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.<\/p>\n
In this multi part series, we will look into the different ways of interfacing DataFlex with other languages and systems to extend its capabilities.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
There are a number of other ways for interfacing DataFlex<\/p>\n
We will look into all these options and more in separate posts. As we add these posts we will add links here<\/p>\n
\u00a0.NET and COM Interop<\/a><\/p>\n SOAP Web Service Client<\/a><\/p>\n RESTful web services<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
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