Building and deploying VisiBroker for .NET applications

This chapter describes the process for building and deploying your VisiBroker for .NET-powered .NET applications. It contains the following topics:

•	Generating VisiBroker for .NET stubs and skeletons

•	Adding references to VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries

•	Deploying VisiBroker for .NET applications

Generating VisiBroker for .NET stubs and skeletons

The J2EE and CORBA technologies define object-level interfaces, and communication between your .NET applications and server objects is conducted exclusively through these interfaces. In CORBA these interfaces are defined in IDL, in J2EE they are defined in Java RMI.

The VisiBroker for .NET java2cs and idl2cs tools convert the interfaces from Java RMI or IDL into C#. VisiBroker for .NET adds features to the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET so that you can configure and use these tools in your IDE projects. You can also use the command line to compile the interfaces.

Visual Studio

To generate VisiBroker for .NET stubs and skeletons in Visual Studio .NET:

1	Add an IDL, JAR, or EAR to your Visual Studio project.

2	Select the file and confirm the VisiBroker for .NET properties as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET VisiBroker for .NET properties

For an IDL file the compiler should be set to IDL2cs. A JAR or EAR file should use the Java2cs compiler. You can add compiler arguments and rename the output file in the properties dialog.

Important:

If you are generating the server skeleton code be sure to add the
-servant compiler flag to the compiler arguments.

3	To compile just the interface file, right-click the file in the Solution Explorer and select Build and Browse.

If the compile is successful, it should generate a C# file and add it to your project.

command line

To use the compilers at the command line, make sure that the tools are available in your path so that it can be run from the command prompt. The compilers are located in the bin directory of the VisiBroker for .NET installation directory. To test whether the compilers are in your path, open a command prompt and type idl2cs. You should get a listing of compiler switches.

If you did not add it during the installation process, you can add idl2cs to your path from the command prompt by typing:

prompt> set PATH=<VisiBroker Home>\VisBroker.NET\bin;%PATH%

Once you've confirmed that the compilers are in your path, you can use them:

prompt> idl2cs Example.idl

If the compile is successful, it generates a C# file.

Adding references to VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries

In order to take advantage of the VisiBroker for .NET runtime, applications must refer to the VisiBroker for .NET DLLs. The following sections describe how to add references to the VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries in your applications.

Visual Studio

To add references to the VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries in Visual Studio .NET:

1	Right-click the References node for your application in the Solution Explorer.

2	Select Add Reference.

Figure 3

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Add Reference dialog

3	In the .NET tab select the appropriate VisiBroker for .NET reference and click Select.

If you are building a client application select only the VisiBroker for .NET Runtime reference. If you are building a server application, select both the VisiBroker for .NET Runtime and VisiBroker for .NET Services references.

4

Click OK.

If you selected the VisiBroker for .NET Runtime reference, the Borland.Janeva.Runtime should appear in your references list. If you selected the VisiBroker for .NET Services reference, the Borland.Janeva.Services should appear in your references list.

command line

To add the reference to the VisiBroker for .NET runtime library at compile time, invoke the C# command line compiler on the C# source code, including Borland.Janeva.Runtime.dll or Borland.Janeva.Services.dll as a reference.

prompt> csc /r:Borland.Janeva.Runtime.dll Client.cs

Deploying VisiBroker for .NET applications

To deploy applications using the VisiBroker for .NET technology you will need to include the following items:

•	Microsoft .NET Framework Redistributable Package

•	VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries

•	VisiBroker for .NET deployment license key

Microsoft .NET Framework Redistributable Package

VisiBroker for .NET is a .NET product. As such, it requires the .NET Framework Redistributable Package for execution, which is available as a free download from the Microsoft Web site, or it may be included with your IDE or operating system.

VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries

For deployment, VisiBroker for .NET supports client applications on the front end or ASP.NET server applications. You must install the following VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries on each machine that runs the VisiBroker for .NET-powered applications.

•	Borland.Janeva.Runtime.dll

•	Borland.Janeva.Runtime.Private.dll

The following two need to be installed only if services such as security, firewall, or transactions are being used:

•	Borland.Janeva.Services.dll

•	Borland.Janeva.Services.Private.dll

Depending on the application server being used, you will need to install one or more of the following:

•	Borland.Janeva.[BES|Oracle|WebLogic|WebSphere].dll

You can install them in one of two ways:

•	Install the VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries on the target machine using the VisiBroker CD

•	Package the runtime libraries from your VisiBroker for .NET development installation in an application setup program

Clients (that make use of the VisiBroker for .NET runtime) on the same host can share the VisiBroker for .NET runtime libraries if you install them in the GAC.

VisiBroker for .NET deployment license key

The VisiBroker for .NET deployment license key is installed in the location <install-dir>\VisiNet\client.slip. You can use the license in one of three ways:

•	Include the license as an embedded resource

•	Copy the license to the application’s virtual root (for ASP.NET deployment)

•	Point to the license file location in the application configuration file

Important

Refer to your license agreement to determine what constraints exist on the number and types of machines on which you can use your deployment license.

Including the license as an embedded resource

The following procedures describe the steps to include the VisiBroker for .NET deployment license as an embedded resource in your application using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.

To embed a resource using Visual Studio .NET:

1	Copy the license file (client.slip or server.slip) from the License directory on the VisiBroker deployment CD-ROM to your project directory.

2	Rename the SLIP file to borland.slip.

3	Click Show All Files in the Solution Explorer.

4	Right-click the license file, and select Include In Project.

5	Right-click the license file, and select Properties.

6	Change the Build Action property to Embedded Resource.

Copying the license to the application virtual root

To include the VisiBroker for .NET deployment license in the application root of an ASP.NET server application:

1	Copy the license file (client.slip or server.slip) from <install-dir>\VisiNet\ directory to the application’s root installation directory.

2	Rename the SLIP file to borland.slip.

Modifying the application configuration file

To include the location of the VisiBroker for .NET deployment license in the application configuration file:

1	Copy the license file (client.slip or server.slip) from the License directory on the VisiBroker deployment CD-ROM to a directory on your network.

2	Modify the XML to include the <license> element as shown in the following example.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<configuration>

<configSections>

<section name="visinet” type="Janeva.Settings, Borland.Janeva.Runtime"/>

</configSections

<visinet>

<license dir=”C:\Program Files\Borland\Janeva”/>

</visinet>

</configuration>

The <license> dir value should be the absolute or relative path to the file containing the Micro Focus license key.