Creating External Content Types

Applies to: SharePoint Foundation 2010

An external content type is a reusable collection of metadata that contains connectivity information and data definitions plus the behaviors you want to apply to a certain category of external data. Creating an external content type is usually the first step in bringing data from external data sources into Microsoft SharePoint 2010 by using the Microsoft Business Connectivity Services (BCS). After you have an external content type, you can use it with any of the various features of Business Connectivity Services available in Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 such as external lists and external data columns to show external data in SharePoint Foundation 2010. External content types offer several benefits.

Creating External Content Types

• How to: Create External Content Types

• How to: Add Filter Parameters to Operations to Limit Instances from the External System

• Adding Associations between External Content Types

• How to: Connect to an Oracle Database Using Business Connectivity Services