Is it possible to replace all XRM calls with Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Web API?

Question

I have a project that is referencing an XRM Entity file and I was wondering if calling the API methods can completely replace my interaction with this file. E.g. there is a data contract between this XRM layer and CRM such that when an update happens in code through the XRM layer it will trigger the proper workflows in CRM. Will this interaction still be the case while interacting with the API?

Answer 1

Currently there are two active endpoints in CRM, the 2011 endpoints, and the WebApi endpoints (8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9 etc). Previously, the SDK for CRM (Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk) has entirely been utilizing the 2011 endpoint via the IOrganizationService. There is a commitment to MS to replace the calls under the covers from the 2011 endpoint to the WebApi.

So if the desire is to use the WebApi and you're doing .net development, I'd just stick with it. If the idea is to remove all dependencies to the SDK, there is nothing stopping you as well. I would argue that you're going to have to spend more time ensuring you're handling all of the WebApi nuances correctly than any potential benefit you'd receive from removing dependencies on the SDK framework.

Answer 2

CRUD operations happening through CRM SDK Org Service or WEB API will trigger the configured WFs seamlessly as per Dynamics platform design.

The file you generated using crmsvcutil is helpful for Early bound coding which will help type check in compile time. Another way (without this file) is Late bound which is runtime check. Web api is going to be Late bound, so file can be retired and calls can be replaced.

If you are blocked with any particular web api call, you can reach out to community for help.