Microsoft® Dynamics CRM 2011 Administration Bible

Chapter 21. Working with Client-Side Customizations

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Getting started with coding

• Using code without writing code

• Working with other client-side customizations

In this chapter, we take a look at how to write client-side code and work with other customizations on the client-side of Dynamics CRM. We provide some examples for the newcomer to coding and we offer some ideas for experienced programmers to get them moving along with client-side customizations in Dynamics CRM.

For Web applications, the term "client" refers to the user computer that is viewing the Web application, and the term "server" refers to the computer that hosts the Web application.

In Dynamics CRM, the term "client-side" refers to information that is sent to your browser for processing. Customizations that are made to the client-side include any items that are processed by the browser. This may include Web pages or it may include computer code. Computer code that runs client-side (it is run by the browser) can interact directly with the user. For example, it can pop up a message when a user enters an incorrect value into a field. Server-side, on the other hand, refers to code that only runs on the server and is never loaded to your browser.

The line between server-side and client-side is becoming increasingly blurred. For example, client-side code can send a request to the server that causes server-side code to execute, which, in turn, sends more information to the client to display in a popup window without ...