Reference Implementation

CAF is a platform-independent architectural framework. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is used as the primary validation platform and reference implementation to exercise CAF concepts in a complex ERP environment. CAF is not a Microsoft product and is not a BC feature or official framework.

Purpose of the Reference Implementation

Demonstrate that Context can be modeled, persisted, and propagated across modules, workflows, approvals, integrations, and background processing without invasive changes to the platform.

Why Business Central

BC offers a rich domain surface, eventing model, and extensibility points suitable for validating CAF's Context modeling and runtime propagation strategies.

Architectural Scope

Covers runtime Context, Context Provider, domain services, events, approvals, job queue, external integrations, telemetry, APIs, and persistence.

Execution Entry Points

User actions, API calls, job queue executions, workflow approvals, and event subscriptions initialize or enrich Context.

Context Provider

A central service that creates, validates, and retrieves Runtime Context for the current execution, exposing a stable contract to dependent components.

Runtime Context

A durable, queryable Context object available across calls and workflows, minimizing parameter lists and eliminating Context reconstruction.

Domain Services

Services consume Runtime Context to make consistent decisions and publish domain events carrying Context identifiers for traceability.

Event Publishers

Publishers emit events with Context references to maintain continuity across asynchronous boundaries.

Event Subscribers

Subscribers enrich or consume Context, enabling downstream operations to recover full intent without parameter explosion.

Context Propagation

Propagation rules ensure Context identifiers and data remain intact across module, service, and process boundaries.

Context Persistence

Persistence strategies store Context durably with versioning and retention policies suitable for audits and long-running workflows.

APIs

External calls accept Context references and return results that maintain Context continuity.

Job Queue

Background processing executes with a recovered Runtime Context to keep behavior consistent with interactive flows.

Workflow Approvals

Approval steps recover and enrich Context so decisions are made with full situational awareness.

External Integrations

Integrations exchange Context identifiers and relevant data to avoid fragile, implicit assumptions between systems.

Telemetry

Context identifiers appear in logs, traces, and metrics to enable end-to-end observability and troubleshooting.

Auditability

Context history provides reconstructable narratives for compliance and operational forensics.

Testing

Tests execute with explicit Context fixtures to validate behavior under repeatable conditions and edge cases.

Current Validation Status

In Progress. Detailed validation notes and coverage will be published as the implementation evolves.