assist the join in the update statement we see next.

     ttsbegin;  
     update_recordset stagingImportTable  
     setting Status = MMSImportStatus::Incomplete  
     exists join purchView  
     where purchView.CountOfRecId != 0 &&  
     purchView.ImportId == stagingImportTable.ImportId  
     exists join stagingImportQueue  
     where stagingImportQueue.ImportID == stagingImportTable.ImportId &&  
     stagingImportQueue.ToDelete;  
     ttscommit;  
     ttsbegin;  
     update_recordset stagingImportTable  
     setting Status = MMSImportStatus::Posted  
     exists join stagingImportQueue  
     where stagingImportQueue.ImportID == stagingImportTable.ImportId &&  
     stagingImportQueue.ToDelete  
     notexists join purchView  
     where purchView.ImportId == stagingImportTable.ImportId;  
     ttscommit;  

Since we have leveraged the power of queries and views, we get the count super-fast, which we then use in the update_recordset statement by making a join with the View, which behaves like a table. If you browse the View, it looks like this. Note the RecId value.

Multi-threading - Dependent tasks in batch using SysOperation framework

For a recent requirement, we had to make a custom batch job that could process thousands of lines coming from retail stores and post sales orders, purchase orders and counting journals for stock adjustments in AX. This batch job was to run on a regular basis daily. And to raise the bar of complexity even further, there was a sequence to the postings. First goes purchase, then sales and finally stock. Plus there were methods at the beginning and at the end for preparing the data and cleaning up activities at the end. So all in all we have a heavy duty batch job doing lots of heavy lifting and at the same time maintaining a sequence. That's when i started looking at multi-threading in AX.

Adding dependent tasks in AX 2009 has been possible using RunBaseBatch framework. Read this post
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/axsupport/archive/2011/04/13/threading-in-dynamics-ax.aspx

But we needed to tweak this approach as we have the SysOperation framework replacing most of the RunBase code going in future. All new batch jobs, ssrs reports rely on SysOperation classes.

I am going to show few of the tweakings we did and how we used them in the batch job.

First of all we needed a way to have a list of tasks that could be executed in parallel and at the same time define a dependent task. We created a custom class that extended SysOperationServiceBase and custom method that took a list and a task(class) as parameter. We called it addRunTimeTaskList().

Notice how we loop through the list of tasks, calling addRunTimeTask() for each and at the end call addDependency(). This is important you can't call addDependency() without calling addRunTimeTask() first. Note addDependency() method makes task _batchTaskAfter a dependent of each batchTask of the list. Enum BatchDependencyStatus::Finished tells that dependent task will only start executing once the parent tasks have finished successfully.

 /// <summary>  
 /// Used to add a list of runtime tasks to the current batch job  
 /// </summary>  
 /// <param name="_batchTasks">  
 /// List of tasks to be added  
 /// </param>  
 /// <param name="_batchTaskAfter">  
 /// task to be run after all other tasks are complete  
 /// </param>  
 /// <remarks>  
 ///  
 /// </remarks>  
 protected void AddRunTimeTaskList(List _batchTasks, Batchable _batchTaskAfter = null)  
 {  
   BatchHeader bh = this.getCurrentBatchHeader();  
   Batch b = this.getCurrentBatchTask();  
   Batchable batchTask;  
   ListEnumerator listEnum;  
   boolean isRunTimeJob = bh.parmRuntimeJob();  
   listEnum = _batchTasks.getEnumerator();  
   listEnum.reset();  
   if( this.isExecutingInBatch() )  
   {  
     if( _batchTaskAfter )  
     {  
       bh.addRuntimeTask(_batchTaskAfter,b.RecId);  
     }  
     /*Now loop through all the tasks and add them*/  
     while(listEnum.moveNext())  
     {  
       batchTask = listEnum.current();  
       //b.RunTimeTask = true;  
       //bh.addTask(batchTask);  
       bh.addRuntimeTask(batchTask,b.RecId);  
       if(_batchTaskAfter)  
       {  
         bh.addDependency(_batchTaskAfter,batchTask,BatchDependencyStatus::Finished);  
       }  
     }  
     try  
     {  
       ttsBegin;  
       //Need to restore this value as there is an issue in this version of AX  
       bh.parmRuntimeJob(isRunTimeJob);  
       bh.save();  
       ttsCommit;  
     }  
     catch( Exception::UpdateConflict )  
     {  
       error("Failed to add child task");  
     }  
   }  
   else  
   {  
     /*Now loop through all the tasks and add them*/  
     while(listEnum.moveNext())  
     {  
       batchTask = listEnum.current();  
       batchTask.run();  
     }  
     /*See if there is a batch to run after*/  
     if(_batchTaskAfter)  
     {  
       _batchTaskAfter.run();  
     }  
   }  
 }  

This is how we call the method addRunTimeTaskList() passing a list and a call to another method as dependent.

 this.AddRunTimeTaskList(batchTasks_Sales, this.batchTaskAfterSales());  

Lets see how we populate batchTasks_Sales. We while through a query each time calling method addUpdateBatch_Sales(), in which we fill a list with instances of SysOperationServiceController class and setting the data contract alongwith.

   while (queryRun.next())  
   {  
     mmsStagingImportTable     = queryRun.get(tableNum(MMSStagingImportTable));  
     if (queryRun.changed(tableNum(MMSStagingImportTable)))  
     {  
       updateBatch.parmDescription(strFmt("@SYS76785", startingPosition, "@MMS2867"));  
       startingPosition++;  
       updateBatch.parmStartDate(processingDate);  
       updateBatch.parmImportId(mmsStagingImportTable.ImportId);  
       this.addUpdateBatch_Sales(updateBatch, classStr(MMSStagingDataSalesCopy), methodStr(MMSStagingDataSalesCopy, copyData));  
     }  
   }  

 public void addUpdateBatch_Sales(MMSStagingDataSalesCopyBatchDC _updateBatch, ClassName _class, MethodName _method)  
 {  
   MMSStagingDataSalesCopyBatchDC dataContract;  
   SysOperationServiceController sosc = new SysOperationServiceController(_class, _method, SysOperationExecutionMode::Synchronous );  
   dataContract = sosc.getDataContractObject();  
   if (dataContract)  
   {  
     dataContract.parmDescription(_updateBatch.parmDescription());  
     dataContract.parmStartDate(_updateBatch.parmStartDate());  
     dataContract.parmImportId(_updateBatch.parmImportId());  
   }  
   batchTasks_Sales.addEnd(sosc);  
 }  

Final piece of the puzzle, dependent method batchTaskAfterSales() which calls the next method.

 private SysOperationServiceController batchTaskAfterSales()  
 {  
   MMSStagingMasterPostingDC     dataContractStock;  
   SysOperationServiceController sosc = new SysOperationServiceController(classStr(MMSStagingDataMasterPosting), methodStr(MMSStagingDataMasterPosting, batchStores), SysOperationExecutionMode::Synchronous);  
   dataContractStock = sosc.getDataContractObject();  
   return sosc;  
 }  

If you run the batch job and have it executing, going to the "View tasks" and selecting dependent task, you could see in the bottom grid the parent tasks.

EDIT: Its important that you use SysOperationExecutionMode::Synchronous in instantiating SysOperationServiceController otherwise your dependent task would run before.

AIF Document Services: Handling header-line relationships and custom operations

Using AIF document services to create data in AX is not a new thing. Its been around for a while now. Document services component of AX is easily the most used aspect when it comes to using AIF services with AX. For most of the basic AX tables, document services are shipped out of the box. For the custom tables that you create, you can easily create document services exposing the tables to the outside world. Create, Read, Update are commonly used service operations. Today i want to discuss how we can use these document services to create some data maintaining the header-line relations of the tables involved. We have two tables, MMSStagingImportTable the parent and MMSStagingStockImport the child and lets assume that we have a query with this relationship and all the Axd* and Ax* objects are already created in AX, port containing the service operations is activated and service reference is added in a .NET console application. For more info refer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa856656.aspx

Below code is a function loadStock() in the .NET console application that shows how i am creating a header with 2 lines using the create service operation.

     static void loadStock()  
     {  
       // Instantiate an instance of the service client class.  
       MMSIntellipharmServiceClient client = new MMSIntellipharmServiceClient();  
       // Initizlise parameters used for the create method  
       CallContext context = new CallContext() { Company = "mms" };  
       // Create an instance of the document class.  
       AxdMMSIntellipharm stagingForm = new AxdMMSIntellipharm();  
       // Create instances of the entities that are used in the service and set the needed fields on those entities.  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable stagingImportTable = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable();  
       stagingImportTable.ImportId = "IPH_1002";  
       stagingImportTable.ImportDate = new DateTime(2014, 4, 4);  
       stagingImportTable.Datasource = AxdEnum_MMSImportDatasource.IPh;  
       stagingImportTable.Type = AxdEnum_MMSImportType.Stock;  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport stagingStockImport = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport();  
       stagingStockImport.Barcode = "535353";  
       stagingStockImport.Cost = 14;  
       stagingStockImport.IsGST = AxdExtType_MMSImportIsGST.Yes;  
       stagingStockImport.ListPrice = 23;  
       stagingStockImport.SellPrice = 24;  
       stagingStockImport.SOH = 50;  
       stagingStockImport.StockDate = new DateTime(2014, 3, 25);  
       stagingStockImport.StoreId = "1300";  
       stagingStockImport.StoreItemDesc = "desc";  
       stagingStockImport.StoreItemId = "555555";  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport stagingStockImport2 = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport();  
       stagingStockImport2.Barcode = "768756";  
       stagingStockImport2.Cost = 13;  
       stagingStockImport2.IsGST = AxdExtType_MMSImportIsGST.Yes;  
       stagingStockImport2.ListPrice = 27;  
       stagingStockImport2.SellPrice = 26;  
       stagingStockImport2.SOH = 40;  
       stagingStockImport2.StockDate = new DateTime(2014, 3, 24);  
       stagingStockImport2.StoreId = "1301";  
       stagingStockImport2.StoreItemDesc = "desc";  
       stagingStockImport2.StoreItemId = "444444";  
       stagingImportTable.MMSStagingStockImport = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport[2] { stagingStockImport, stagingStockImport2 };  
       stagingForm.MMSStagingImportTable = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable[1] { stagingImportTable };  
       // Call the create method on the service passing in the document.  
       EntityKey[] keys = client.create(context, stagingForm);  
       // The create method returns an EntityKey which contains the RecID of the header.  
       EntityKey returnedRecord = (EntityKey)keys.GetValue(0);  
       Console.WriteLine("New stock header created " + returnedRecord.KeyData[0].Value);  
       Console.ReadLine();  
     }  

This function can be called from the main() method like below.

     static void Main(string[] args)  
     {  
       Console.WriteLine("Choose the action you want to perform:");  
       Console.WriteLine("1: Load purchase data");  
       Console.WriteLine("2: Load sales data");  
       Console.WriteLine("3: Load stock data");  
       Console.WriteLine("4: Load queue");  
       Console.WriteLine("5: Load stock data batches");  
       Console.WriteLine("6: Make import Id ready");  
       Console.WriteLine("7: Add ready import Ids to queue");  
       string userChoice = Console.ReadLine();  
       switch (userChoice)  
       {  
         case "1":  
           Program.loadPurchase();  
           break;  
         case "2":  
           Program.loadSales();  
           break;  
         case "3":  
           Program.loadStock();  
           break;  
         case "4":  
           Program.loadQueue();  
           break;  
         case "5":  
           Program.loadStockMultiple();  
           break;  
         case "6":  
           Program.makeReady();  
           break;  
         case "7":  
           Program.addToQueue();  
           break;  
       }  
       Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit");  
       Console.ReadLine();  
     }  

Next we will enhance the loadStock() method by inserting 2 more lines to the same header. I will be using service operations read and update. I haven't seen any example of this kind yet, which is the primary reason for this blog post. This update is actually not updating anything in our case. It merely reads the returned header from the EntityKey[] and adds two more lines to it. Can you notice the differences between loadStockMultiple() and loadStock()?

     static void loadStockMultiple()  
     {  
       // Instantiate an instance of the service client class.  
       MMSIntellipharmServiceClient client = new MMSIntellipharmServiceClient();  
       // Initizlise parameters used for the create method  
       CallContext context = new CallContext() { Company = "mms" };  
       // Create an instance of the document class.  
       AxdMMSIntellipharm stagingForm = new AxdMMSIntellipharm();  
       // Create instances of the entities that are used in the service and set the needed fields on those entities.  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable stagingImportTable = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable();  
       stagingImportTable.ImportId = "IPH_1005";  
       stagingImportTable.ImportDate = new DateTime(2014, 4, 4);  
       stagingImportTable.Datasource = AxdEnum_MMSImportDatasource.IPh;  
       stagingImportTable.Status = AxdEnum_MMSImportStatus.New;  
       stagingImportTable.Type = AxdEnum_MMSImportType.Stock;  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport stagingStockImport = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport();  
       stagingStockImport.Barcode = "535353";  
       stagingStockImport.Cost = 14;  
       stagingStockImport.IsGST = AxdExtType_MMSImportIsGST.Yes;  
       stagingStockImport.ListPrice = 23;  
       stagingStockImport.SellPrice = 24;  
       stagingStockImport.SOH = 50;  
       stagingStockImport.StockDate = new DateTime(2014, 3, 25);  
       stagingStockImport.StoreId = "1300";  
       stagingStockImport.StoreItemDesc = "desc";  
       stagingStockImport.StoreItemId = "555555";  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport stagingStockImport2 = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport();  
       stagingStockImport2.Barcode = "768756";  
       stagingStockImport2.Cost = 13;  
       stagingStockImport2.IsGST = AxdExtType_MMSImportIsGST.Yes;  
       stagingStockImport2.ListPrice = 27;  
       stagingStockImport2.SellPrice = 26;  
       stagingStockImport2.SOH = 40;  
       stagingStockImport2.StockDate = new DateTime(2014, 3, 24);  
       stagingStockImport2.StoreId = "1301";  
       stagingStockImport2.StoreItemDesc = "desc";  
       stagingStockImport2.StoreItemId = "444444";  
       stagingImportTable.MMSStagingStockImport = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport[2] { stagingStockImport, stagingStockImport2 };  
       stagingForm.MMSStagingImportTable = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable[1] { stagingImportTable };  
       // Call the create method on the service passing in the document.  
       EntityKey[] keys = client.create(context, stagingForm);  
       //update >  
       // Use the keys to read   
       AxdMMSIntellipharm stagingFormUpd = client.read(context, keys);  
       // Create instances of the entities that are used in the service and set the needed fields on those entities.  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable stagingImportTableUpd = stagingFormUpd.MMSStagingImportTable.First();  
       stagingImportTableUpd.action = AxdEnum_AxdEntityAction.update;  
       stagingImportTableUpd.actionSpecified = true;  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport stagingStockImportUpd1 = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport();  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.action = AxdEnum_AxdEntityAction.create;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.actionSpecified = true;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.Barcode = "53535";  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.Cost = 14;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.IsGST = AxdExtType_MMSImportIsGST.Yes;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.ListPrice = 23;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.SellPrice = 24;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.SOH = 50;  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.StockDate = new DateTime(2014, 3, 25);  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.StoreId = "1300";  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.StoreItemDesc = "desc";  
       stagingStockImportUpd1.StoreItemId = "555555";  
       AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport stagingStockImportUpd2 = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport();  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.action = AxdEnum_AxdEntityAction.create;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.actionSpecified = true;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.Barcode = "76875";  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.Cost = 13;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.IsGST = AxdExtType_MMSImportIsGST.Yes;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.ListPrice = 27;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.SellPrice = 26;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.SOH = 40;  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.StockDate = new DateTime(2014, 3, 24);  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.StoreId = "1301";  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.StoreItemDesc = "desc";  
       stagingStockImportUpd2.StoreItemId = "444444";  
       stagingImportTableUpd.MMSStagingStockImport = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingStockImport[2] { stagingStockImportUpd1, stagingStockImportUpd2 };  
       stagingFormUpd.MMSStagingImportTable = new AxdEntity_MMSStagingImportTable[1] { stagingImportTableUpd };  
       client.update(context, keys, stagingFormUpd);  
       EntityKey returnedRecord = (EntityKey)keys.GetValue(0);  
       Console.WriteLine("New stock header created & updated " + returnedRecord.KeyData[0].Value);  
       Console.ReadLine();  
       //update <  
     }  

The RecVersion value in AX for the header remains 1, which shows that there is no update to the record. Also notice the use of action and actionSpecified with each buffer, in case of header we use AxdEnum_AxdEntityAction.update and in case of lines we use AxdEnum_AxdEntityAction.create.

We can also add custom service operations along with the standard ones as you can see in my main method, addToQueue() and makeReady(). makeReady() expects a parameter.
Both the methods are added to the DocumentService class in AX with attribute [SysEntryPointAttribute(true)].

.NET code:

     static void makeReady()  
     {  
       try  
       {  
         Console.WriteLine("Enter an Import Id to make ready :");  
         string importId = Console.ReadLine();  
         // Instantiate an instance of the service client class.  
         MMSIntellipharmServiceClient client = new MMSIntellipharmServiceClient();  
         // Initizlise parameters used for the create method  
         CallContext context = new CallContext() { Company = "mms" };  
         // Create an instance of the document class.  
         AxdMMSIntellipharm staging = new AxdMMSIntellipharm();  
         client.makeReady(context, importId);  
         Console.WriteLine("Success!");  
       }  
       catch (Exception e)  
       {  
         Console.WriteLine(e.InnerException.Message);  
       }  
       Console.ReadLine();  
     }  

     static void addToQueue()  
     {  
       try  
       {  
         // Instantiate an instance of the service client class.  
         MMSIntellipharmServiceClient client = new MMSIntellipharmServiceClient();  
         // Initizlise parameters used for the create method  
         CallContext context = new CallContext() { Company = "mms" };  
         // Create an instance of the document class.  
         AxdMMSIntellipharm staging = new AxdMMSIntellipharm();  
         client.addToQueue(context);  
         Console.WriteLine("Success!");  
       }  
       catch (Exception e)  
       {  
         Console.WriteLine(e.InnerException.Message);  
       }  
       Console.ReadLine();  
     }  

AX code:

 [SysEntryPointAttribute(true)]  
 public void makeReady(MMSImportID _importId)  
 {  
   MMSStagingImportTable  importTable;  
   ttsbegin;  
   select firstOnly forupdate importTable where importTable.ImportId == _importId;  
   if (importTable)  
   {  
     importTable.Status = MMSImportStatus::Ready;  
     importTable.update();  
   }  
   ttscommit;  
 }  

 [SysEntryPointAttribute(true)]  
 public void addToQueue()  
 {  
   MMSStagingImportTable  importTable;  
   MMSStagingImportQueue  queueTable, queueTableNot;  
   MMSSeqId        seqId;  
   NumberSeq        numberSeq;  
   numberSeq = NumberSeq::newGetNum(MMSStagingImportQueue::numRefSeqId());  
   numberSeq.used();  
   seqId = numberSeq.num();  
   ttsBegin;  
   insert_recordset queueTable(ImportID, SeqID)  
   select ImportID, seqId  
     from importTable  
     where importTable.Status == MMSImportStatus::Ready  
     notexists join queueTableNot  
     where queueTableNot.ImportID == importTable.ImportId;  
   ttsCommit;  
 }  

Thats a lot of code for one post. I hope you learned something new today.