Package, Model , Project and Element Concepts in D365

The complete D365 Finance and Operation Developments are based on these four terminologies (Package, Model , Project and Element). Here is a quick explanation of these four terminologies and how they work in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. D365 customization is mainly based on Elements, So for customizing an element we require the knowledge of  Package, Model , Project. Here we describes the basic concepts Package, Model , Project and Element.

What is a Package in Dynamics 365 ? 

A Package is a deployable container. It contains source files (XML files), resources and DLLs. It is similar to Model store of Dynamics 365. A package can have one or more models. Packages can have references to other packages, just like .NET assemblies can reference each other.You can select one or more packages and create a deployable package, which can be used to move the code from one environment to other. Packages are stored under c:\packages folder. For every model new sub folder will be created under package folder.

Package = Solution.

What is a Model in Dynamics 365 ? 

Creating model is a mandatory thing for any sort of customization. A model is a design-time concept. A particular model can contain multiple Visual Studio projects. Therefore you can say it is a collection of projects and a single project can have all or subset of elements from originating model. However, association of a project is only with a single model. It is basically a unit of development/customization. Metadata for models is stored locally on an XML file called a descriptor XML.

Model = Collection of Components inside a Solution.

Models are stored under c:\packages folder\Models.

What is a Project in Dynamics 365 ? 

A Project is a small, manageable group of Elements means Project is collection of Elements. But in D365 an element can be customized only once they are added to a specific Visual Studio project.Project always belongs to only 1 model. We can use project files to import/export between different instances of D365. The project may only belong to one model.

What is an Element in Dynamics 365 ? 

An Element is the object in the AOT(Application Object Tree) such as tables, classes, forms etc. Elements in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations are stored on disk as XML files; these files contain the metadata and source code for the element. The XML files are the unit of Source Control.

Read More:

A Simple customization in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operation Development Basics