DataFlex is a great system to rapidly develop complex database applications but it lacks functionality in other areas. In addition sometimes things are just better programmed in other languages or you come across a library that was already created in another language and you would like to use it in your DataFlex application.
In this multi part series, we will look into the different ways of interfacing DataFlex with other languages and systems to extend its capabilities.
DataFlex is a 32bit system and is not based on the .NET framework. Given these constraints DataFlex allows you do communicate with 32bit DLLs and ActiveX controls (COM Components).
In addition you can use a technique called COM Interop that is part of the .NET Framework to allow DataFlex to communicate with a .NET Library by wrapping it in a COM Wrapper and making it available to DataFlex as a COM component.
Another possibility to interface with .NET components is to create an unmanaged 32bit DLL that can comunicate with DataFlex and then have that DLL call the managed .NET library.
We have used that technique to interface with components where COM Interop is not an option. This is a little more work but allows you to interface with pretty much any .NET library.
There are a number of other ways for interfacing DataFlex
- Web Services Client (SOAP)
DataFlex can be a web service client and call SOAP web services for interfacing - HTTP communication
- RESTful web services
calling RESTful web services from DataFlex - TCPIP communication
We will look into all these options and more in separate posts. As we add these posts we will add links here
