1.1 Introduction
The ST-Viewer automation interface is designed so users can easily add STEP viewing capability to their applications. The interface allows an external application to use ST-Viewer as the viewing platform, and to communicate with ST-Viewer via a series of events generated from ST-Viewer.
1.2 What is Automation?
Automation is a mechanism to manipulate an application's objects from outside the application. To make this happen, the application exposes one or more COM interfaces. These interfaces can contain methods and properties. These become accessible to the automation client, and the exposing application becomes the automation server.
The interfaces are described in ODL (Object Description Language) and presented to the client as a type library file. Development tools or wizards can then import the type library and generate a code framework for the automation client. The automation client can be written in many languages, including Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual C++, and Visual J++.
ST-Viewer exposes the ISTview interface to allow an external application to control it. It also uses another interface ISTviewEvents to send events to an external application. The latter interface is not exposed by the viewer, but should be exposed by an external application. In this case the viewer acts as an automation client, and the external application acts as an automation server.
The ST-Developer distribution includes an example driver program that controls ST-Viewer and receives events. The examples are written in Microsoft Visual C++, Visual Basic and Visual Basic for Applications (using Microsoft Excel) .
This reference manual contains descriptions of the ST-Viewer COM interfaces and examples of their use. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with COM and has C++ and/or Visual Basic programming experience.