Add-On - Add-On Communication

These functions provide a way for Add-Ons to communicate (pass data, call exposed commands) with one another. More...

Classes
struct	API_MDCLParameter
	Parameter structure used for inter-addon communication. More...
struct	API_ModulID
	Unique identifier of an add-on. More...
class	API_AddOnCommand
	Base class for the Add-On commands. More...

Typedefs
typedef GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	APIExternalCallBackProc(GSHandle params, GSErrCode returnCode)
	Callback function for handling the responses of asynchronous external module command calls.
typedef void __ACENV_CALL	APICommandCallBackProc(GSHandle *paramsHandle, GSPtr resultData, GSErrCode returnCode)
	Callback function for handling the responses of asynchronous module command calls from main event loop.

Functions
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InitMDCLParameterList (GSHandle *params)
	Initializes a parameter list to pass to an other add-on.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameterNum (GSHandle params, Int32 *nPars)
	Retrieves the number of the parameters on the parameter list.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_AddMDCLParameter (GSHandle params, API_MDCLParameter *mDCLParameter)
	Appends a parameter to the parameter list.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameter (GSHandle params, API_MDCLParameter *mDCLParameter)
	Retrieves a parameter from the parameter list.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter (GSHandle params, API_MDCLParameter *mDCLParameter)
	Modifies a parameter on the parameter list.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_FreeMDCLParameterList (GSHandle *params)
	Frees the parameter list handle.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService (GSType cmdID, Int32 cmdVersion)
	Registers a command which can be used by other add-ons.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InstallAddOnCommandHandler (GS::Owner< API_AddOnCommand > addOnCommand)
	Installs the Add-On command handler object.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Test (const API_ModulID *mdid, GSType cmdID, Int32 cmdVersion)
	Test the availability of a command.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call (const API_ModulID *mdid, GSType cmdID, Int32 cmdVersion, GSHandle params, GSPtr resultData, bool silentMode)
	Call a command of an other add-on.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall (const IO::Location *projectFileLoc, const API_ModulID *mdid, GSType cmdID, Int32 cmdVersion, GSHandle params, bool silentMode, APIExternalCallBackProc *externalCallbackProc)
	Call a command of an other add-on in another Archicad instance.
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL	ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop (const API_ModulID *mdid, GSType cmdID, Int32 cmdVersion, GSHandle paramsHandle, bool silentMode, APICommandCallBackProc *callbackProc)
	Calls a command of an add-on from Archicad's main event loop.

Detailed Description

These functions provide a way for Add-Ons to communicate (pass data, call exposed commands) with one another.

Communication Manager

The Communication Manager is a very powerful new service introduced in API v3.1.

In the previous versions of the API add-ons could be called by Archicad only. There were two ways to do that. The add-on could be called because of a direct user interaction, or there was a need to post a notification to it. It was not possible to call one add-on from another.

All of the communication manager functions begin with the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ prefix. They are as follows:

‍ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Test ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop

There are some functions to provide easy and controlled mechanism for parameter passing. They are:

‍ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InitMDCLParameterList ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameterNum ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameter ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_AddMDCLParameter ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_FreeMDCLParameterList

Entry points

What is an entry point of an add-on? It is a function or service which can be called from another add-on with the support of the Communication Manager.

The entry points are interface independent. It means that there isn't any relationship between the commands put into the Archicad menu structure and the entry points. The first set is controlled by the ACAPI_MenuItem_RegisterMenu or ACAPI_AddOnIntegration_RegisterFileType and the like, the second type entry points are given by ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService.

Registration

An add-on can have as many entry points as it wants, and each of them has to be registered in the RegisterInterface function of your add-on with ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService. This function tells Archicad that the add-on can be called by another. The parameters of this function are the following:

• the identifier of the entry point,
• the version of the entry point,

Refer to the function description for more details.

Later in the Initialize function the add-on has to register callback function to handle the different supported commands. The ACAPI_AddOnIntegration_InstallModulCommandHandler function's parameters identify the command (with its ID and version number), and the last parameter supplies the module command handler callback function. This callback function then receives the parameters, may optionally pass back its results in a separate pointer, and is also informed whether it should run in silent mode.

Entry point identification

An entry point is identified by the following two components:

• an add-on identifier. For this purposes the API uses the 'MDID' resource. Simply put the ID of the target add-on into an API_ModulID structure to identify it.
• an entry point identifier. This should be the same what the target add-on used as the first parameter of the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService.
• the version of the entry point.

This means that entry point IDs must be unique in the world of an add-on. Different add-ons may have the same entry point IDs, but locally an add-on is not allowed to specify the same ID more than once.

On the caller add-ons side, it may check for the existence of the necessary entry points of the target add-on in its own RegisterInterface function, with ACAPI_AddOnIntegration_RegisterRequiredService.

Version control

The last issue is version control. The caller add-on must specify the required version of the entry point also. The API assumes backward compatibility. When an add-on tests for an entry point's availability, the following cases may occur (assuming the identification was successful):

• the entry point version is less than the requested one. In this case an error is returned.
• the entry point version is greater or equal with the requested one. The API returns successfully, as it assumes backward compatibility.

When you assign a version number to an entry point, you must adhere to the following rules:

• when backward compatibility can be assured, simply increase the version number.
• when the compatibility cannot be assured, change the entry point identifier.

Note that the most general cases where the compatibility issues are important are:

• there are changes in the interface (the parameters, which the caller can pass, have to be modified)
• there are changes in the algorithm (the output will differ on the same parameters passed)

In either cases keep the compatibility, if possible. Upon a call of an entry point, the Communication Manager first identifies the command. Ifit is available, it checks the entry point version. If there isn't any version problem, it calls the entry point by passing the required version number. Use this data to ensure the same environment and behavior.

Control of execution

It is very important to understand what happens in the background when the API calls an add-on.

In general the API allocates a unique environment to each executed add-on. Normally only one add-on is executed by the API, only one add-on is in one of its callback functions. However there are cases when there are more add-ons in the call stack.

• when there is a need to post a notification to certain add-ons.
• the add-on has the right to call another add-on's functionality.

In these cases more add-ons are executed at the same time, they are all in their notification or module command handlerfunctions.

Note, that this is not a real multiprocessing architecture.

The API maintains a call stack all the time, and only the top-most add-on has the right to call the API services. This is the add-on whose environment is the active one. Once the top-most add-on has returned from its callback function, the API takes the next add-on on the stack, and makes its environment to be the active one.

So, the structure is nested, instead of being parallel.

The figure below tries to explain the system. The user has called a command which is implemented in the add-on A. add-on A calls a function of add-on B. It performs an operation which results to post a notification to add-on C.

Figure #1: the API call stack and client environments

The vertical lines show which environment is the active one. On the right side the call stack maintained by the API is shown.

On Figure #2 you can see how the CommunicationManager and CommunicationClient example projects communicate to each other.

Figure #2: communication architectures

On the left side of the picture the normal situation is shown.

Client A (which is the CommunicationManager example project) wants to call the entry point CMD1 (command 1) of client B (the CommunicationClient example project). It calls the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function with the necessary IDs. The API loads the add-on B, and calls its module command handler function, registered for the CMD1 command. When B has returned, the control goes back to the API, into the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function. It switches the environment back to the one owned by A, and returns. Client A gets the control and can continue working.

This system is quite simple, however sometimes it is not strong enough. The ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function is a very robust one, with a lot of overhead. First, it has to decide whether the addressed add-on is installed. Then it has to be loaded into the memory and initialized; of course just if it is was not loaded before. The caller add-on may want to pass some parameters too, the method to do that also has a strong overhead (the details are explained later in this paper).

On the right side of the picture a more complex architecture is shown, where the two add-ons can call each other directly. For this purpose client B has implemented two special entry points:

BEGB is to setup a binary link. Actually it just fills up a function table, or returns a pointer to a class with virtual functions initialized. The most important, that it calls the ACAPI_KeepInMemory function to forcethe API to keep it in the memory. When the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function returns to client A, he gets the necessary function pointers, and as client B is in the memory, they are valid, they can be called. From this point, client A is also allowed to pass function pointers to client B. So, an environment is set up where two add-ons can call each other directly, with the standard C/C++ calls, without the assistance of the

Communication Manager.

ENDB is just to dispose the binary link. Actually the only task it has to do is to call the ACAPI_KeepInMemory function to sign that it can be unloaded.

What is very important to know is, that in this architecture client B is running under the API environment of client A. He can call any of the API services, but the API handles client A as the active one. The API will process these request in a way, as they would be called by client A. This critical session is shown by a zigzag type line on the picture.

Please note that from Archicad 10 it is a possible to make an add-on command execute in an external Archicad instance to perform operation on a different project file. For more details refer to the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall function.

Please note that from Archicad 19 you can execute add-on command forced from main event loop using ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop function.

Parameter passing

Parameters should be passed in the params argument to the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function. This handle -whose internal format is not public- is owned by the API. The content is not checkedby the API, it just simply passed to the called entry point.

The parameters should be listed in the public header file of the add-on. Each parameter is identified by its name. Each parameter has a value type, which can be either a string, integer or float type. The API does not check the passed parameters, it merely passes those onto the called add-on. Consistency must be validated by the called add-on's entry function.

The workflow is:

• the caller add-on must initialize a parameter list with the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InitMDCLParameterList function,
• the required parameters can be appended to this list with the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_AddMDCLParameter function,
• the called add-on can explode the passed parameters with the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameterNum and ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameter functions,
• parameters may be modified with the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter function.
• the parameter list must be disposed by the caller with the help of ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_FreeMDCLParameterList function.

It is very important, that the parameters must be relative to the factory default parameters of the called add-on. The called add-on first must set up its factory default parameters, then while retrieving the passed parameters one by one, the defaults should be modified. If no parameters were passed (params == nullptr) the factory default parameters should be used without any modification. Another important note is that the parameters must be interpreted in the same order as they have been passed.

The above rules ensure that the execution of the entry points will not be context sensitive. No matter what the current defaults are (saved into the preferences), parameters are interpreted based on the factory defaults. It doesn't matter that some parameters are not passed to the client, as they have defaults.

Let's take an example.

The DXF/DWG add-on exports an entry point the open an AutoCAD drawing. Its options dialog also has a Default button to set and use the factory default parameters. The add-on emulates the behavior of this dialog while interpreting the passed parameters.

Interface control

The caller add-on can disable all interface elements of the called add-on with the silentMode parameter.

If this parameter is set to true, the called add-on is not allowed to open its dialogs and alerts. In the case it is false the option dialog must appear; of course after processing the passed parameters. The user is allowed to modify any parameter. In the case the modifications may have an effect on the passed parameters, use the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter function to allow the caller add-on to track the changes.

Return values

There are two ways to return parameters to the caller.

The default option is to use the return value of the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call call. The value returned by this function is the value returned by the client's module command handler function.

The other way is to use the resultData parameter. This is a simple pointer, which can be used for any purpose. The specification must be given by the called add-on.

Documentation

It is absolutely necessary to provide developer documentation for each add-on which publishes its interface. This document should give details what the functionality of the entry point is, what parameters can be passed, how they are interpreted and what return vales are provided.

By default put this document into the same folder where your add-on is installed.

Typedef Documentation

APICommandCallBackProc

typedef void __ACENV_CALL APICommandCallBackProc(GSHandle *paramsHandle, GSPtr resultData, GSErrCode returnCode)

Callback function for handling the responses of asynchronous module command calls from main event loop.

Parameters

paramsHandle	[in/out] pointer to the passed parameters for the module command
resultData	[in] optional result data from the APIModulCommandProc function of the server side add-on
returnCode	[in] the return value of the APIModulCommandProc function of the server side add-on

Remarks

This is the handler function to be used for collecting the results of module command calls in asynchronous case. For more details refer to the description of the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop function.

APIExternalCallBackProc

typedef GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL APIExternalCallBackProc(GSHandle params, GSErrCode returnCode)

Callback function for handling the responses of asynchronous external module command calls.

Parameters

params	[in/out] the passed parameters for the module command
returnCode	[in] the return value of the APIModulCommandProc function of the server side add-on

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.

Remarks

This is the handler function to be used for collecting the results of external module command calls in asynchronous case. For more details refer to the description of the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall function.

Function Documentation

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_AddMDCLParameter()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_AddMDCLParameter	(	GSHandle	params,
		API_MDCLParameter *	mDCLParameter
	)

Appends a parameter to the parameter list.

Parameters

params	[in/out] Handle of the parameter list
mDCLParameter	[in] Pointer to the parameter to be appended

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.
• APIERR_BADPARS - params, par or par->name is nullptr,

Remarks

This function is used to append a parameter to the parameter list used in inter-addon communications. For the utilization details of ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_AddMDCLParameter refer to the Parameter Passing section of the Communication Manager.

Example

See the Communication_Manager
example.

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call	(	const API_ModulID *	mdid,
		GSType	cmdID,
		Int32	cmdVersion,
		GSHandle	params,
		GSPtr	resultData,
		bool	silentMode
	)

Call a command of an other add-on.

Parameters

mdid	[in] the identifier of the target add-on. It is defined by the 'MDID' resource.
cmdID	[in] the identifier of the command to be executed.
cmdVersion	[in] the required command version
params	[in/out] passed parameters (optional). See the Inter-add-on communication section of the ACAPI_Goodies functions
resultData	[out] results returned by the command (optional)
silentMode	[in] instruct the target add-on to work in silent mode. No option dialogs, error alerts...etc.

Returns

• NoError - the function completed successfully
• APIERR_BADPARS - the mdid parameter is nullptr
• APIERR_MODULNOTINSTALLED - the referenced add-on is not installed
• APIERR_MODULCMDNOTSUPPORTED - the referenced command is not supported by the target add-on
• APIERR_MODULCMDVERSNOTSUPPORTED - the requested command version is too new; not supported by the target add-on

Remarks

This function is used to call a command implemented in an other add-on. Refer to the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Test function to test the command availability. Refer to the Communication Manager for more detailed description on

• how to pass parameters,
• how to get return values,
• how the heaps and API environments are managed by the API. From Archicad 10 you can execute add-on command with ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall on a different plan loaded into another instance of Archicad. From Archicad 19 you can execute add-on command forced from main event loop with ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop function.

Example

The following sample retrieves the location of the default translator currently set for the DXF/DWG add-on (provided that the add-on is currently loaded):

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_CallFromEventLoop	(	const API_ModulID *	mdid,
		GSType	cmdID,
		Int32	cmdVersion,
		GSHandle	paramsHandle,
		bool	silentMode,
		APICommandCallBackProc *	callbackProc
	)

Calls a command of an add-on from Archicad's main event loop.

Parameters

mdid	[in] the identifier of the target add-on. It is defined by the 'MDID' resource
cmdID	[in] the identifier of the command to be executed
cmdVersion	[in] the required command version
paramsHandle	[in/out] passed parameters (optional). See the Inter-add-on communication section of the ACAPI_Goodies functions
silentMode	[in] instruct the target add-on to work in silent mode. No option dialogs, error alerts...etc.
callbackProc	[in] optional callback procedure for handling the responses asynchronously

Returns

• NoError - the function completed successfully
• APIERR_BADPARS - the mdid parameter is nullptr
• APIERR_MODULNOTINSTALLED - the referenced add-on is not installed
• APIERR_MODULCMDNOTSUPPORTED - the referenced command is not supported by the target add-on
• APIERR_MODULCMDVERSNOTSUPPORTED - the requested command version is too new; not supported by the target add-on

Remarks

This function is used to call a command implemented in an add-on from Archicad's main event loop. Refer to the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Test function to test the command availability. Refer to the Communication Manager for more detailed description on

• how to pass parameters,
• how to get return values,
• how the heaps and API environments are managed by the API.

Example

The following sample starts a new working thread and calls an add-on command to place a column in the given position:

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter	(	GSHandle	params,
		API_MDCLParameter *	mDCLParameter
	)

Modifies a parameter on the parameter list.

Parameters

params	[in/out] Handle of the parameter list
mDCLParameter	[in] Pointer to the modified parameter

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.
• APIERR_BADPARS - params or par is nullptr,

Remarks

This function is used to modify a parameter on the parameter list handle used in inter-addon communications. For the utilization details of ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ChangeMDCLParameter refer to the Parameter Passing section of the Communication Manager.

Example

See the Communication_Client
example.

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_ExternalCall	(	const IO::Location *	projectFileLoc,
		const API_ModulID *	mdid,
		GSType	cmdID,
		Int32	cmdVersion,
		GSHandle	params,
		bool	silentMode,
		APIExternalCallBackProc *	externalCallbackProc
	)

Call a command of an other add-on in another Archicad instance.

Parameters

projectFileLoc	[in] the location of the project file to be opened during the remote call
mdid	[in] the identifier of the target add-on. It is defined by the 'MDID' resource
cmdID	[in] the identifier of the command to be executed
cmdVersion	[in] the required command version
params	[in/out] passed parameters (optional). See the Inter-add-on communication section of the ACAPI_Goodies functions
silentMode	[in] instruct the target add-on to work in silent mode. No option dialogs, error alerts...etc.
externalCallbackProc	[in] optional callback procedure for handling the responses asynchronously

Returns

• NoError - the function completed successfully
• APIERR_BADPARS - the mdid or the projectFileLoc parameter is nullptr
• APIERR_REFUSEDPAR - the location defined by projectFileLoc is empty or invalid
• APIERR_MODULNOTINSTALLED - the referenced add-on is not installed
• APIERR_MODULCMDNOTSUPPORTED - the referenced command is not supported by the target add-on
• APIERR_MODULCMDVERSNOTSUPPORTED - the requested command version is too new; not supported by the target add-on
• APIERR_CANCEL - the external operation has been canceled (either by the user or due to communication problem)

Remarks

This function is used to call an add-on implemented command on a different plan loaded into another instance of Archicad. The system provides that the requested project would be available for performing the command in the following way:

• if there is already an Archicad application running with the specified plan, it attempts to reserve it for the external call (it waits for the application to be available if currently busy with some other operation)
• if there is an Archicad running with currently no plan opened in it (empty), it reserves that application and makes it load the project file
• if there is no available Archicad running, it launches a new application instance with loading the requested project file After the external Archicad instance is reserved for serving the add-on command call, the operation works similarly to the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function. On the server side the callee add-on does not even realize that the command request comes from another application instance. The only difference is that the resultData parameter is always nullptr when calling its APIModulCommandProc handler, because this pointer cannot be passed between ARCHICADs. However you can change the content of the params handle modifying any parameters to communicate the result to the caller. The caller can decide the function to return immediately after sending the command request (asynchronous operation) or to wait for the external call to be finished (synchronous operation). You need to pass an APIExternalCallBackProc handler function to collect the responses asynchronously; if this parameter is nullptr, the function does not return until the external operation is finished. The advantage of the asynchronous way is that you can initiate more calls even with different project files at the same time, and the internal task scheduler will optimize the sequence of execution. Please note that if you use a loop for waiting for the asynchronous responses, do not reserve the processor time superfluously, let other threads run by calling the TIWait function of the GSRoot module. Refer to the Communication Manager for more detailed description on
• how to pass parameters
• how to get return values
• how the heaps and API environments are managed by the API

Example

The following sample exports the elements of the example project into a specified DWG file by calling the standard DXF/DWG add-on synchronously in an external Archicad:

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_FreeMDCLParameterList()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_FreeMDCLParameterList

(

GSHandle *

params

)

Frees the parameter list handle.

Parameters

params

[in] Handle of the parameter list

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.
• APIERR_BADPARS - params is nullptr

Remarks

This function is used to dispose a parameter list handle used in inter-addon communications. For the utilization details of ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_FreeMDCLParameterList refer to the Parameter Passing section of the Communication Manager.

Example

See the Communication_Manager
example.

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameter()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameter	(	GSHandle	params,
		API_MDCLParameter *	mDCLParameter
	)

Retrieves a parameter from the parameter list.

Parameters

params	[in] The handle of the parameter list
mDCLParameter	[out] Pointer to the requested parameter

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.
• APIERR_BADPARS - params or par is nullptr
• APIERR_BADNAME - The passed parameter name is not found on the parameter list
• APIERR_BADINDEX - The passed parameter index is out of range (checked only if

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameterNum()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameterNum	(	GSHandle	params,
		Int32 *	nPars
	)

Retrieves the number of the parameters on the parameter list.

Parameters

params	[in] The handle of the parameter list
nPars	[out] Number of the parameters on the list

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.
• APIERR_BADPARS - params is nullptr

Remarks

This function is used to retrieve the number of the parameters on the parameter list handle used in inter-addon communications. For the utilization details of ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_GetMDCLParameterNum refer to the Parameter Passing section of the Communication Manager.

Example

See the Communication_Client
example.

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InitMDCLParameterList()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InitMDCLParameterList

(

GSHandle *

params

)

Initializes a parameter list to pass to an other add-on.

Parameters

params

[out] The address of a handle to be initialized

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.
• APIERR_BADPARS - params is nullptr
• APIERR_MEMFULL - low memory condition

Remarks

This function is used to initialize a parameter list handle used in inter-addon communications. For the utilization details of ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InitMDCLParameterList refer to the Parameter Passing section of the Communication Manager.

Example

See the Communication_Manager
example.

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InstallAddOnCommandHandler()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InstallAddOnCommandHandler

(

GS::Owner< API_AddOnCommand >

addOnCommand

)

Installs the Add-On command handler object.

Parameters

addOnCommand

[in] The Add-On command handler object. After the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InstallAddOnCommandHandler is called, the ownership is passed and the object can not be used.

Returns

• APIERR_REFUSEDPAR - The addOnCommand parameter is nullptr.
• APIERR_BADNAME - There is already an API_AddOnCommand installed with the same name for this Add-On.
• APIERR_BADPARS - The input, output or schema definitions is not in a valid JSON format.
• NoError - The function has completed with success.

Remarks

This function installs a handler object for the corresponding HTTP requests. The handler object is identified by the Add-On MDID and its name. The ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InstallAddOnCommandHandler function should be called from Initialize. After a successful ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_InstallAddOnCommandHandler function call, the Add-On stays in the memory.

Example

Refer to the AddOnCommand_Test
 
example project of the API Development Kit.

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService	(	GSType	cmdID,
		Int32	cmdVersion
	)

Registers a command which can be used by other add-ons.

Parameters

cmdID	[in] The command identifier of the supported service.
cmdVersion	[in] The command version of the supported service.

Returns

• NoError - The function has completed with success.

Remarks

The function registers one of your add-on's command, and makes it avaliable for other add-ons. This should be called from the RegisterInterface function of the add-on.

Example

//------------------------------------------------------
// Interface definitions
//------------------------------------------------------
GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL  RegisterInterface (void)
 
{
    GSErrCode   err;
 
    //
    // Register command services
    //
    err = ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_RegisterSupportedService ('DWFO', 4L);
 
    return err;
}               // RegisterInterface

ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Test()

GSErrCode __ACENV_CALL ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Test	(	const API_ModulID *	mdid,
		GSType	cmdID,
		Int32	cmdVersion
	)

Test the availability of a command.

Parameters

mdid	[in] the identifier of the target add-on. It is defined by the 'MDID' resource.
cmdID	[in] the identifier of the command to be tested.
cmdVersion	[in] the required command version

Returns

• NoError - the command is installed, it may be called
• APIERR_BADPARS - the mdid parameter is nullptr
• APIERR_MODULNOTINSTALLED - the referenced add-on is not installed
• APIERR_MODULCMDNOTSUPPORTED - the referenced command is not supported by the target add-on
• APIERR_MODULCMDVERSNOTSUPPORTED - the requested command version is too new; not supported by the target add-on

Remarks

This function is used to check the availability of an add-on's command. Call this function to check whether the requested command of another add-on is available. Depending on the result, for example you can modify your add-on's interface. The following cases may happen:

• the command is installed,
• the target add-on is not installed
• the target add-on is installed, but the command is not supported,
• the target add-on is installed, the command is supported, but the command version is incorrect. Refer to the ACAPI_AddOnAddOnCommunication_Call function to see the details of calling another add-on. Refer to the paper of the Communication Manager for more details.

Example

The following sample checks whether the services of the standard DWF In-Out add-on are currently available: