Dynamic Business Central 365: Understanding Queries and Why We Use Them
Khushbu Rajvi.
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ReportWhen working in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, one very common requirement is reading data. Sometimes data comes from a single table, but many times we need data from multiple tables together — for example, Customer with Sales, Item with Inventory, or Vendor with Ledger Entries.
In such cases, using record variables with loops is not always the best approach. This is where Queries come into the picture.
In this blog, let’s understand what a query is, why we use it, and where it fits in real projects.
What Is a Query in Business Central?
A Query is an AL object that helps us fetch data from one or more tables and combine it into one result set.
Internally, Business Central converts a query into a single SQL SELECT statement and runs it directly on SQL Server. This means:
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Data is fetched in one go
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SQL Server handles joins, filters, grouping, and calculations
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AL code stays clean and lightweight
Why Do We Use Queries?
Normally, in AL, we read data like this:
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Use a Record variable
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Loop through records
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Inside the loop, read another table
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Perform calculations manually
This works, but it has problems:
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Too many databases calls
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Nested loops reduce performance
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Code becomes complex and hard to maintain
Queries solve these problems by:
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Letting SQL Server do the heavy work
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Reducing multiple loops into a single operation
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Improving performance for large datasets
That’s why queries are preferred for reporting, analysis, and integrations.
Real-Time Scenarios Where Queries Are Used
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Reporting and data analysis
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Power BI dashboards
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API integrations and data sharing
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Exporting data to XML or CSV
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Replacing nested record loops
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Charts and analytical views
Thanks for reading…!!
Regards,
Khushbu Rajvi
This was originally posted here.
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