Referencing .Net Assemblies from Ax

Much Easier


I've now moved to an environment that uses Dynamics Ax 2012 R3.  Today I was asked how to reference a .Net Assembly from Ax code.  It took a little trial and error, but it was very easy.


First I created a C# Class Library project in Visual Studio.  The project contained one class and 2 method.





using System;
namespace AxTestClassProject
{
    public class AxTestClass
    {
        public static string HelloWorld()
        {
            return "Hello World";
        }
        public string TestInstanceMethod()
        {
            return "Test Successful";
        }
    }
}




I then compiled the project and added it to the AOT.  Next, I had to manually copy and paste the DLL from the bin\debug directory to the bin directory of the client.


Next, inside the AOT, I added a reference to the new DLL.





Finally, I created a job that referenced the 2 methods.  I experimented with code access permissions, but found they were not needed.  I only commented out, because it is needed if dynamic typing is used.



static void TestAxTestClassProject(Args _args)
{
    //InteropPermission perm;
    System.String clrStr;
    AxTestClassProject.AxTestClass testClass = new AxTestClassProject.AxTestClass();
    str axStr;
    /*perm = new InteropPermission(InteropKind::ClrInterop);
    if (perm == null)
    {
        return;
    }
    perm.assert();*/
    clrStr = AxTestClassProject.AxTestClass::HelloWorld();
    axStr = clrStr;
    info(axStr);
   
    clrStr = testClass.TestInstanceMethod();
    axStr = clrStr;
    info(axStr);
    //CodeAccessPermission::revertAssert();
}





Running the job produced the expected results.





Comments

1. Notice that all references to .Net classes must be fully qualified. There are no using or imports statements in 2012 R3.
2. I decided on being cautious by direct marshalling .Net strings to x++ strings.  In this case, it does not appear to be needed.  However, if any manipulations at required between .Net primitive types and x++ primitive types, these direct assignments are required.
3. For 2012 R3, the .Net project must be linked to (target framework set to)  .Net 4.0 (i.e. not the client framework).
4. You should be able to reference any FCL classes or other assemblies in the GAC without additional references.