On three different projects , I was exposed to a new product being marketed by Microsft , Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) . More particularly , I was into the Business Data Catalog functionality where I was tasked to retrieve data from third party software and display it on a MOSS Portal . Here are some issues that I stumbled upon and found a really interesting website that affirmed my issues together with "answers" from Microsoft Technology Center .
1. Filter Pattern Re-arrangement - Search parameters are fixed to “is equal to”, “starts with”, “ends with” and “contains”. Is it possible to change the order in which these appear in the menu ?. In our interface “is equal to” would hardly be used; however, it is the first option available, is it possible to retain only the “contains” filter and remove the rest ? . Sadly , according to MTC , it is not possible .
2. Lack of handling co-related sub queries . The BDC does not handle joining of tables together unless a joined view is provided by the database. That is not what is desired. Basically, without this capability within the BDC layer, a parent child relationship requires this relationship to be displayed in two web parts (i.e. one parent web part and one child web part). We would like to have a single joined view displayed in the user interface and have that join performed in the BDC layer. This is not just true with databases but also for custom webservices . In order for the BDC to support Business Data Related List a method that supports it must be in the web service . MTCs reply to this : Not possible / Not Available .
3. Buggy Parent Child Relationship - If a parent / child relationship is used using two web parts, the search on the parent does not update the results of the child web part. Thus, if the results of the search change the display of the parent, then what is shown in the child web part is inaccurate. Only when you select an item from the parent web part, the child web part is updated. This causes confusion to the end user. This is a pretty obvious bug , its not that critical but it would be better if it is improved . MTCs comment : It's a bug in BDC Architecture
4. BDC Scability/Performance Issues - In general, we find slow/low performance when using the BDC.
5. Image Support - The BDC does not support attaching images (for example) so that these images can be displayed as part of the BDC SharePoint List table view. SharePoint list do allow embedded images, but the BDC does not support it. According to MTC , it is not yet possible in the current version .
6. More than 4 or more criteria Exception - BDC architecture bug according to MTC .
Listed above are just some of the issues I have met in MOSS . Other related issues on MOSS can also be found on the site above . Clearly , no matter how Microsoft seems to market BDC for MOSS , the technology is not yet mature and theres a lot more development needed before it can deliver its promises .
1. Filter Pattern Re-arrangement - Search parameters are fixed to “is equal to”, “starts with”, “ends with” and “contains”. Is it possible to change the order in which these appear in the menu ?. In our interface “is equal to” would hardly be used; however, it is the first option available, is it possible to retain only the “contains” filter and remove the rest ? . Sadly , according to MTC , it is not possible .
2. Lack of handling co-related sub queries . The BDC does not handle joining of tables together unless a joined view is provided by the database. That is not what is desired. Basically, without this capability within the BDC layer, a parent child relationship requires this relationship to be displayed in two web parts (i.e. one parent web part and one child web part). We would like to have a single joined view displayed in the user interface and have that join performed in the BDC layer. This is not just true with databases but also for custom webservices . In order for the BDC to support Business Data Related List a method that supports it must be in the web service . MTCs reply to this : Not possible / Not Available .
3. Buggy Parent Child Relationship - If a parent / child relationship is used using two web parts, the search on the parent does not update the results of the child web part. Thus, if the results of the search change the display of the parent, then what is shown in the child web part is inaccurate. Only when you select an item from the parent web part, the child web part is updated. This causes confusion to the end user. This is a pretty obvious bug , its not that critical but it would be better if it is improved . MTCs comment : It's a bug in BDC Architecture
4. BDC Scability/Performance Issues - In general, we find slow/low performance when using the BDC.
5. Image Support - The BDC does not support attaching images (for example) so that these images can be displayed as part of the BDC SharePoint List table view. SharePoint list do allow embedded images, but the BDC does not support it. According to MTC , it is not yet possible in the current version .
6. More than 4 or more criteria Exception - BDC architecture bug according to MTC .
Listed above are just some of the issues I have met in MOSS . Other related issues on MOSS can also be found on the site above . Clearly , no matter how Microsoft seems to market BDC for MOSS , the technology is not yet mature and theres a lot more development needed before it can deliver its promises .