{"id":109,"date":"2018-03-21T07:39:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T14:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/power-platform\/blog\/power-apps\/cds-for-apps-march\/"},"modified":"2024-09-24T14:39:05","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T21:39:05","slug":"cds-for-apps-march","status":"publish","type":"power-apps","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/power-platform\/blog\/power-apps\/cds-for-apps-march\/","title":{"rendered":"New features in the Common Data Service for Apps! (Spring Update)"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are extremely excited to announce a major update to the Common Data Service for Apps. Since the release of the Common Data Service (to learn more about the Common Data Service in general, please see this blog post<\/a> from April 2017) we\u2019ve been investing in several features focused on server side logic, improved app building experiences and developer capabilities<\/b> \u2013 and today we\u2019re excited to share these updates with the broader community.<\/p>\n

These updates come as part of the Business Application Platform<\/a><\/b> and PowerApps <\/b><\/a>announcements made today. The Common Data Service is an integral part of the Business Application Platform, providing secure cloud storage for your app data and integrating with Office 365 and Dynamics 365. As part of the Business Application Platform announcement today we have renamed what was the Common Data Service to the Common Data Service for Apps.<\/strong> We also announced the Common Data Service for Analytics, the Analytics offering is closely tied with the Common Data Service for Apps and PowerBI to focus on insights and analytics. In this blog post, we’ll be focusing on the Common Data Service for Apps (CDS for Apps).<\/p>\n

In this update, we’ve merged the platform supporting Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement and the functionality of the Common Data Service. Providing a common platform for customers to extend and develop applications, while allowing them to benefit from the rich set of features available in the Dynamics 365 Platform.<\/p>\n

Customers who are using Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement will be able to leverage their data in the Common Data Service for Apps experience and functionality and the PowerApps when they upgrade to the latest version.<\/p>\n

\"Business<\/p>\n

Calculated fields, validation, and server-side logic<\/h3>\n

Data stored within CDS for Apps can now benefit from rich server-side logic to ensure data quality, and reduce repetitive code in each individual app. In this update we are introducing new capabilities to close this gap:<\/p>\n

Calculated and Roll up fields <\/b>\u2013 entities can now include calculations and roll ups of related records to allow you to create Excel like formulas on both number and text-based fields. Defining a calculated field at the entity level allows it to be used in Canvas Apps, Model-driven apps, Flows and through the SDK and WebAPI. This means calculations can be defined once, ensuring its presented in the same way across all your apps.<\/p>\n

Business Rules and Validation \u2013 <\/b>Ensuring accurate data, regardless of the app that created or edit it is important to maintain data consistency, and ensure apps and analytics continue to operate as expected. Business Rules can now be defined to set simple, or complex validation and actions on data being created and edited in CDS for Apps.<\/p>\n

\"Business<\/p>\n

By combining conditions and actions, you can do any of the following with business rules:<\/p>\n