WINDEV Concepts

76 Part 2: Development environment 4 Using an external component in an application A component can be reused at any time in any WINDEV application: simply import the directory of the component into the project. The component can also be imported via the SCM. When a new version of the component is available, you just have to install the new files in the setup directory of the component (depending on the setup mode used). For more details on the different modes to install a component, see Distributing an external component. If the component was published and imported via the SCM, the available updates appear when opening the project that uses the component. The executable (that uses the component) is created in the same way as a WINDEV application. The DLLs required for the component are automatically detected. 5 Deploying an application that uses an external component 5.1 Overview An application that uses one or more components is deployed in the same way as a standard application ("Setup procedure" on the "Project" tab). When deploying an application that contains a component, the following files are automatically installed on the user computer: • <Component name>.WDK, • <Application name>.EXE, • the files required for the component and the application. 5.2 Updating components and deployed executables When updating a component and/or an executable, the following elements can be installed on the end- user computer: • the application executable, the component and the necessary files. • the executable and the files required for the application. • the component and any necessary files. For more details on the compatibility between applications and components, see the online help. Two methods can be used to update a component on the end-user computers : 1. Recompiling the host project Recompile the application that uses the component and redistribute the application with the component. In this case, no version problem or compatibility problem will occur. The recompilation is required in the following cases: • New features have been added to the component and must be taken into account. • The parameters of some procedures have been modified. • Incompatibility between new and earlier versions of the component. • ... 2. Distributing the .WDK file directly Provide an upgraded version of the component (.WDK file) to the end users without recompiling the project. In most cases, this possibility applies when: • The new version is used to correct problems of an earlier version. • New features have been added to the component but are not required to run the application. 6 Modifying an external component 6.1 Overview A component can be modified at any time once it has been created and generated. These are some of the changes that can be applied: • add elements to the component. • remove elements from the component. • change rights on the elements of the component. • make changes to one of the elements of the component. In any case, the component must be regenerated to take these changes into account.