In this article we are going to see how we can access an external web service using Business connectivity Services in SharePoint 2010.BCS is an evolution of the Business Data Catalog (BDC) capabilities of SharePoint 2007 that enhances the capability of SharePoint as a platform for developing composite applications. It provides out-of-box features, services and tools that streamline development to deeply integrate external data and services. BCS provides the capability to connect SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010 applications to any external system, whether it be a Line-of-Business (LOB) system, (such as Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, or Siebel) a web 2.0 service, or a custom home-grown application. Difference between BCS and BDC in SharePoint 2007BDC entities, web parts and Business Data list columns were designed to provide a read-only window into external systems. BCS provides much deeper integration of external data directly into SharePoint and Office UI in a fully read-write fashion. External Content Types (ECTs) provide a superset of entity capabilities by allowing solution designers to describe both the structure of the external system and how that data should behave within SharePoint and Office. We believe that end users should not have to understand where data comes from; they should be able to view and interact with it in a simple and consistent way across client and server applications. Key BCS features Here is a peek at some of our headline capabilities:Read-write. You can create, read, update and delete external data from SharePoint and Office applications. More connectivity options. In addition to database and web services, connect to WCF services or plug your own code into a .Net assembly connector to handle transformation or aggregation of data. Full support for Claims-enabled services as well as Secure Store Service (formerly SSO) to map user credentials.Design and customization tools. Huge investments in SharePoint Designer 2010 and Visual Studio 2010 to allow creation and customization of code-less and code-based solutions. Composite solutions can be collaboratively built by a team with each member using the tool(s) of their choice. Build applications faster and easier. Rich Client integration. Expose data as a native SharePoint list and then connect it to SharePoint Workspace or Outlook. Customize InfoPath forms to add business logic surfaced consistently in SharePoint and SharePoint Workspace. Customize Outlook to provide views, forms, ribbon buttons or show contextual data in a taskpane - all without writing code!Work online or offline. External data is cached in a SQL CE database installed with Office 2010. When connectivity is lost, the cache automatically goes into offline mode. When connectivity is restored, BCS can synchronize data changes directly to the external system.Application Lifecycle. Deploy composite SharePoint solutions to Office 2010 machines, and enable users to check for updates to those solutions. Now we can g o with the steps to consume a web service using BCS
You need to be a premium member to use this feature. To access it, you'll have to upgrade your membership.
Become a sharper developer and jumpstart your career.
$0
$
. 00
monthly
For Basic members:
$20
For Premium members:
$45
For Elite members: