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Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Archived)

Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

Posted on by Microsoft Employee

Hello,

I am an IT System Engineer but I got offer to work as an Ms Nav Admin/developer for one company.

Offer is attractive but I am affraid to accept because I dont have any programming experience.

Can you tell me is 3 months enough to learn some work so I can actually start earning my salary and do some work for company. Also is it ok to start with no programming experience.

Can someone reccomend online course or books for MS Nav Dynamics dummy :) ?

Thanks

*This post is locked for comments

  • Suggested answer
    jcastro Profile Picture
    jcastro 2,245 on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    I would dare to say that compared to other programming languages, C/AL is not that hard. Although like with everything in life, it can get as complex as your mind can imagine. 

    The biggest challenge you might face like others have already suggested is knowing the different variables (and I don't mean that in a programming sense) that need to be considered before you start. You need to know that if you play with how NAV posts the Item Ledger Entries, which is one of the main sources of info throughout the entire system, you might get some unexpected results. Moreover, you also need to know what NAV offers out of the box, because if you don't you might run into a situation where you are comfortable developing in NAV and find yourself that you have developed something that was already built in the solution. 

    Also, NAV is an ERP, and as such people will extract info from it. Sometimes to analyze it internally. But sometimes it will be to be delivered to the authorities, or the government. Wrong information can be harmful.

    This is not meant to scare you by any means. Noone was born with that knowledge. But you should be aware of what you are getting yourself into. 

    I have seen developers that were masters of C/AL, but did not have any kind of functional knowledge and because of that they didn't fully understand the repercussions of their code. I have also seen developers that were both good with C/AL and understood the application from a functional perspective.  The later usually did better :-)

    Luckily there are many resources you can get info from, good forums you can ask questions on (such as this one) and a growing community that expands everyday. Also the amount of information in a video format is increasing, making the learning experience more visual and easier to understand.

    I hope this helps you, even if it's a bit! :-) 

  • Suggested answer
    Miguel Llorca Profile Picture
    Miguel Llorca User Group Leader on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    Of course, I mean that you should start learning how the modules work (finantial management, cash, sales, purchases, etc.). There're some resources at MVA: www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/.../introduction-to-microsoft-dynamics-nav-11795

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member Microsoft Employee on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    Miguel,

    can you explain what do you all mean by Functional knowledge and Functional training ?

    thanks

  • Suggested answer
    Miguel Llorca Profile Picture
    Miguel Llorca User Group Leader on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    I recommend you to start with functional training. Once you get "how" NAV works, programming will be more easy :-)

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member Microsoft Employee on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    Thank you for an answer,

    can you please explain what do you mean by " functional knowledge "?

  • Suggested answer
    TharangaC Profile Picture
    TharangaC 23,116 on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    It is a bit risky but I would have take it.

    As Suresh mentioned you can get books from https://www.packtpub.com/ and you can start reading them. Plus there are plenty of MSDN resources and blogs available to learn C/AL programming.

    Those books and online sites will give you all the basic information you required to know.

    However you required to have functional knowledge plus real time experience on programming and troubleshooting. Without industry experience it will be bit hard for you to meet the expectation of your employer.

  • Suggested answer
    Suresh Kulla Profile Picture
    Suresh Kulla 43,745 on at
    RE: Ms Nav Dynamics- where to start and can i start with no programming experience ?

    There are several PACKT books online on programming,try to search in Amazon, also there is good amount of study material on MSDN and other blogs. A Quick search on Google should lead you those top blogs.

    Regarding time it really depends on you and mostly you will learn with experience and with real time requirements, you can definitely learn alot in 3 months   but i don't advise to starting working if you don't have any experience before with C/AL programming. It is just not programming you also need to have some functional knowledge.

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