Implicit Conversion Between Record and RecordRef

With recent updates to the AL language extension (v15), Microsoft has introduced support for implicit conversion between Record and RecordRef instances, making it easier to work with both types in the code.

This feature removes some of the verbosity previously required when switching between Record and RecordRef variables, allowing developers to write cleaner, more concise AL code.

Implicit Conversion from Record to RecordRef

Current Approach:

RecRef.GetTable(Customer)

New Approach:

RecRef := Customer;

Implicit Conversion from RecordRef to Record

Current Approach:

RecRef.SetTable(Customer)

New Approach:

Customer := RecRef;

Important: It will throw a runtime error if RecordRef does not reference the same table as the Record variable. Always ensure the types align!

Also, passing a RecordRef to a function expecting a specific Record works!

codeunit 10 RecordAndRecordRefConversion
{
    procedure RecordToRecordRef()
    var
        Customer: Record Customer;
        RecRef: RecordRef;
    begin
        RecRef := Customer;      // Similar to RecRef.GetTable(Customer);
        ProcessRecord(Customer); // Argument conversion
    end;

    procedure RecordRefToRecord()
    var
        Customer: Record Customer;
        RecRef: RecordRef;
    begin
        Customer := RecRef;      // Similar to RecRef.SetTable(Customer); This will cause an error if the table is different
        ProcessCustomer(RecRef); // Argument conversion
    end;

    procedure ProcessCustomer(r: Record Customer)
    begin
        Message('Process Customer');
    end;

    procedure ProcessRecord(rr: RecordRef)
    begin
        case rr.Number of
            Database::Customer:
                Message('Process Customer');
            else
                Error('Unable to process record');
        end;
    end;
}

Regards,
Tharanga Chandrasekara