LNS® Plug-in Framework Developer’s Kit
ReadMe File
Release 1.1, February 2008
Copyright
© 2006-2008 Echelon Corporation
All Rights Reserved
This ReadMe file is for the LNS Plug-in Framework Developer’s Kit.
Additional information and updates, including critical updates, may be available on the Echelon® Downloads Web page at www.echelon.com/downloads.
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
Echelon Corporation ("Echelon") grants you a non-exclusive license to use the software and documentation contained in this package and any updates thereto provided by Echelon ("Licensed Software") according to the following terms:
WARRANTY DISCLAIMER
ECHELON DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO INFRINGEMENT.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT WILL ECHELON BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, LOST PROFITS, COST OF COVER OR OTHER SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY. THIS LIMITATION WILL APPLY EVEN IF ECHELON HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
NO IMPLIED LICENSE
UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, ECHELON GRANTS AND YOU RECEIVE NO LICENSE UNDER ANY ECHELON PATENTS.
GENERAL
This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of California. This Agreement is the entire agreement between us and supersedes any other communications or advertising with respect to the Licensed Software. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.
Echelon is a registered trademark of Echelon Corporation.
The following are minimum requirements:
· Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2, or Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4
· Microsoft .NET® Framework, version 2.0 runtime components (available on the Microsoft web site)
· Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional (Express may work, but untested)
· An LNS Turbo plug-in director application (e.g., Echelon’s LonMaker® Turbo Integration Tool or the LNS ADK Plug-in Director example application)
· LNS Server 3.23 (runtime) or later
· Adobe Reader 7.0 or later
The LNS Plug-in Framework Developer’s Kit is a single-executable installer download available on the Echelon Corporation web site.
If the Microsoft .NET Framework, version 2.0, is not already installed on the PC, it should be installed before the Developer’s Kit. The LNS Plug-in Framework and example plug-in will not install or run properly unless the .NET 2.0 Framework is already installed on the PC.
Before the Developer’s Kit is installed on the target PC, the LNS director application that will be used for plug-in development should be installed. This will set the root directory for the LNS components (for most Echelon products, this directory will appear by default at [Windows System Drive]\LonWorks, and is known as the LonWorks directory). It will also install the LNS runtime that is required to successfully run the example plug-in.
If the Echelon LNS Server Turbo Edition Service Pack 3 (version 3.23), or later, is not already installed on the PC, it should be installed before the Developer’s Kit. The LNS Plug-in Framework and example plug-in will not install or run properly unless the LNS Server 3.23 is already installed on the PC. The latest service pack can be downloaded from the Echelon Downloads Web page at www.echelon.com/downloads.
After the pre-requisites are installed, the Developer’s Kit may be installed by double-clicking on its installation file.
The documentation of the Developer’s Kit consists of the LNS Plug-in Framework User’s Guide, the LNS Plug-in Programmer’s Guide, and the LNS Plug-in Framework Help on-line reference. The LNS Plug-in Framework User’s Guide should be the first document that you read, as it gives the necessary background for proceeding through the other references.
After the installation has successfully completed, an item entitled Echelon Plug-in Framework Developer’s Kit will appear in the Windows Program groups. This item will contain shortcuts to all of the documents.
The following changes have been made since the original release of the LNS Plug-in Framework. The numbers listed in square brackets refer to Echelon’s internal tracking system.
Release 1.1
· VB.Net Example Plug-in -- Fixed compiler issues related to use of '+' instead of '&' for MsgBox string concatenation. [45925]
· VB.Net Example Plug-in -- Fixed registration failure caused by use of illegal LCA character '.' in VB.Net plug-in name. [45925]
· VB.Net Example Plug-in -- Fixed plug-in lifetime problem where VB.Net plug-in does not terminate after last reference is released. [45925]
· Example Plug-ins -- Modified plug-in name and ProgId of example plug-ins so that they don't share the same name. It should now be possible to run both VB.Net and C# example plug-ins side-by-side. [45925]
· Plug-in Framework -- Fixed problem where text boxes added to forms derived from PluginFormBase did not respond to usual keyboard input. [45929]
· Plug-in Framework – Fixed plug-in crash on exit or final release. [47111]
· VB.Net Example Plug-in – Fixed the (incorrectly ported from C#) LNS collection access calls that caused function blocks to not be fully described. Now behaves the same as the C# Example Plug-in. [47111]
· VB.Net Example Plug-in – Removed the (incorrectly ported from C#) ‘Exit For’ statements that caused only the first command to be executed when running plug-in commands on multiple selected objects. Now behaves the same as the C# Example Plug-in. [47111]
· Example Plug-ins – Renamed the example plug-in commands to make it easier to identify the associated plug-in when both the C# and VB.Net Example Plug-ins are registered at the same time. [47111]
· Plug-in Framework – Fixed reuse problem with (COM) multiple-use plug-ins (SingleInstance + !MultiObject, or !SingleInstance) where LNS objects would go stale and return LNS #116 errors. [47133]
· Plug-in Framework – Added support for (COM) single-use plug-ins. By default, Framework Plug-ins are hosted in the same COM Server Process (REGCLS_MULTIPLEUSE) and share the same instance of LNS. By deriving your Plug-in’s Class Factory from PluginFactoryBase and setting the Flags property to REGCLS_SINGLEUSE, the Framework will host each plug-in instance in its own host process, with its own instance of LNS. See the new Visio drawing Plug-in Instantiation Models for a graphical overview. [47233]
· Example Plug-ins – Modified the post-build script to clear the NXCOMPAT application attribute (LNS is not DEP-compatible). User-generated plug-ins should update their post-build scripts to match. This will fix the startup error “Creating an instance of the COM component with CLSID {104B7F00-06EE-11CF-9AE0-0020AFD34749} from the IClassFactory failed due to the following error: 80040023”, especially on Windows Vista. [48641]
Release 1.0
· Initial release.
Echelon welcomes your feedback on the LNS Plug-in Framework Developer’s Kit. Please send comments and feedback on the LNS Plug-in Framework Developer’s Kit to LnsPlugin@echelon.com.