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Help / Developing an application or website / Component / External component
  • Overview
  • Updating components and deployed executables
  • The different methods
  • Sharing a component between several applications
  • Forcing the use of an external component when the WDK was included in the application
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Stored procedures
Overview
An application that uses one or more external components is deployed in the same way as a standard application: on the "Project" tab, in the "Generation" group, expand "Setup procedure" and select "Create setup procedure".
When deploying an application that contains a component, the following files are automatically installed on the user computer (or on the server):
  • <Component name>.WDK
  • <ApplicationName>.EXE
    WEBDEV - Server code This file is not installed.
  • the files required for the component and the application.
Updating components and deployed executables
When updating a component and/or an executable, the following elements can be installed on the end-user computer:
  • the application executable, the component and the necessary files.
  • the executable and the files required for the application.
  • the component and any necessary files.
For more details on the compatibility between applications and components, see Managing the versions of a component (during a modification).

The different methods

Two methods can be used to update a component on the end-user computers:
  1. Recompiling the host project
    Recompile the application that uses the component and redistribute the application with the component. In this case, no version problem or compatibility problem will occur. The recompilation is required in the following cases:
    • New functions have been added to the component and they must be taken into account by the application.
    • The parameters of some procedures have been modified.
    • Incompatibility between the new version and the earlier component versions.
    • ...
  2. Distributing the .WDK file directly
    Provide an upgraded version of the component (.WDK file) to the end users without recompiling the project. In most cases, this possibility applies when:
    • The new version is used to correct problems of an earlier version.
    • New features have been added to the component but are not required to run the application.
Sharing a component between several applications
Several applications installed on the same computer can use the same external component. To share the component among these applications and to avoid duplicating the component in each application, perform the following operations:
  1. Copy the component files into a directory:
    • the <Component name>.WDK file
    • the other component files (if necessary)
  2. In each directory of applications that use the component:
    • Delete <Component name>.WDK and the files required by the component from the application directory.
    • Create a <Component name>.INI file in the application directory. This file has the following structure:
      [General]
      Location = <Directory in which the component files are available>
Benefit: The update of the external component is easier: it is performed in the component directory only (and not in each application). If the component is also found in the application directory, if a .INI file is found, the component specified in the .INI file has priority.
Forcing the use of an external component when the WDK was included in the application
When a component was included in the library of an application when the executable was created, you still have the ability to force the use of an external WDK.
This enables you for example to debug the component or to correct a feature without having the project of the application.
To do so:
  1. Create a file named <Component name>.ini beside the application executable.
  2. This file has the following structure:
    [Debug]
    Localization = <Path of WDK to use>
Minimum version required
  • Version 9
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Last update: 08/31/2022

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