Status Update -
I've spent over 80 hours in the last two weeks working on the .h files that will be needed to accomplish this.
>> Ugh, I know the trouble involved in this one..
I'm down to testing and working on a minimalist approach to a plugin. I am targeting using VS2008 C++ Express Edition with mixed mode CLR code.
I've got a plugin working in VS2008 C++ Professional. And have one ALMOST working in C++ Express. It loads, can be config'd (with managed dialogs), but blows up Mach with an infinite error message "ART9991" when I enable it.
A question for Brian/Art that would help me in finishing this:
>>Anything.
About the 4 routines concerning COM automation (DLLGetClassObject, etc) - Does Mach USE COM to talk to the plugin or was this just if the plugin needed COM to talk to other software?
>> Not used at all in the context of the plugin. Mach3 basically asks the plugin for the pointer to the functions like Update() etc.. stores them , then calls them at the appropriate time as declared function pointers.
>> No com is used. The plugin also asks Mach3 for the pointers to its main classes and uses those as the data pointers into the h files. ( thus the trouble as youve discovered ).
To me it looks like Mach does ALL simple DLL calls to the plugin. I have setup 'simple' functions like: extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) void Config()
>> Exactly, only I used the archaic function decalration such as OneShort defined in the .h files to setup the function as opposed to the __declspec
These all appear to generate the proper DLL exports under examination with PEBrowserPRO.
>> Excellent, I hadnt played at all with iut that way, Once I discovered I could define the return type and have it work, I stopped and used that. ( hence the trouble.
)
My C++ Pro code is very similar to the example plugins. My C++ Express code can not access AfxDllGetClassObject, etc. since it does not include MFC headers. I'm trying to get around it by returning S_OK. Any ideas on what I can try? Would some other return tell Mach that I don't need automation and have it skip the other calls? Ultimately, with my mixed mode I should be able to use Managed COM for people that need COM.
>> I think just returning S_OK woudl work, just a case of getting it to compile as I think the interface is totally unuded in the context of a plugin. Though to be honest you
probably know more than I as your fresh into delving into that so much lately.
Thanx,
-Ed
p.s. i will be asking for contributions to my new glasses fund after poring over 17,000 lines of assembly code to check out the structs that I replaced ALL classes with ;^)
>> I suspect Brian will be happy to pay for the glasses en toto..
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