Advanced Development Specialist in Business Central
The Advanced Developer booster is a comprehensive, self-paced programme for experienced AL developers ready to take their Dynamics 365 Business Central skills to a professional level. Built around a realistic consulting case with Solutize, this on-demand course covers the advanced topics that define serious BC development: web services, external integrations, Azure Functions, control add-ins, test automation, and AL best practices.
Every topic is backed by practical assignments with full solutions, and real-time support from a team of instructors is available throughout your learning journey. The course is structured to build on solid AL foundations, progressively introducing integration patterns, security considerations, performance optimisation, and testing methodology. If you are ready to move beyond the fundamentals and develop the skills that distinguish a professional BC developer, this booster is the right next step.
1. Getting Started
- About the platform and this course
- Technical requirements
- Case story: Solutize
- Setting up your environments
2. AL Best Practices and Code Quality
- System Application modules
- Business Foundation and No. Series module
- Design patterns and guidelines
- Per-tenant vs AppSource extensions
- XML comments in code
- GitHub Copilot for AL development
3. Performance and Security
- Performance considerations in AL
- The Performance Toolkit
- Locking in AL: runtime and explicit control
- Securing data with Isolated Storage
- Securing data with Azure Key Vault
4. Web Services and Authentication
- Web services in Business Central
- Basic Authentication
- OAuth2 Authorization Code Flow
- OAuth2 Client Credentials Flow
- Creating an OAuth2 app in Azure
5. OData Web Services
- Using and consuming OData web services
- Bound and unbound actions
6. API Web Services
- Standard APIs and endpoints
- Custom API pages
- Webhooks
- Deep insert and batch calls
- Multilanguage support and API best practices
7. Connecting to External Services
- HttpClient and authentication in AL
- XML types in AL
- JSON types in AL
8. Importing and Exporting Data
- Streaming and file download and upload
- Excel Buffer: reading and writing
- XMLports
- Azure Blob Storage module
- SharePoint module
- Data compression and Base64
- Pages and queries as API
9. Azure Functions and Control Add-Ins
- Introduction to Azure Functions
- Azure Functions for BC developers
- Control add-in fundamentals
- Creating a control add-in
- Styling, sizing and Chart.js
10. Interfaces
- What are interfaces and why they matter
- Working with interfaces in AL
11. Test Automation
- When and how to design automated tests
- AL language features for testing
- Shared fixtures and UI tests
- Page scripting for user acceptance testing
- Testing external connections
- Tests as development methodology
12. Assessment and Certification
- Advanced Developer exam
- Certificate and badge
This course is part of the following learning journeys:
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- More training for less budget
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- Courses created by MCTs and MVPs
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- Guidance for all certifications
Who is this course for?
Experienced AL developers working with Dynamics 365 Business Central who are comfortable with the fundamentals and want to build expertise in integration, architecture, and professional development practices. Completing the Core Developer booster first is strongly recommended.
What will you learn?
- How to apply AL best practices, design patterns, and performance optimisation techniques in professional Business Central projects.
- How to build and consume OData and API web services with OAuth2 authentication, including custom API pages, webhooks, and batch calls.
- How to connect Business Central to external services and APIs using HttpClient, JSON, XML, and Azure Functions.
- How to work with advanced data import and export techniques including Excel Buffer, XMLports, Azure Blob Storage, and SharePoint.
- How to build custom control add-ins using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript libraries such as Chart.js.
- How to design and implement automated tests for Business Central extensions, including UI tests and page scripting for user acceptance testing.