New Web API Preview for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Offers Stronger Long Term Solution

Microsoft published a preview of the new version of the Dynamics CRM Web API, and it will improve the ability of developers - and Microsoft - to build more sophisticated apps on top of CRM.

The Web API that is in preview currently works alongside the existing supported ODATA REST-based APIs. But over the long term, the new API will gradually replace the current one, creating a single Web API, Microsoft explained.

"The new request types exposed are where I'm really excited about the new capabilities," says Barry Givens, director of product management for CRM at Avanade. "[They] will let us reduce the amount of code that we have to write and, more importantly, reduce the number of round trips that we have to make to the CRM service to complete an action."

Givens says the best of the capabilities is the UPSERT (update + insert) message ."It allows us to check for an item in CRM and then create it if it doesn't exist. We often have to do this with contact records for applications that we build. It is also useful for building smarter synchronization with external systems.

Henrik of the DevBeard blog believes the most interesting aspect of the new API preview is the set of samples that Microsoft provided. They show how to connect, how to use basic operations via helper classes and a helper library, and there is a documentation generator. He writes:

"If you have ever struggled ...