The Dexterity

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

was designed in the late 1980s for the implementation of

platform independent In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software r ...

graphical accounting software. Dexterity itself is written in the

C programming language ''The C Programming Language'' (sometimes termed ''K&R'', after its authors' initials) is a computer programming book written by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie, the latter of whom originally designed and implemented the language, as well as ...

. It was used in the development of

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

accounting software.

Microsoft Dynamics GP Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a product line of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) intelligent business applications announced by Microsoft in July 2016 and released on November 1, 2016. Feature applicat ...

, formerly Great Plains Dynamics and eEnterprise, is a Dexterity-written application. Microsoft's small business line,

Microsoft Small Business Manager Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

and

Small Business Financials Microsoft Small Business Financials (formerly Microsoft Small Business Manager) is a business accounting software package. The software is targeting growing small businesses that require more than basic accounting software: with fewer than 25 emp ...

, were also written in Dexterity and use the same

code base In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

as Great Plains.

History of Dexterity

Great Plains Dexterity is a proprietary

and technology, designed in the late 1980s with the goal to build a platform-independent graphical accounting package - Great Plains Dynamics. Dexterity itself is written in C (with the hope that C would provide platform independence). The user can install Dexterity from the Dynamics GP CD #2 and it allows custom pieces to be seamlessly integrated with the Dynamics GP interface.

Features

; Native Dexterity Cursors: : Dexterity was designed as a platform-independent programming language. If you want code to be operable on all currently supported Dynamics GP databases, use Dexterity ranges and loops to manipulate the records ; Dexterity with SQL Stored Procs: :Currently, most Dynamics GP installations have been moved to

MS SQL Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications—which ma ...

Server - so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures. ; COM Object calls: : Beginning with version 7.0, Dexterity supports COM objects - register them as libraries in Dexterity. Refer to the manual as to how to do this. This technique allows you to call such things as web services across the internet. ; Dynamics GP Alternate Forms: : These are modifications to existing forms – the ones found in DYNAMICS.DIC. The most popular customizations are made on the SOP Entry form. Alternate forms are not recommended by Microsoft as they make version upgrades more difficult. Customization usually has to be redone. ; Some restrictions: : Dynamics GP is actually an integration of multiple dictionaries: DYNAMICS.DIC, ADVSECUR.DIC, EXP1493.DIC, etc. In your Dexterity customization you can generally deal with only one dictionary - DYNAMICS.DIC. Integration with other dictionaries is supported but is difficult. Dynamics GP macros can also be recorded in Dexterity. The ability to handle branches does not appear to exist in these macros.

References

External links

Dexterity Development System Releases for Microsoft Dynamics GP
Microsoft development tools Microsoft programming languages Procedural programming languages Programming languages created in the 1980s {{Microsoft-software-stub

History of Dexterity

Features

References

Further reading

External links