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Using BCS Solutions in SharePoint 2010
WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER
- Understand server-side components
- Learn to administer the BDC Service
- Understand External Lists and web parts
- Learn to use Workflow with BCS
External Content Types form the backbone of BCS solutions by defining how SharePoint and Office interact with External Systems. Once you have created ECTs you can use them in SharePoint in a variety of ways. External Lists are the simplest way to surface External Data, but there are several other options in SharePoint. ECTs can be used to display data in web parts, add External Data to existing lists, interface with workflows, or act as a data source for custom components. This chapter takes a detailed look at BCS in SharePoint, from the Business Data Connectivity components that act as the plumbing to process requests for External Data, to the rich set of out-of-the-box components that enable you to present this data to end users. After reading this chapter you will understand the purpose of each component as well as how they all work together, and you will be ready to use SharePoint Designer to begin building BCS solutions.
UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS DATA CONNECTIVITY
As discussed in Chapter 1, Business Data Connectivity (BDC) is a term that encompasses the infrastructure, runtime, and administration components of BCS. Both the server and the client have BDC components, which are complementary, so you can use a similar approach to creating BCS solutions whether you are focused ...
