DDESAMPL (PM DDE example program)

IBM ESDTOOLS Use Only DDESAMPL - PM DDE example program Author: Mike MacFaden Audience -------- OS/2 programmers and User Interface Designers What it does ------------- Provides a look at client-server computing using basic DDE facilities. The server has a list of famous quotations and cycles through them making one current every 5 seconds. A single instance of a Quote Server can service a single client at a time. However, multiple instances of the server can be started. When a client initiates a conversation, the quote can be passed to the client on request or can ask the server to keep it informed of the current quote (called an Advise or "Hot link") The client program externalizes most of the basic DDE transactions and transaction states. The client can be used against any DDE server since the Application name and Topic are changable. Code needs to be added to make an item name changable too. (read lots more work can be done here!) Future Usage and User interface aspects --------------------------------------- I hope to see more of our internal tools make use of DDE. I think it will come up in Designs that either use a Cut/Paste Link design (commonly called clipboarding (Graphical CUA model) or to start ongoing exchanges using Direct Manipulation (aka Drag/Drop) which is the core of the Workplace CUA model. What is missing --------------- Examples of WM_DDE_POKE, WM_DDE_EXECUTE, and how to do real topic/item negotions (read not tightly bound DDE applications). Design components ------------------ Illustrates: Dynamic Data Exchange OS/2 timers PM user interface (menu) Window controls/Dialog box Single line entry fields Executable Package contents --------------------------- SERVER.EXE main program (run this one to send/receive tcp messages ) CLIENT.EXE command line interface References ---------- Diller, Barry. DDECLOCK PACKAGE. OS2TOOLS Repository on IBMPC. Microsoft Press. OS/2 Programmer's Reference, Volume 1. Chapter 27. Microsoft Press. OS/2 Programmer's Reference, Volume 2. pp 244-246. IBM Corporation. OS/2 Programming Tools and Information Version 1.2 Programming Guide. 1989. Chapter 29. IBM Corporation. OS/2 Programming Tools and Information Version 1.2 Presentation Manager Programming Reference Volume 1 & 2. 1989. Franklin, Susan and Peters, Tony. "A Technical Study of Dyamic Data Exchange under OS/2". Microsoft Systems Journal Volume 4 Number 3. March 1990. pp 1-16. Petzold, Charles. Programming the OS/2 Presentation Manager. Microsoft Press. 1989. Chapter 10, 13, 14. Changes ------- January 17, 1991 V1R1 * Fixed client to handle multiple initiate_ack's added a saveram2 format package. January 15, 1991 V1R0 * Inital release for IBMPC critique Some experiments to try ----------------------- Try bringing up multiple instances of clients and servers, see how they interact. Also, try using a blank Application name and the "System" topic instead of the default "Quotes" topic.