Introduction to the event framework

Article
11/28/2016

Applies To: Dynamics 365 (online), Dynamics 365 (on-premises), Dynamics CRM 2016, Dynamics CRM Online

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (online) you have the ability to extend or customize the functionality of the server through the integration of custom business logic (code). You can customize the product to support the way your company does business, and you can add new features to the product. The technology that enables your custom code to be developed and integrated into the Microsoft Dynamics 365 server is called the event framework.

The event framework enables you to create rich vertical and horizontal solutions on top of Microsoft Dynamics 365 by supporting the development and integration of custom business logic with Microsoft Dynamics 365 in a reliable and portable way. After your custom business logic has been integrated into Microsoft Dynamics 365, it can be executed synchronously as part of the main Microsoft Dynamics 365 execution path, or asynchronously from a managed queue. Business data can be passed to your custom code, which can then perform actions based on the nature of the information, or modify the information itself.

The Event Framework provides the following key features:

An improved event processing subsystem. This subsystem provides a unified method of executing both plug-ins and workflow activities, which results in improved reliability, an enhanced feature set, and plug-in portability.
An event framework API for extending the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform through the development of custom business logic in the form of plug-ins and workflow activities.
An API for the deployment of plug-ins and custom workflow activities to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 database. Deployment of plug-ins and workflow activities to the database enables automatic distribution of your plug-ins and custom workflow activities to servers running Microsoft Dynamics 365 services throughout a datacenter.
Synchronous and asynchronous execution of plug-ins. Synchronous plug-ins are executed in a pre-defined order as part of the main Microsoft Dynamics 365 event processing. Asynchronous plug-ins are queued and executed independently.

The Event Framework is only supported on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 server and the Microsoft Outlook client. For more information about how to extend the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Web application, see Customize Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications.