Web API for CRM

Champs,

You might went through this link, which is introducing WEB API for Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web API Preview :

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/webapipreview.aspx

What about if you need this features in earlier versions of CRM?

Do you want a work around to achieve this?

As you know the CRM Organization Data Service can access from Web resources within the CRM context without specific authentications.

What about accessing from an application outside CRM context?

Here is my thought on this. 

Create a wrapper WEB API which will internally use CRM assemblies to process data.

Application   -> WEB API -> CRM API

In ideal path we have to connect Web API to DB server. Since that is unsupported we will go through WCF layer

Now let us create one Web API Application:

Create a controller. 
for sample process we will create a controller called AccountController.

You have full control of defining the method as you like. I assume you have already have some knowledge on Web API.

We will more consider on the Web API authentication process.

Authentication is a fundamental aspect of security that involves verifying credentials supplied by a user to establish an identity for the user in an application.

Even though there are multiple methods, we will use preshared key as an authentication mechanism
Lets create a handler in Web API project as below

Public Keys and Private keys are hard coded to make it simple, you can have your own style to adapt private and public keys.

Here we will register the handler in Global.asax file

Now You are ready with CRM web API with preshared key authentication.

While we access this Web API from Smartphone, Tablet, IOT  or any other web browsers we have to pass authentication at header as below.

Ex: Lets us have a sample using HttpClient.

Happy Coding!