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How to Leverage Visual Studio Online and Azure Pipelines to migrate your development environment to the Cloud!

Introduction:

With my previous blog, I had explained how to configure CI/CD for Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. The only drawback when it comes to developing in VS Code Online is that it works with Base Operating System as Linux. Which implies that the ALC(Application Language Compiler) built for Windows has to also work on Linux but it doesn't.
Because of which it becomes difficult to compile your Business Central projects in VS Code Online.
In this blog I will be attempting to collaborate VS Code Online with Azure Pipelines to get things running with auto-deployment.

Pre-requisites:

  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • VS Code Online
  • Azure DevOps
  • Azure Pipelines

Books & References:

https://www.olisterr.tech/2020/02/cicd-in-nav-business-central.html?m=1

Demonstration:

1. Setup CI/CD for Microsoft Dynamics Business Central:
In order for this system to work the major skeleton is taken up by CI/CD process.
Refer my blog below.
https://www.olisterr.tech/2020/02/cicd-in-nav-business-central.html?m=1

2. Setup Azure DevOps to pull and push the code from VS Code Online using Git:
If you want to refer, how to setup VS Code Online, refer here
Coming back to the configurations and setup of how VS Code Online is setup, you will understand that the Base OS is Linux.
If you are lucky enough your Base OS will have Aptitude as the main package manager to install the Git App.

To install Git App if you don't have installed:
Install Git App using Apt Get

After Git is installed, clone your repository once used in template format of the CI/CD with the ALC inside your project folder.
After Cloning the Repository
Later as I modified the code  changing the message in VS Code Online
Changing Code in AL Code
After the code has been changed, you can commit and push the newly changed code
Committing the Code 
Azure DevOps after committing the code

In Azure DevOps after committing the code, you will find that the Azure Pipelines will start Compiling the App and will deploy it to Business Central.

Azure Pipeline Triggering the PowerShell to compile and deploy the package
After the app is deployed into Business Central, you will find the message as changed in the AL Code.
After App is deployed in Business Central
Conclusion:
Although VS Code Online is truly online the capabilities or the core functionality lies within the compiler that is being used to build your code. Azure DevOps is one such tool where your post development pipelines can be set and tuned after your need. this blog, we saw how VS Code Online can be integrated with Azure DevOps to get your IDE Completely Online.

I hope this is what most of us were looking forward too and Microsoft I believe will soon get ALC on Linux as well so that there are no links in between.

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