The Evolution of CRM/Power Platform SDK

Modernizing Dataverse Connections with Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Dataverse.Client

The way we interact with Dataverse (formerly known as Common Data Service and Dynamics CRM) has evolved over time. Here’s a look at the journey and how the Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Dataverse.Client library streamlines development:

• The Past: We started with the Microsoft.CrmSdk.Tooling.CoreAssemblies Nuget package and then progressed to using the Dataverse Web API with HttpClient.
• The Present: The Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Dataverse.Client Nuget package significantly simplifies Dataverse interactions, replacing older approaches.

Getting Started

The ServiceClient class is your gateway to Dataverse operations:

using Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Dataverse.Client; // Install the NuGet package

var _connectionString = $"AuthType=ClientSecret;Url={orgUrl};ClientId={clientId};ClientSecret={clientSecret};";
using var serviceClient = new ServiceClient(_connectionString); 

Key Points:

• Authentication: The library supports both ‘ClientSecret’ and ‘OAuth’ authentication. See official docs for other options.
• Connection String: Replace placeholders (between the curly brackets in the code example above) with your Dataverse environment’s URL, client ID, and secret.

Resources for Further Learning

• Microsoft Quick Start: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.powerplatform.dataverse.client.serviceclient.retrieveasync?view=dataverse-sdk-latest
• Sample Code: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerApps-Samples/blob/master/dataverse/webapi/C%23/SampleHelpers.cs