Business Central Programming - Beyond the Basics

Welcome to Business Central Programming – Beyond the Basics!

Ready to take your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central development skills to the next level?

This course is designed for developers who already understand the fundamentals of AL programming and want to deepen their knowledge with the tools, techniques and best practices used in real Business Central projects.

This course continues where my "Begin Programming in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central" course ends, covering additional tools, development concepts and Business Central features that you'll use as you gain more experience with AL development. If you already have equivalent AL development experience, you can jump straight into this course.

Rather than revisiting the basics, we'll focus on the tools, concepts and features that will help you become more confident when developing Business Central extensions.

Throughout the course, every topic is explained through practical demonstrations that you can apply in your own Business Central projects.

What You'll Learn:

Development Tools & Productivity

• Install Business Central using Docker Desktop, Microsoft's Installation Kit (DVD), or a Business Central Online Sandbox

• Publish extensions to both On-Premises and Business Central Online environments

• Debug AL applications efficiently

• Use the Performance Profiler to identify performance bottlenecks

• Work with the Page Scripting Tool

• Increase your productivity using GitHub Copilot when developing AL extensions

AL Development Topics

• Work with Event-Driven Programming

• Manage the application lifecycle using Install, Upgrade and other specialized Codeunits

• Create notifications for Business Central users

• Learn how to work with Job Queues

• Get introduced to integrating Business Central with the Microsoft Power Platform

• Explore additional AL development concepts that will help you better understand the Business Central development platform.

Automated Testing

• Understand the fundamentals of automated testing in Business Central

• Learn how automated tests improve code quality and simplify future maintenance

Business Central Administration

• Navigate the Business Central Admin Center

• Create and manage Business Central Online environments

• Perform common administration tasks for cloud-hosted Business Central environments

Telemetry

• Introduction to Business Central telemetry

• Understand the basics of Business Central telemetry

Multiple Development Environment Options

To make this course accessible on as many computers as possible, it includes three different ways to set up your Business Central development environment.

1. Option 1 (Recommended) – Install Business Central locally using Docker Desktop.

2. Option 2 – If Docker isn't compatible with your computer or cannot be installed because of hardware, virtualization or operating system limitations, you can instead install Business Central locally using Microsoft's Installation Kit (DVD).

3. Option 3 (Alternative) – If neither local installation method works for you, the course also includes a complete chapter showing how to develop using a Business Central Online Sandbox.

You only need ONE of these environments to complete the course.

Once one installation method is working, simply continue with the remaining lessons. Although many demonstrations use Docker, the concepts covered throughout the course are exactly the same regardless of which development environment you choose.

If you encounter installation difficulties, don't worry. The course explains alternative setup methods, and you can always ask questions in the Q&A section, where I'll be happy to help.

Whether you're looking to improve your daily development workflow or expand your AL programming knowledge, this course will help you become more comfortable developing extensions for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Important: This course focuses on practical, real-world Business Central development and administration. It is not intended as preparation for the Microsoft MB-820 certification exam.