Increase Performance by Removing Unused Overridden Methods?

It's been in the back of my mind for quite awhile now to figure out how the kernel of Dynamics AX actually handles it's delete_from and update_recordset logic. Sometimes, the kernel decides to emit exactly one DELETE FROM query to the database versus one 'DELETE FROM table WHERE RecId = @P1' per record in the table buffer.

I found a case on PriceDiscTable (this situation is not limited to just this object), a noticeably large table especially for our business, where I noticed multiple DELETE FROM statements getting emitted to the database, taking a very long time to complete a daily task our business runs. I looked at the table and noticed that the delete() method on the table was indeed overridden, but upon investigating the details of the method, only super() was getting called inside (along with some commented out code that we used in the past and plan to use in the future, but that's beside the point).

I removed the method as there really is no functional difference in just leaving it hidden (even though I know the reason why we wanted the commented code there, we didn't want to lose it). Lo and behold, our daily task now emits one single DELETE FROM with the criteria we specified in the WHERE clause.

One would think that the kernel would notice and see that the compiled version of the overridden delete() method with just the super() call is identical to the default "hidden" delete() method and handle them the same. But, we've been duped again. We'll have to store the commented out code we had in there somewhere else even though it would've been much more convenient to just keep in where it was.

As a side note, having at least one Delete Action on your table object will also force the kernel to emit multiple DELETE FROM queries. Removing them will tell the kernel that it doesn't have to perform a row-by-row operation and can emit the DELETE FROM in one statement.

And as (Joris de Gruyter of Dynamics AX Musings) has graciously pointed out in a comment, having database logging or alerts enabled on your table and/or having any MEMO fields on that table will also force a multiple DELETE FROM, who knew?

Missing Enums in SRSAnalysisEnums

Forenote: If you are using 2012, read this post.  There is a more robust way to access enums in AX 2012.

If your business operates like any would and has the need to report on data from custom functionality then you might find this post useful.  In creating custom functionality we often have the need to create new custom Enums and store the values in a custom table.  Doing so works just fine inside the Dynamics circle.  However, if you use a separate reporting engine outside of Dynamics, like SSRS, to render your reports, you will find that your users will not understand what a ShipStatus of 2 is, and let's be serious, your proposed solution to hard code your enum labels in your report is a poor strategy.

Microsoft was nice enough to create some tables to store enum values and labels for some of these enums.  These are located in two tables, namely, SRSAnalysisEnums and SRSModelEntityCache.  But, like I mentioned earlier, there are only SOME enums in these tables.  For a long time it was mysterious to me why it was this way, but after some digging in and a few "Ah ha!" moments later I figured it out.  It also introduced me to another unknown area of Dynamics.

Today, we're going to learn about Perspectives.  It's an object in the AOT under Data Dictionary.  Perspecitves in Dynamics are a poor attempt to mimic the functionality of a database cube.  It's not as flexible as a real cube and not very customizable.  If you expand the Perspectives node, you'll see a Perspective object for each Module.  Each of these perspectives has a list of tables.  Any enums in these tables listed under a perspective are the enums that show up in the SRS tables.  To get your new enums to show up you just need to have your table included in one of these perspectives or create your own, but try to put your table in the most relevant module, pertaining to the data that's stored in the table.

Note: If your table is already in these perspectives, read ahead.

Now, putting the table in the perspective alone won't put your enums in the table.  You also have to update the model so the SRS tables get populated correctly.  The way to do this is Tools->Reporting tools->Update models.  You can choose to update all languages or just one, as you feel is necessary for your business.  Running this will take awhile, but when it is finished, you will now see your new enums show up in the SRS tables.  Here's a script that will get your enum labels from a value:

SELECT ae.EnumItemName
FROM SRSModelEntityCache ec
JOIN SRSAnalysisEnums ae
    ON ae.EnumId = ec.EntityId
WHERE ec.PhysicalName = 'BaseEnum_ShipStatus'
    AND ae.EnumItemValue = 2

Reordering fields and controls by Drag-N-Drop

I'm trying to do the most basic of tasks, I'm trying to reorder controls on a form.  I click on it and drag it to where I want it to go, it doesn't move anywhere.  At first I thought there might be some sort of a locking property that won't let me change the order of the controls.  Looking through the properties of the form, I don't see anything of the sort.  I remember that I could reorder fields in a table by Drag-N-Drop with much ease, as expected.  Months earlier, I found myself in the same situation, unable to reorder fields in a index.  The way I actually did it back then was change the Data Field properties of each of the fields.  This was horribly time consuming especially when I needed to add a field to the end of an index.  Right-click adding a New Field just added a blank field to the beginning, I had to go through each one and change it, moving each one up one spot and adding the new field to the end.

Since this time, I have been told how to reorder objects consistently in DAX.  Click on the field you want to move, hit:

Alt+(Up/Down) to move an object up or down

It's that plain and simple, but I could not believe how non-intuitive that is.  Like us developers are just supposed to know this.  Drag-N-Drop works perfect in reordering fields in tables, why doesn't it work in reordering fields in table indexes?

It's this non-consistent behavior within DAX that just blows my mind and makes it a nightmare to get things done in.  Granted I'm working in 4.0, but all I can do hope AX 2009/2012 fixes these issues.