Accessing Alibre From Another Application

[desktopeda]

Accessing Alibre From Another Application

We are looking at interacting with Alibre from within a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design app. We would do this from a call from the PCB API - hopefully using CreateCOMObject. We use Delphi and with Delphi, you Import a Type library and Delphi does the rest in terms of creating an abject from which you get access to the exposed methods. This is what we want to do with Alibre. Is this possible? If so, where is the type library. In the Alibre API documentation, it mentions the type library for creating an Active X add-in but I don't think this is what I need.

regards

Brian

 

[alexfranke]

AlibreX.dll is a COM compliant library, so you should be able to make a reference the library directly. You'll want to create an object of type AutomationHook to get started.

On another note, where in the documentation did it mention the type library for creating an ActiveX add in? I must have missed this, but I would be very interested to know where you read about it.

-Alex

 

[Jimpulse]

Funny that you should mention the Type Library. After not having looked throught the documentation for months I just happedened to look through it on Monday and I DID see a brief reference to the type library.
Just now, though, I have attempted to find that reference again and I could not, so the whole thing might have been an acid flashback.

There is a TLB file (AlibreAddOnX.tlb) located in the program directory.

Also when I run the IMPORT TYPE LIBRARY command in Builder C++ two entries show up for Alibre:
Alibre Automation Type Library (Version 1.0)
Alibre DXUtils 1.0 Type Library (Version 1.0)

Thats all I know...I have not attempted to DO anything with them.
Lack of documentation and the promise of NO support dont make diving in very appealing. Obviously it can be done, as Alex has proved, but I'm not a programmer by trade & more documentation is important.
Please let us know if you make any headway or what has stopped you if you dont.
Jimpulse

 

[cclark440]

When I started messing with the API I originally wanted to start with my Borland C++ Builder but after trying for a while I wasn’t really able to use The Alibre API with it at all. I have been using C++ Builder since V1, but I have never really tried using COM objects or anything of the sort. Unfortunate I just don’t have to knowledge of how to make it work. I am sure it can be done and is probably fairly simple, but I just don’t know where to start.

On the other hand I downloaded Microsoft’s VB 2005 Express Edition Beta for free and was able to just point it at the dll and was up and running in a matter of minutes. The only challenge now is my limited knowledge of Basic.

What I wouldn’t give to see a simple tutorial using Borland Builder.

By the way I would have sworn that one of the additions when V9 was released was supposed to be added support for the API. I understand “support” as meaning that there would be people that we could ask questions about the API and how to use it.