Dynamics Business Central / NAV Developer Digest - Vol. 523
ArcherPoint’s Developer Digest focuses on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics NAV development. This week’s volume includes JSON and YAML conversions in Business Central, new manufacturing capabilities in BC, and how to add resources to AL extensions.
The Dynamics 365 Business Central community, consisting of developers, project managers, and consultants, collaborates across various platforms to share valuable insights. At ArcherPoint, we greatly value their dedication and expertise. To ensure widespread access to this technical knowledge, we created Developer Digest.
JSON and YAML conversions in Business Central
JSON and YAML are two methods to perform data serialization.
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data interchange format and the standard format for exchanging data in RESTful services. Based on the JavaScript language, it can be read by humans and machines.
YAML (Yet Another Markup Language or YAML Ain’t Markup Language) is more flexible and easier to read than JSON, but is more complex to parse, making it less attractive as a data transfer protocol. Although it can be used for data transfer, it is frequently used for configuration files.
Both have their place in system development and configuration and sometimes one format is preferred over the other. To support compatibility between systems, Microsoft has introduced new methods for the JsonObject in AL language extension 14.3 that will convert JSON to YAML and YAML to JSON.
Stefano Demiliani discusses these new methods and offers examples in his blog, Dynamics 365 Business Central: YAML to JSON and JSON to YAML conversion.
New manufacturing capabilities in Business Central
The upcoming release of Business Central 2025 Release Wave 1 (v26) has some exciting new features that will help manufacturers manage their production BOMs, such as:
- Add multiple items in a production BOM or edit components in a planning worksheet or production order
- Update production BOMs, leaving the original intact without creating a new BOM
- Greater visibility over BOM changes
Mohana Yadav explains these new features in his blog, Enhanced Manufacturing Product Design in Business Central 2025 Release Wave 1 (v26).
Adding resources to extensions
It is now possible to include resources in an extension, so developers can now add images, configuration settings, text files, and more directly to their extensions. This ensures all required resources are available to the extension and improves performance.
Find out more by reading Tharanga Chandrasekara’s blog, Include Resources in extensions.
Are you interested in Dynamics NAV and Business Central development? Check out our collection of NAV/BC Development Blogs.
Read “How To” blogs from ArcherPoint for practical advice on using Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 Business Central.