Introducing: Contoso Demo Tool (2023 release wave 2)

Overview

The video explains why rapid start packages are a limited way to create demo data, and introduces the Contoso Demo Tool as an alternative. Demo data is split into scenario-based modules that can work together or separately. Contoso Coffee, a fictitious company that makes coffee and coffee machines, provides modules such as common, warehousing, manufacturing, and service.

The presenter then shows how to build your own demo data module. This covers implementing the module interface, declaring dependencies on other modules, creating data layer by layer, and using helper code units to populate tables. The video ends with future plans, including on-demand demo data creation and an enhanced company creation wizard, and notes that the code is open source.

Key points

The Contoso Demo Tool is announced for wave 2 and is available from version 23.0.
Demo data modules are described as LEGO bricks that build on top of each other, and they can be used together or separately.
Contoso Coffee modules named in the video are common, warehousing, manufacturing, and service.
A custom module implements a standard interface with procedures for customization pages, dependency specification, and creating demo data layer by layer.
Modules can declare dependencies on other modules, such as common, so you can reuse their data, for example posting groups, instead of duplicating code.
Helper code units populate tables and specify fields, so a general posting setup line can be created in one line of code.
Planned: on-demand demo data creation that will eventually replace the evaluation and extended packages, and a company creation wizard that lets you select multiple modules. Both need more modules to be developed first.

Features

Feature	Status	At	Evidence
Contoso Coffee Demo Data	generally available	2:41	“We actually have released it like two uh releases ago, uh and we already have some available modules” (3:05)
Contoso Demo Tool	announced, demoed	5:25	“the new Contoso demo tool will be available from 23.0” (6:46)
Demo Data Module Interface	status not stated, demoed	6:28
Helper Code Units for Demo Data	status not stated, demoed	8:51
Module Dependency System	status not stated, demoed	3:52
On-Demand Demo Data Creation	status not stated	10:25
Enhanced Company Creation Wizard	status not stated, demoed	11:04

AL objects mentioned

As heard in the captions. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.

enum 5160 “Contoso Demo Data Module” at 6:57
codeunit “helper code units” at 8:51

Not found in BC28-30: codeunit “helper code units”.

Quotes

1:25 “using rapid start package to create your demo data is a support tool, absolutely, but it has its own limitation”
4:07 “from now on think of demo data module as LEGO and it’s like bricks of LEGO that you build on top of each other”
6:46 “the new Contoso demo tool will be available from 23.0”
8:01 “we highly recommend you to go ahead and check out what data is created in each module”
9:02 “we are creating one line of general posting setup in one line of code”
10:35 “we want to move toward on-demand demo data creation”
11:37 “all of this is open source. It has been open source for like a year now”

Disclaimers in the video

6:46 not-in-this-release: the new Contoso demo tool will be available from 23.0
10:35 coming-later: we want to move toward on-demand demo data creation
11:04 coming-later: you can basically when you create a new company, you can choose a set of modules

Presenters (as heard): Wael Abu Sa’ada, Horan.