.

NET Customisation
User Guide

AVEVA Solutions Ltd

Disclaimer
Information of a technical nature, and particulars of the product and its use, is given by AVEVA
Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries without warranty. AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries disclaim
any and all warranties and conditions, expressed or implied, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
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entity for any actions, claims, loss or damage arising from the use or possession of any information,
particulars, or errors in this publication, or any incorrect use of the product, whatsoever.

Copyright
Copyright and all other intellectual property rights in this manual and the associated software, and every
part of it (including source code, object code, any data contained in it, the manual and any other
documentation supplied with it) belongs to AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries.
All other rights are reserved to AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries. The information contained in
this document is commercially sensitive, and shall not be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd Where such
permission is granted, it expressly requires that this Disclaimer and Copyright notice is prominently
displayed at the beginning of every copy that is made.
The manual and associated documentation may not be adapted, reproduced, or copied, in any material
or electronic form, without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd. The user may also not
reverse engineer, decompile, copy, or adapt the associated software. Neither the whole, nor part of the
product described in this publication may be incorporated into any third-party software, product,
machine, or system without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd, save as permitted by
law. Any such unauthorised action is strictly prohibited, and may give rise to civil liabilities and criminal
prosecution.
The AVEVA products described in this guide are to be installed and operated strictly in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the respective license agreements, and in accordance with the relevant
User Documentation. Unauthorised or unlicensed use of the product is strictly prohibited.
First published September 2007
AVEVA Solutions Ltd, and its subsidiaries
AVEVA Solutions Ltd, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HB, United Kingdom

Trademarks
AVEVA and Tribon are registered trademarks of AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries. Unauthorised
use of the AVEVA or Tribon trademarks is strictly forbidden.
AVEVA product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its
subsidiaries, registered in the UK, Europe and other countries (worldwide).
The copyright, trade mark rights, or other intellectual property rights in any other product, its name or
logo belongs to its respective owner.

.NET Customisation User Guide

.NET Customisation User Guide

Contents

Page

User Guide
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
About this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
.NET Customisation Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Common Application Framework Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Database Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geometry Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shared Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Utilities Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graphics Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1:2
1:2
1:3
1:3
1:4
1:4

Sample Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:4

AttributeBrowserAddin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ExamplesAddin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NetGridExample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PMLNetExample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PMLGridExample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1:4
1:4
1:4
1:4
1:5

Reference Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:5

Compatibility with future versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:5

How to Write an Addin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1

The IAddin Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1
The WindowManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:3
Window Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:3
IWindow Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:4
Window Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:4

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WindowManager Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:5

The StatusBar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:5

Addin Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:6

Writing a Command Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:6
Command Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:9

Resource Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:9

Configuring a Module to Load an Addin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:9

Menu and Command Bar Customisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1

Configuring a Module to Load a UIC File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1
Editing the UIC File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:2
Selection of Active Customisation File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:3
The Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
Selecting a Node in the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:5
Drag & Drop within the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:5
Node Context Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:5

List of Command Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6

Selecting a Node in the List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6
Drag & Drop from the List to the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6
List Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7
Tool Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8
Sorting List via Heading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10

Property Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10

Action Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12
Resource Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:13
Resource Editor Command Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:14
Using Resources for Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:16
Standalone Resource Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:16

Database Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:1

Data Model Definition Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:1
DbElementType . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Constructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Related ENUMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Related Pseudo Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4:1
4:1
4:2
4:2
4:2

DbAttribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:3
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Constructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Related ENUMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4:3
4:3
4:3
4:4

DbElementTypeInstance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:4
DbAttributeInstance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:4

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Element access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5

DbElement Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Constructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Identity
............................................................................
Element Validity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Error Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Basic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4:5
4:5
4:5
4:6
4:6
4:6

Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:7
Basic Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:7
Pseudo Attributes Relating to Element Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:8
Secondary Hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:8

Getting Attribute Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:9

Basic Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:9
List of Valid Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:10
Qualifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:11
Getting an Attribute as a Formatted String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:11

Database Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:11

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Modification Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Claiming Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pseudo Attributes Relating to Claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Set Attribute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Element. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moving Element. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pseudo Attributes Relating to Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4:11
4:12
4:13
4:13
4:14
4:14
4:15
4:15
4:15

Storage of Rules and Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:16

Database Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:16
Rules
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:17
Pseudo Attributes Relating to Rules and Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:17

Comparison of Data with Earlier Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:17

Filters/Iterators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:19
Iterators
Filters

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:19
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:19

Dabacon Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:19

Overview of Dabacon Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:19
Table Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:20

DBs, MDBs and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:21

MDB Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:21
DB Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:22

Events

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:23

Overview of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:23

Overview of C# Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:23
General Capture of DB Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:24

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Adding Pseudo Attribute Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:24

DB/MDB Related Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:26

PMLNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:1
Design Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:1
Using PMLNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:1
Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Object Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Query Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Global Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method Overloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Custom Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Private Data and Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scope
............................................................................
Instantiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ToString() Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Double Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Events
............................................................................
Error Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rules for Calling .NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tracing
............................................................................

5:2
5:3
5:3
5:4
5:4
5:5
5:5
5:6
5:6
5:7
5:7
5:7
5:7
5:7
5:8
5:8
5:9

.NET Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:9

Creating a Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:9
Hosting .NET Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:10
Events
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:10

Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:10
PMLGridExample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:10
PMLNetExample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:10

AVEVA C# Grid Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1
Create a C# Addin which Contains an AVEVA Grid Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1
Provide Access to the Addin in PDMS Design or Outfitting Design . . . . . . . . . 6:3
Use the AVEVA Grid Control with Different Data Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:4
Add an XML Menu to the Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:5
Add an Event to the Addin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:6
Other Functionality Available within the PDMS Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:7
Use of the C# Grid Control with PML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:8
AVEVA Grid Control API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:8
Input Mask Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:13

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Introduction

Introduction

1.1

About this Guide

This manual is designed to give a software engineer with experience of software
development in C# using Visual Studio guidance on the development of .NET customisation
for the AVEVA PDMS and AVEVA Marine products.

1.2

.NET Customisation Architecture

The introduction of a customisation capability using Microsoft .NET technology has opened
up a whole new world of customisation and is particularly relevant for the integration of
AVEVA products with other customer systems. .NET API's provided access to various
aspects of the product including Graphical User Interface, Database and Geometry.
As part of AVEVA's strategy of 'continual progression' the .NET customisation capability has
been introduced in such a way that it can be used alongside the existing PML based
customisation. Through the use of PML.NET, an enhancement to PML which allows the
PML programmer to call .NET code, customisation which utilizes the strengths of .NET
compiled code and PML can be achieved.

Figure 1:1.

.NET customisation Architecture

The above diagram illustrates the two new methods of customisation using .NET
technology. The first is via the concept of a .NET Addin and the second using PML.NET.
Both methods provide a mechanism whereby a .NET assembly (dll) can be dynamically
loaded into a module at runtime.

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Introduction

1.2.1

Common Application Framework Interfaces

The Common Application Framework (CAF) is an extensible framework which provides the
.NET programmer with access to various services which support both application
development and customisation. The foundations of the CAF are provided by the two
interface assemblies:

Aveva.ApplicationFramework.dll

Aveva.ApplicationFramework.Presentation.dll

These interfaces provide the following major services:

Namespace: Aveva.ApplicationFramework

AddinManager: This class provides properties and methods for the management of
ApplicationFramework Addins.

ServiceManager: This class defines an interface which provides a means by which the
various components of the ApplicationFramework can publish their services. The
ServiceManager also acts as a service provider responding to requests for services. It
can also be used by applications and application addins to publish additional services.

SettingsManager: This class provides properties and methods for the management of
application settings which are stored in settings groups which are persisted between
sessions.

Namespace: Aveva.ApplicationFramework.Presentation

1.2.2

CommandBarManager: This provides access to the menus and commandbars of a

CAF based application. It also has methods to load the definition of menus and
commandbars from User Interface customisation (UIC) files.

CommandManager: This class defines an interface to provide the presentation

framework client with a mechanism for the management of command objects which
can be associated with Tools or other User interface objects. The action of invoking a
tool (e.g clicking a ButtonTool) will cause the execution of the associated command
object. It is possible to associated the same command object with a number of different
user interface objects (e.g. ButtonTool on a Menu and a LinkLabel) thereby allowing for
the centralisation of these user interface objects action within a command. Various
state-like properties of a command (e.g. enabled/checked) would also be reflected in all
user interface objects associated with a command. For example, disabling a command
would cause all associated user interface objects to be disabled. User interface objects
are associated with a command via a CommandExecutor derived class.

ResourceManager: This class defines an interface to provide Addins with a simplified

mechanism to access localizable resources.The ResourceManager provides a number
of methods which allows an addin to then access the various types of resources (string,
image, cursor, icon etc.) which resource files may contain.

WindowManager: This provides access to the main application window, the StatusBar
and a collection of MDI and docked windows. It also provides the addin writer with
methods to create MDI and docked windows to host user controls.

Database Interfaces
The database related interfaces are provided by the interface assemblies:

Aveva.Pdms.Database.dll & PDMSFilters.dll

This interface has the following main classes:

Namespace: Aveva.Pdms.Database

DatabaseService: The sole purpose of this class is to open a project.

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Introduction

DbAttribute: The class has two purposes:

1. Instances of the class are used to identify and pass around attributes
2. The methods allow the retrieval of metadata about an attribute. e.g. type, size,
Name, pseudo or not, etc. The class is valid for system attributes and UDAs.

DB: This class provides information on the opened DBs.

DbElement: Instances of DbElement are used to identify an element. This is the main
class for reading and writing to the database. The methods cover

element creation

element deletion

copy

getting/setting attributes and rules

navigating the DB

evaluating database expressions.

DbElementType: The class has two purposes:

1. Instances of the class are used to identify and pass around Element types
2. The methods allow the retrieval of metadata about an Element type. e.g. Name,
description, allowed attributes and members etc.

The class is valid for system types and UDETs.

DbEvents: This class contains the mechanisms for subscribing to database events. It
covers savework, getwork, undo, redo, flush, refresh, drop events plus capturing
general database changes.

DbExpression: Class to hold a database expression. These are the same as PML1
expressions. Methods to evaluate expressions are on the DbElement class.

DbPseudoAttribute: This Class allows pseudo attribute code to be plugged in for

UDAs.

DbRule: Class to hold a database rule

DbUserChanges: This is passed through by the 'database change' event. It contains a

list of database changes made since the last 'database change' event was raised.
Changes may be queried down to the attribute level.

MDB: Methods to do operations on an MDB. e.g. savework, getwork.

Table: Various classes to access the internal Dabacon tables. E.g. the name table.

Project: The main method is to open the MDB.

As well as the class methods there is a lot of functionality that can be accessed via pseudo
attributes. The relevant pseudo attributes are listed where relevant.

1.2.3

Geometry Interfaces
The geometry related interfaces are provides by the interface assembly:

AVEVA.Pdms.Geometry.dll

This interface has a number of geometry related classes. See reference documentation.

1.2.4

Shared Interfaces
Some general shared interfaces are provided in the interface assembly:

Aveva.Pdms.Shared.dll

This provides current element, selection changed events and Datal listing facilities.

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Introduction

1.2.5

Utilities Interfaces
Utility interfaces are provided in the interface assembly:

Aveva.Pdms.Ultilities.dll

This provides messaging, string utilities, tracing, undo and units. It also provides access to
the command line but this is not supported

1.2.6

Graphics Interfaces
Interfaces to access the drawlist and colours are provided in the interface assembly:

Aveva.Pdms.Graphics.dll

The rest of this user guide will cover in detail how to write a .NET addin and an assembly
containing classes with methods which are callable from PML. It will describe the use of the
various .NET interfaces via the use of sample code.

1.3

Sample Code
A zip file (Samples.zip) containing the samples can be found in the installation directory. For
the projects assembly references to be valid the zip file should be unzipped into the
installation directory. It will create a Samples directory containing the sub-directories
described below. If they are moved elsewhere then the references to assemblies in the
installation directory will need to be updated.
Samples are provided which are compatible with Visual Studio 2005, and Visual Studio 2005
Express.

1.3.1

AttributeBrowserAddin
A zip file (Samples.zip) containing the samples can be found in the installation directory.
This example project creates an addin which implements a very simple database element
attribute browser. It also illustrates the implementation of a command object to control the
visibility of the docked window created by the addin.

1.3.2

ExamplesAddin
A zip file (Samples.zip) containing the samples can be found in the installation directory.
.NET API Examples can be found in the ExamplesAddin project below the Samples
directory. This is a C# addin which adds a ComboBoxTool on a Toolbar to the main menu.
Each entry in the list runs a particular example. This can be loaded by adding the
ExamplesAddin to the applications addin config file. Since these examples create and claim
Design elements they need to be run in a Design multi-write database. There is an example
config file in the ExamplesAddin directory.

1.3.3

NetGridExample
A zip file (Samples.zip) containing the samples can be found in the installation directory. An
example of a .NET C# addin containing an AVEVA Grid Control.

1.3.4

PMLNetExample
A zip file (Samples.zip) containing the samples can be found in the installation directory. An
example of a .NET class that has been made PML callable.

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1.3.5

PMLGridExample
A zip file (Samples.zip) containing the samples can be found in the installation directory. An
example of an AVEVA Grid Control hosted on a PML form.

1.4

Reference Documentation
Reference documentation for the various .NET interfaces is provided in the form of help files
which can be found in the Documentation directory.

1.5

Compatibility with future versions

The new .NET API is a major step forward in providing a fast programmable interface to the
AVEVA PDMS and AVEVA Marine database and functions. This first release at version 12.0
marks a major step forward and provides some very useful functions. However, it is an
evolving interface and it is expected that there will probably be areas where functionality is
missing or the interface could be improved. It is envisaged that there will be a certain
amount of change for version 12.1 and that changes which are not upward compatible may
be unavoidable. We will warn uses in advance of any such incompatible changes. At version
12.1, we expect to mark certain classes as 'complete' and then guarantee 100% compilation
upward compatibility for use of these classes.

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How to Write an Addin

How to Write an Addin

Figure 2:1.

Writing a .NET Addin

The diagram in Figure 2 illustrates the main steps needed to create a .NET addin and
configure a CAF based module to load the new addin. The following sections detail these
various steps beginning with the writing of a .NET assembly which implements your addin.

2.1

The IAddin Interface

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What distinguishes an addin from any other .NET assembly is that an addin must contain a
class which implements the IAddin interface. When the CAF loads and starts an addin it
interrogates the assembly for the class which implements this interface, creates an instance
of this class and calls the IAddin.Start method.
The following code is a simple example of a class which implements the IAddin interface.
This is the AttributeBrowserAddin.cs file which is part of the AttributeBrowserAddin sample
project which can be found in the samples directory. The Start method performs the
initialization of the Addin.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
// Add additional using statements
using Aveva.ApplicationFramework;
using Aveva.ApplicationFramework.Presentation;
namespace Aveva.Presentation.AttributeBrowserAddin
{
public class AttributeBrowserAddin : IAddin
{
#region IAddin Members
public string Description
{
get
{
return "Provides a simple attribute browser";
}
}
public string Name
{
get
{
return "AttributeBrowserAddin";
}
}
public void Start(ServiceManager serviceManager)
{
// Create Addins Windows
// Get the WindowManager service
WindowManager windowManager = (WindowManager)serviceManager.GetService(typeof(WindowManager));
// Create a docked window to host an AttributeListControl
DockedWindow attributeListWindow = windowManager.CreateDockedWindow("Aveva.AttributeBrowser.AttributeList", "Attributes", new
AttributeListControl(), DockedPosition.Right);
// Docked windows created at addin start should ensure their layout is saved between sessions.
attributeListWindow.SaveLayout = true;
// Create and register addins commands

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// Get the CommandManager

CommandManager commandManager = (CommandManager)serviceManager.GetService(typeof(CommandManager));
ShowAttributeBrowserCommand showCommand = new ShowAttributeBrowserCommand(attributeListWindow);
commandManager.Commands.Add(showCommand);
}
public void Stop()
{
}
#endregion
}
}
Figure 2:2.

AttributeBrowserAddin Sample - AttributeBrowserAddin.cs

2.2

The WindowManager

2.2.1

Window Creation
An addin will typically expose its functionality to the user through the use of a graphical user
interface. This can take the form of forms which are shown from menu or commandbar
buttons or the addin writer may wish the addins graphical user interface to be hosted inside
a dockable window or in an MDI child window. The facilities provided by the CAF
WindowManager can be used to create these two types of window.

Figure 2:3.

Using WindowManager to create a Docked Window

The above code shows the use of the ServiceManager.GetService method to retrieve the
WindowManager service and the use of the CreateDockedWindow method to create a
docked window to host the AttributeListControl. The first argument, Key, to the
CreateDockedWindow method needs to be a unique window identifier. To help avoid
clashes between docked windows created by addins running within the same application
then it is recommended to adopt the <CompanyName>.<AddinName>.<WindowName>
naming convention for this property.
An MDI window can be created via use of the WindowManager.CreateMdiWindow method.
As illustrated in this example, an important step when creating docked windows is the
correct setting of the SaveLayout property. This property controls whether information about

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the layout and docking position is saved between application sessions. The code defines
the default docking position as DockedPosition.Right, but the user can interactively change
this and the persistence of this user preference between sessions is desirable. One aspect
of the saving (serialisation) and restoring (de-serialisation) of this layout data is that this only
works if only those docked windows for which there is layout information are present when
the layout data is de-serialized. Therefore it is important that any docked window created
during addin startup has this property set to true. If there is a mismatch between the number
of docked windows in existence when the layout data is de-serialized then you will get one
of the following warning message then the application starts up:

Warning: Loading Window Layout

Aveva.AttributeBrowserWarning:
window layout
Warning: Loading Window Layout
Aveva.AttributeBrowserWarning:
window layout

- Missing DockedWindow:
Failed to restore docked
- Extra DockedWindow:
Failed to restore docked

You should only see these warnings when either adding or removing an addin from a
module.

IWindow Interface
The DockedWindow and MdiWindow both implement the IWindow interface which has the
following methods and properties:
void Hide() - Conceals the window from the user.
void Show() - Displays the window to the user.
void Float() - Displays the window as a floating window.
void Dock() - Docks the window within the main window.
void Close() - Destroys the window removing it from the windows collection.
System.Windows.Forms.Control Control - Gets the control displayed in the window.
bool Enabled - Gets or sets whether the window is enabled.
bool Floatable - Gets or sets whether the window is floatable.
int Height - Gets or sets the height of the window.
bool IsFloating - Gets the floating state of a window.
string Key - Gets the Key of the window in the WindowsCollection.
string Title - Gets or sets the title/caption of the window.
bool Visible - Gets or sets the visible state of the window.
int Width - Gets or sets the width of the window.
Size MaximumSize - Get or sets the maximum size of the window.
Size MinimumSize - Get or sets the minimum size of the window.

Window Events
The Docked and MDI Windows also support a number of events such as Closed, Activated,
Deactivated, Resized.

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WindowManager Events
The window manager also supports two events:
event System.EventHandler WindowLayoutLoaded - Occurs at startup just after the
window layout has been loaded. This event can be used to update the state of commands
which are being used to manage the visibility of a docked window. (see the
ShowAttributeBrowserCommand.cs in the AttributeBrowserAddin sample)
event WindowEventHandler WindowAdded - Occurs when a new docked or MDI window
is created.

The StatusBar
The CAF also provides the addin writer with an interface to the StatusBar located at be
bottom of the main application window.

The StatusBar is accessed from the StatusBar property of the WindowManager.

StatusBar statusBar = windowManager.StatusBar;

It has the following properties which can be used to control the StatusBar and its contents:
bool Visible - Gets or sets the visibility of the StatusBar.
string Text - Gets or sets the text to display in the default StatusBar text pane.
int Progress - Gets or sets the progress bar value [0-100]. If this is set to 0 then the
progress bar is hidden.
string ProgressText - Text to describe the action being tracked by the progress bar.
bool ShowDateTime - Gets or sets whether the Date and Time should be displayed on the
StatusBar.
bool ShowCapsLock - Gets or sets whether the panel showing the CapsLock state is
displayed on the StatusBar.
bool ShowNumLock - Gets or sets whether the panel showing the NumLock state is
displayed on the StatusBar.
bool ShowScrollLock - Gets or sets whether the panel showing the ScrollLock state is
displayed on the StatusBar.
bool ShowInsertMode - Gets or sets whether the panel showing the InsertMode is
displayed on the statusbar.
StatusBarPanelsCollection Panels - Gets the collection of application defined StatusBar
panels.
The StatusBar allows the user to create additional panels using the Panels collection
property. The StatusBarPanelsCollection currently has methods to create
StatusBarTextPanel objects and add them to the StatusBar.

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Figure 2:4.

: Code to create a StatusBar Panel containing the project name.

The StatusBarTextPanel object has a number of properties which control its content and
behaviour. It also supports PanelClick and PanelDoubleClick events. For details of these
please refer to the reference help file.

2.3

Addin Commands
User access to an addin's functionality is typically accessed via main menus, context menus
and tools on a commandbar. The CAF provides interfaces via the CommandBarManager for
the creation of menus, commandbars and the various types of tool that they can contain.
These various tools also support a traditional event style interface where the programmer
provides event handlers to respond to the various events generated as a result of user
interaction with the user interface. However this traditional approach to user interface
development although still supported by the CAF is not recommended. The CAF also
supports the ability to define menus, commandbars and their tools via a "User Interface
customisation" (UIC) file which is a XML file containing the definitions of the menus,
commandbars and their contents including the values of their various properties. Details of
how to create these UIC files will be covered later in this manual.
A declarative XML based definition of the menus and commandbars requires the provision
of a mechanism to associate each of the various user interface entities defined in the XML
file with a call-back that invokes the necessary functionality (replacing the traditional event
handlers). To achieve this, the addins functionality is exposed via a number of command
objects. These command objects are loaded by an addin using the services of the
CommandManager. The XML definition can then include information to associate a user
interface entity such a menu entry or a button on a commandbar with a command object.
Selection of the menu entry or clicking on the button will then cause the associated
command to be executed.
One of the advantages of a command based model is that it forces the decoupling of the
user interface or presentation layer from the application logic. The application logic has no
direct reference to the presentation layer entities. If application state needs to be reflected in
the user interface then the application modifies the state of the command. The command
knows which user interface entities are associated with it and takes the necessary steps to
ensure that its internal state is reflected in the user interface. This is easily achieved for
state such as "enabled", "visible" or "checked", but becomes complex when dynamic
application state needs to be reflected in user interface entities such as a combo-box.

2.3.1

Writing a Command Class

The example below (Figure 6) is for a simple command class use to manage the visibility
state of a docked window, in this case the AttributeBrowser docked window. The CAF
provides an abstract base class from which every Command class must inherit. The

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constructor for a Command class should set the base class Key property which is used to
reference the command from within a UIC file.
The Command base class has the following methods and properties which can be
overridden by a derived Command class.
void Execute() : This method must be overridden to provide the command execution
functionality.
CommandState GetState() : This method is called by the CAF to update the state of the
contents of a context menu. The returned value is a CommandState enumeration for
various states of a command. This enumeration can be treated as a bit field; that is, a set of
flags. Bit fields can be combined using a bitwise OR operation. The command state is then
reflected by the user interface.
String Description : A description for the command.
void Refresh(string context) : This method will be called whenever the
CommandManager.ApplicationContext property is changed. This gives the command
the opportunity to update its Enabled or Visible state in response to this context change.
This command state change would then be reflected in the user interface.
The Command base class also has a number of properties which are use to update the
command state following user interface changes or vice-versa.
bool Checked: If associated with a user interface entity such as a StateButtonTool then this
property and the corresponding state of the user interface entity are kept synchronised.
bool Enabled: Changes to this property are reflected in all associated user interface
entities.
ArrayList List: This property allows a command to communicate a list of string values to
the user interface. This can be used when a command is associated with for example a
ComboBoxTool.
int SelectedIndex: This property is updated to indicate which item from a list has been
selected by the user.
object Value: This property holds the currently value of an associated user interface entity.
bool ValueChanged: Before calling the execute method the CAF sets this property if the
value of the user interface entity has changed. The flag is cleared when execution has
finished.
bool Visible: Changes to this property are reflected in all associated user interface entities.
Registering a command with the CAF is done by adding an instance of a command class to
the CommandManagers.Commands collection.

ShowAttributeBrowserCommand showCommand = new

ShowAttributeBrowserCommand(attributeListWindow);
commandManager.Commands.Add(showCommand);
using
using
using
using

System;
System.Collections.Generic;
System.Text;
Aveva.ApplicationFramework.Presentation;

namespace Aveva.Presentation.AttributeBrowserAddin
{
/// <summary>

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/// Class to manage the visibility state of the AttributeBrowser docked

window
/// This command should be associated with a StateButtonTool.
/// </summary>
public class ShowAttributeBrowserCommand : Command
{
private DockedWindow _window;
/// <summary>
/// Constructor for ShowAttributeBrowserCommand
/// </summary>
/// <param name="window">The docked window whose visibility state
will be managed.</param>
public ShowAttributeBrowserCommand(DockedWindow window)
{
// Set the command key
this.Key = "Aveva.ShowAttributeBrowserCommand";
// Save the docked window
_window = window;
// Create an event handler for the window closed event
_window.Closed += new EventHandler(_window_Closed);
// Create an event handler for the WindowLayoutLoaded event
WindowManager.Instance.WindowLayoutLoaded += new
EventHandler(Instance_WindowLayoutLoaded);
}
void Instance_WindowLayoutLoaded(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Update the command state to match initial window visibility
this.Checked = _window.Visible;
}
void _window_Closed(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Update the command state when the window is closed
this.Checked = false;
}
/// <summary>
/// Override the base class Execute method to show and hide the window
/// </summary>
public override void Execute()
{
if (this.Checked)
{
_window.Show();
}
else
{
_window.Hide();
}
}
}
}
Figure 2:5.

AttributeBrowserAddin Sample - ShowAttributeBrowserCommand.cs

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2.3.2

Command Events
The Command base class provides two events BeforeCommandExecute and
CommandExecuted which enable the addin writer to write code to respond to the execution
of any command object registered with the CommandManager. A command object can be
retrieved from the CommandManger if its Key is known and event handlers can be attached
to these events.

Command anotherCommand =
commandManager.Commands["KeyOfCommand"];
anotherCommand.BeforeCommandExecute += new
System.ComponentModel.CancelEventHandler(anotherCommand_Befor
eCommandExecute);
anotherCommand.CommandExecuted += new
EventHandler(anotherCommand_CommandExecuted);
The BeforeCommandExecute event handler is of type
CancelEventHandler and is passed a CancelEventArgs object
which enables the command execution to be cancelled by setting
the Cancel property to true.
void anotherCommand_BeforeCommandExecute(object sender,
System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
e.Cancel = true;
}

2.4

Resource Manager
Another CAF service is the ResourceManager which provides addins with a simplified
mechanism to access localizable resources. The ResourceManager supports the loading of
ResourceSets which consist of a number of locale specific resource files with a given
"basename".

resourceManager.LoadResourceFile("AttributeBrowserAddin");
This will load all resource files with a basename of "AttributeBrowserAddin". E.g.

AttributeBrowserAddin.resources (Invariant language locale)

AttributeBrowserAddin.de.resources (German locale)
AttributeBrowserAddin.ko-KR.resources (Korean-Korea locale)
Depending on the machine's regional settings resource lookups will firstly try to locate the
resource from the corresponding locale specific resource file. If this is not found it will defer
to the language invariant resource file.
The ResourceManager provides a number of methods which allow an addin to access the
various types of resources (string, image, cursor, icon etc.) which these resource files may
contain. Each of the resource retrieval methods takes as an argument a resource identifier
string and an optional resourceset name. If the resourceset name is omitted then it will
default to a resourceset with the same name as the addin retrieving the resource.

2.5

Configuring a Module to Load an Addin

Having written an addin the next step is to get it to be loaded by a module. Each CAF based
application has an XML addin configuration file which contains a list of the addins that the
application should load at startup. The default location for this file is in the same directory as

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the application executable. It has a filename of the form <Module Name>Addins.xml. For
example the AVEVA PDMS module Design has a file called DesignAddins.xml. The content
of this file is reproduced below. By default the addins are also expected to be in the same
directory as the application executable. You can however specify the full path to the addin
assembly including the use of UNC pathnames. If during addin development you do not
wish to modify the addin configuration file in the install directory (this is particularly likely to
be the case if you are using a server based installation) then the default location of the addin
configuration file can be overridden using the environment variable CAF_ADDINS_PATH.
You can then edit a copy of the file and point this environment variable at the directory you
copy it to.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ArrayOfString xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<string>ExplorerAddin</string>
<string>DrawListAddin</string>
<string>MyDataAddin</string>
<string>HistoryAddin</string>
<string>ReferenceListAddin</string>
<string>PipeCheckAddin</string>
<string>OutputAddin</string>
<string>FindAddin</string>
<string>AttributesAddin</string>
<string>C:\Documents and Settings\User1\My Documents\Visual Studio
2005\AttributeBrowserAddin\AttributeBrowserAddin\bin\Debug\AttributeBrowserAddin</string>
</ArrayOfString>

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Menu and Command Bar Customisation

Menu and Command Bar Customisation

User access to functionality provided via an addin is normally provided through the use of
menus and/or tools on a commandbar. Reference was made earlier, in the section about
addin commands, that the CAF provides a mechanism to allow the menus and
commandbars for an application to be defined in a "User Interface Customisation" (UIC) file.
This section provides details of how a CAF based application can be configured to load a
UIC file, and how the UIC file can be edited using the applications interactive user interface
customisation tool.

3.1

Configuring a Module to Load a UIC File

Each CAF based application has an XML configuration file which contains a list of UIC files
that the application should load at start-up. The default location for this file is in the same
directory as the application executable. It has a filename of the form <Module
Name>Customisation.xml. For example the AVEVA Marine module Hull Design has a file
called HullDesignCustomisation.xml. The content of this file is reproduced below. By default
the UIC files are also expected to be in the same directory as the application executable.
You can however specify the full path to the UIC file including the use of UNC pathnames. It
is also possible to define a project specific UIC file. The string "$1" in the UIC path will be
replaced with the current project name.
If during addin development you do not wish to modify the customisation configuration file in
the install directory (this is particularly likely to be the case if you are using a server based
installation) then the default location of the customisation configuration file can be
overridden using the environment variable CAF_UIC_PATH. You can then edit a copy of the
file and point this environment variable at the directory you copy it to.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<UICustomizationSet xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/
2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UICustomizationFiles>
<CustomizationFile Name="Hull General" Path="AVEVA.Marine.UI.HullGeneral.uic" />
<CustomizationFile Name="Hull Design" Path="AVEVA.Marine.UI.HullDesign.uic" />
<CustomizationFile Name="Project" Path="$1.uic" />
</UICustomizationFiles>
</UICustomizationSet>

The order of the UIC files in this configuration file is significant. They are loaded in order
since it is possible for a UIC file to define a tool which is hosted in a menu or on a
commandbar defined in a UIC file already loaded.
A new UIC file can be added to a module simply by adding a new line to the corresponding
customisation configuration file. The actual content of the UIC file will be created using the
interactive user interface customisation tool described below.

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As well as adding to the customisation configuration file an addin can also load a UIC file
directly using the AddUICustomisationFile method of the CommandBarManager.
// Load a UIC file for the AttributeBrowser.
CommandBarManager commandBarManager = (CommandBarManager)serviceManager.GetService(typeof(CommandBarManager));
commandBarManager.AddUICustomizationFile("AttributeBrowser.uic",
"AttributeBrowser");
This UIC file will be loaded before those define in the Customisation configuration file, so it
must create its own menu or commandbar to host its tools.

3.2

Editing the UIC File

The content of a UIC file is created using the CAF based applications built-in interactive
user interface customisation tool which is accessed via the Customize entry at the bottom of
the commandbar area popup menu.

The customisation dialog is comprised of seven main areas:

1. CommandBar Preview Area- displays a preview of a selected CommandBar.
2. Active Customisation File - allows the selection of a loaded customisation file for
editing.
3. Tree showing CommandBars, Menubars, Context Menus and Resource Files.
4. List of tools.
5. Property grid
6. Action buttons
7. Resource Editor - displayed when a resource file is selected.

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3.2.1

Figure 3:1.

Customisation Dialog

Figure 3:2.

Customisation Dialog - Resource Editor

Selection of Active Customisation File

The customisation system supports the concept of multiple configuration files.

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Figure 3:3.

Selecting the Active Customisation File

Any number of levels of customisation file can be defined either using the module
customisation configuration file or the CommandBarManager.
AddUICustomizationFile() method, and they are layered on-top of each other in the
order they appear in the list. Selecting an entry in the list will update the tree view (3) and
listview (4) with all configuration information defined in the selected file and those above it.
Any items in the tree or listview which are not defined in the currently active customisation
file are displayed with an italic font in grey. Any customisation file which a user does not
have write access to does not appear in the drop-down list, but its contents are included in
the tree and list of tools.

Figure 3:4.

Customisation Dialog: Indication of editable items

Here the Button "Save" is defined in the "ConnectionMap" customisation file. It is displayed
in italics along with the "Schematic Model Viewer" Command Bar since these items are not
defined in the currently selected customisation file.
The selected customisation file will also be made the active customisation file and any edits
will only be possible to customisation information defined in this file.

3.2.2

The Tree
The tree is populated with a representation of the Active Customisation file: CommandBars
and their contents: Menubars and their entries and Context Menus defined in each of the

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configuration files above and including the currently selected file. It also contains a list of the
currently loaded resource files. The Tree View supports the following user interactions:

Selecting a Node in the Tree

The property grid (5) is updated with the corresponding object so that its properties can be
edited. Only objects which are defined in the currently active customisation file can have
their properties modified. Selecting a node in the tree which represents an object defined in
a non-active file will update the property grid, but it will be disabled thus preventing
modification.
If the selected node represents a CommandBar then a representation of the CommandBar
will be displayed in the Preview Area (1).
If the selected node represents a resource file then the resource editor (7) will be displayed
instead of the property grid.

Drag & Drop within the Tree

The tools owned by a MenuTool or a CommandBar can be re-ordered by dragging the tool
to the new desired position. MenuTools owned by the MenuBar can also be re-ordered
using drag and drop.

Node Context Menus

The context menu for the CommandBars Node contains the following operations:
New Command Bar - Creates a new CommandBar with unique default name
(CommandBar<N>).

The context menu for a CommandBar node contains the following operations:
Delete - Delete the CommandBar. If the CommandBar contains tools then a
confirmation MessageBox is displayed.

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The context menu for the MenuBar node contains the following operations:
New Menu - Creates a new MenuTool with a unique default name (Menu<N>).
The context menu for the Context Menus node contains the following operations:
New Menu - Creates a new MenuTool with a unique default name (Menu<N>).

The context menu for a Tool node contains the following operations:
First in group - Marks the tool instance as being the first in a group. It then gets a
separator drawn above it.
Delete - Removes the tool instance from the MenuTool or CommandBar.

3.2.3

List of Command Tools

The list is populated with each of the tools defined in each of the configuration files above
and including the currently selected file.
The list supports the following user interactions:

Selecting a Node in the List

The property grid (5) is updated with the corresponding tool object so that its properties can
be edited. Only objects which are defined in the currently active customisation file can have
their properties modified. Selecting a tool which is defined in a non-active file will update the
property grid, but it will be disabled thus preventing modification.

Drag & Drop from the List to the Tree

Tools can be dragged from the list and dropped into a MenuTool or a CommandBar in the
Tree. It is also possible to add tools to a menu or commandbar defined in a higher level
customisation file. This allows the user to integrate their tools into an existing system
defined menu hierarchy and extend system toolbars as well as creating new top level
menus and new commandbars. One possible risk of adding tools to menus or toolbars
defined at a higher level is that the higher level structure might at a later date be modified
making these tools "orphaned", or making the data which is stored to indicate their position
within the host invalid. To warn of this, these tools are displayed in red within the tree. Here
the "User" defined button "Sweden" had been added to the "System" defined commandbar
"Standard". Also a button "Italy" defined at project level has been added to this "System"
commandbar.

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List Context Menu

The list has the following operations on a context menu:

Delete - Deletes the currently selected tool. If the selected tool is not editable then the
delete operation is disabled. If the tool has been used then a warning message is
displayed to confirm that the delete should be carried out.

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Creates a new tool of the required type with a unique default name (Tool<N>) and adds it to
the list.

Tool Types

When placed on a CommandBar the Button tool can have either an icon or a text caption. In
a menu both the caption and the icon, if one is defined are displayed. The button tool simply
executes the associated command when clicked.

The ComboBox tool allows selection from a list of items. The associated command provides
the list via its List property.

The ControlContainer supports the hosting of any WinForms control. Here it is shown
hosting a ProgressBar. The control it should host is set via the Control property which
presents a list of the controls registered with the CAF using the
CommandBarManager.Controls Hashtable property.
ProgressBar progBar = new ProgressBar();
progBar.Value = 50;
commandBarManager.Controls.Add("ProgressBar",progBar);

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The FontList tool allows selection of a font from a pulldown list of installed fonts.

The Label tool allows the addition of a static icon and/or caption.

The List tool can only be use in a menu and will create a menu entry for each of the items
returned from the List property of the associated Command object. This is typically used to
implement a MRU list of files.

The MdiWindowList tool can also only be added to a menu. It supports the standard
operations on the applications MDI Windows.

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Menu tools can be added to both an existing menu to create a sub-menu or to a

CommandBar.

The PopupColorPicker displays a standard colour picker in a popup window.

The PopupControlContainer tool allows any WinForms control to be hosted in a popup

window. Here the MonthCalendar control is being hosted.

The StateButton tool supports the Checked state.

The TextBox tool allows the entry of any string value.

Sorting List via Heading

It is possible to sort the list via interaction with the list column headings.

3.2.4

Property Grid
The property grid allows editing the various properties of the tools and CommandBars. The
tree view (3) or the list of command (4) is kept up to date with any property changes.

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Figure 3:5.

Customisation Dialog : Properties Grid

The command property can be changed by clicking on the button displayed when selecting
the command property. This will display the following dialog:

By default the command type is set to Macro. The uses a special command class to invoke
the entered single PML command. This enables the PML developer to use the interactive
customisation tool to create their own menus and commandbars without needing to write C#
command classes.
Changing the command type to "Core Command" will change the dialog to:

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Here a list of the currently loaded CAF Command objects is displayed for selection.

3.2.5

Action Buttons
The customisation dialog has the following action buttons:

OK - Saves any modified customisation files and updates the application user interface with
any changes and closes the customisation dialog.

Apply - Updates the application user interface with any changes.

Cancel - Restores the application user interface to state defined by customisation files if any
changes have been applied and closes the customisation dialog.

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3.2.6

Resource Editor
The resource editor enables each of the currently loaded resource sets to be edited. It
supports String, Icon and Bitmap resources. Each resource set can comprise of a number of
resource files, comprising of the "Invariant Language" resource file and any number of
locale specific resource files.

Figure 3:6.

Customisation Dialog : View of string resource editor

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Figure 3:7.

Customisation Dialog: View of bitmap resource editor

Resource Editor Command Bar

The resource editor command bar contains the following operations:

Save the resource file.

Copy a resource, so it can be pasted into another resource file.

Paste a resource.

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Delete a resource.

Add a new resource (Icons and Bitmaps only). New bitmaps or icons can be added by dragand-drop from a windows explorer. The resource id is generated from the filename
capitalised and prefixed with "ID_". If there is a clash with an exiting resource then the
following dialog will request confirmation of replacement.

String resource can be added for modified by editing them in the grid.

Select locale specific resource file for editing.

Add a new locale specific resource file to the resource file set.

Choosing a locale from the list of locales will add a new resource file specific for this locale.
This can then be selected for editing.

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Change layout style.

The icon and bitmap tabs also have a popup menu which provides access to these
functions as well as a rename function. Double clicking on a resource also enters the
rename mode.

Using Resources for Properties

Properties of tools which are strings or the Icon property can use resources for their value.
Reference to a resource is made using the form <ResourceSet Name>:<Resource Id> as
shown below:

The caption and icon properties can be set on a tool in the tool list by drag-and-drop from
the resource editor onto the tool.

Standalone Resource Editor

There is a standalone version of the resource editor available to enable resource files to be
created and edited. This program is called "ResourceEditor.exe" and can be found in the
installation directory.
When started it will display a file selection dialog to enable you to choose an existing
resource file or give the name of a new one.

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Database Interface

Database Interface
The classes fall into the following groups:
1. Data model definition classes
2. Basic database access, query and modification.
3. Filters and iterators
4. Dabacon table access
5. DB, MDB, Project access
6. Events and pseudo attribute plugins

4.1

Data Model Definition Classes

The classes are:

4.1.1

DbElementType

DbAttribute

DbElementTypeInstance

DbAttributeInstance

DbElementType
Overview
There is a single class for all element types.
The purpose of the class is to:

Instances of the class identify the element type. i.e. methods on other classes take a
DbElementType as an argument rather than a string to denote an Element type. The
DbElementType has 'value' semantics for comparison purposes. i.e. comparing of two
DbElementTypes will always return true if they refer to the same type, even if they are
different objects.

Access the metadata associated with element types.

External to PDMS, the hash value can be used to uniquely identify an Element type. The
hash value is a 32 bit integer.

Constructors
In C# a DbElementType object may be obtained in one of three ways:
1. Use the globally defined instances in DbElementTypeInstance. This is the
recommended and easiest way to obtain a DbElementType.

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2. The static 'GetElementType' method may be used to return a DbElementType given

the Element Type name. This is only needed for UDETs. The colon must be included
as part of the name.
3. There is also a static 'GetElementType' method that may to be used to return a
DbElementType given the hash value. This is only needed where a hash value has
been stored outside of PDMS.
4. Various methods on other classes, such as DbElement will return a list of
DbElementTypes.

Methods
The methods allow the Element type metadata to be accessed. E.g.

Name

Description

BaseType (for UDETs)

List of attributes

List of UDAs

Allowed members

Allowed owners

Types that may appear above this element type

Types that may appear below this element type

Element types that may be referenced from a given attribute on this element type

Database types in which it occurs

Related ENUMS
DbNounManual- Manual category
DbType - DB type

Related Pseudo Attributes

Pseudo attributes that provide similar information on a particular element instance (i.e. on a
DbElement) are:
Attribute Name

C# Data Type

Description

HLIS

DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
String
DbAttribute[]
DbAttribute[]
DbAttribute[]

List of all possible types in owning hierarchy

LIST
LLIS
OLIS
REPTXT
ATTLIST
PSATTS
UDALIS

4:2

List of all possible member types

List of all possible types in member hierarchy
List of all possible owner types
Reporter text used for element type
List of all visible attributes for element
List of pseudo attributes
List of UDAs

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4.1.2

DbAttribute
Overview
This is very similar to DbElementType. There is a single class for all attributes.
The purpose of the class is to:

Access the metadata (i.e. data about data) associated with attributes. E.g. type, name,
length

Identify attributes. i.e. methods on other classes should always take a DbAttribute
rather than a string as an argument to denote the attribute. Any comparison of attribute
identity should be done by comparing DbAttribute objects.

The class should not be confused with the attribute value. The actual Attribute value for a
particular Element can only be accessed via the DbElement class. Comparing two
DbAttributes just compares whether they identify the same attribute, the comparison
does not look at attribute values in any way.
External to PDMS, the hash value can be used to uniquely identify an Attribute. The hash
value is a 32 bit integer.

Constructors
In C# a DbAttribute object may be obtained in the following ways:
1. Use globally defined instances. Each attribute has a globally declared instance in the
DbAttributeInstance class. This is the standard way of specifying an attribute.
2. Look up the DbAttribute given the attribute name. This is only needed for UDAs, since
all other attributes can be obtained from the global instances. The colon must be
included as part of the name.
3. Look up the DbAttribute given the attribute hash value. Generally this is only needed if
reading the hash value from an external system.
4. Various methods on other classes, such as DbElement, will return a list of
DbAttributesTypes.

Methods
The methods allow the following metadata to be accessed:
Attribute Type
Units
Name
Description
Category
Size
Allowed Values
Allowed ranges
Is a UDA

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Is a pseudo attribute
Whether the attribute may
take a qualifier
Example:
Find the type of attribute XLEN. We use the global instance of XLEN on the
DbAttributeInstance class.
using ATT=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbAttributeInstance;
DbAttributeType

xlenTyp= ATT.XLEN.Type;

Related ENUMS
DbAttributeUnit- Type of units, e.g. distance or bore or none.
DbAttributeType Type of attribute. One of
INTEGER = 1,
DOUBLE = 2,
BOOL = 3,
STRING = 4,
ELEMENT = 5,
DIRECTION = 7,
POSITION = 8,
ORIENTATION = 9
DbAttributeQualifier
attribute has

4.1.3

used

to

determine

what

sort

of

qualifier

an

DbElementTypeInstance
This class contains instances of DbElementType for every element type in PDMS. These
instances may be used wherever a DbElementType is expected. E.g. if a method
MyMethod() takes an DbElementType, then you could write:
e.g.
MyMethod(Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbElementTypeInstance.EQUIPMENT);

It is often convenient to add a using statement for these instances. E.g.

using NOUN=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbElementTypeInstance;
MyMethod(NOUN.EQUIPMENT);

4.1.4

DbAttributeInstance
This class contains instances of DbAttribute for every element type in PDMS. These
instances may be used wherever a DbAttribute is expected. E.g. if a method MyMethod()
takes a DbAttribute, you could write:
e.g.
MyMethod(Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbAttributeInstance.XLEN);

It is often convenient to add a using statement for these instances. E.g

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using ATT=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbAttributeInstance;
MyMethod(ATT.XLEN);

4.2

Element access

4.2.1

DbElement Basics

Overview
This section describes the DbElement class. The DbElement class is the most widely used
class and it covers a large proportion of the database functionality that will be used in
practise.
The methods fall into the following groups:

Navigation

Querying of attributes

Database modifications

Storage of rules and expressions

Comparison across sessions

DbElement is a generic object that represents all database elements regardless of their
type.

Constructors
An instance of a DbElement may be obtained as follows:

There is a static GetElement() method with no arguments to return a 'null'

DbElement.

There is a static GetElement() method which returns a DbElement given a name.

This name should include the '/'.

There is a static GetElement() method which returns a DbElement given a ref(two

long int array) and type. This is only needed where a reference has been stored
externally to PDMS.

There are many methods on various classes which return DbElements

e.g.
DbElement vess1 = DbElement.GetElement("/VESS1");

Identity
The DbElement object encapsulates the identity of the database object. Any comparison of
database objects must be done using DbElements. The DbElement has 'value' semantics
for comparison purposes. i.e. comparing of two DbElements will always return true if they
refer to the same element, even if they are different objects. DbElement instances should
be used in all cases where the identity of an element is being passed or stored.
A DbElement can be identified externally to PDMS by a combination of the ref number
AND type. The ref number is a two long integer, for example: =123/4567.

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Element Validity
A DbElement need not represent a 'valid' element. There are a number of reasons why a
DbElement might be invalid:

The element is in a DB not opened.

The element has been deleted.

There is a IsValid()method to test if a DbElement is valid.

If the DbElement is invalid then all attribute access and database navigation will fail for that
DbElement.

Error Handling
The error handling techniques used are:
1. Some methods raise a PdmsException
2. Some methods return false if the operation can not be done.
3. For navigation operations, if the navigation does not succeed then a 'null' element is
returned. A null element can be tested using the 'IsNull' method. It will have a reference
of =0/0.
Note: The error handling philosophy is likely to change at PDMS 12.1.

Basic Properties
DbElement has the following basic methods:
ToString()- Returns the Name of the element. If unnamed, it returns the constructed
name.
GetElementType()- Returns the DbElementType.
There are a number of pseudo attributes that return slight variations on name and type, as
below.
Type related:
Attribute Name

C# Data Type

ACTTYPE

Type of element

TYPE

DbElementType
DbElementType
(200)
DbElementType
DbElementType

TYSEQU

int

Type Sequence Number

AHLIS
OSTYPE

Qualifier

Description
List of actual types in owning
hierarchy
Shortcut for "Type of owner"
Type of the element, ignoring
UDET

Name Related:
Attribute Name

C# Data Type

Qualifier

Description

CUTNAM

String

int

Full name of element, truncated

to n characters

CUTNMN

String

int

Full name of element (without

leading slash) truncated to n
characters

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4.2.2

Attribute Name

C# Data Type

Qualifier

Description

FLNM

String

Full name of the element

FLNN

String

Full name of the element (without

leading slash)

ISNAMED

Bool

True if element is named

NAMESQ

String

Type. sequence number and

name of element

NAMETY

String

Type and name of the element

NAMN

String

Name of the element (without

leading slash)

NAMTYP

String

Type and full name of element

Navigation
Basic Navigation
There are basic methods to navigate the primary hierarchy. e.g. consider the following
hierarchy:

If we are sitting at Zone2, we can navigate as follows:

using NOUN=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbElementTypeInstance;
DbElement zone = DbElement.GetElement("/Zone1")
DbElement temp=zone2.Next(); // temp is now Zone3
temp=zone2->Previous(); // temp is now Zone1
temp=zone2->Owner(); // temp is now Site1
temp=zone2->FirstMember(); // temp is now Pipe1
DbElement pipe1=temp;
temp=zone2->LastMember(); // temp is now Equi1
DbElement temp=pipe1.Next(NOUN.EQUIPMENT); // temp is Equi1

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DbElement temp=pipe1.Previous(); // temp is null as there is no previous

element. This can only be tested using the IsNull method
Scanning the database is a very common operation. For this reasons there are additional iterator and
filter classes that ease this task. These are described in the section on Filters/Iterators.

Pseudo Attributes Relating to Element Navigation

Attribute Name

Data Type

Qualifier

Description

ALLELE

DbElement[]
)

DbElementType

All elements in the MDB of a

particular type

CONNECTIONS

DbElement[]

Connections

CONNECTIONS
H

DbElement[]

Connections for all descendants

CONNER

String

DDEP

Int

FRSTW

DbElement

MAXD

Int

MBACK

DbElement[]

*DbElementType

Members in reverse order

MCOU

Int

*DbElementType

Number of Element Members of

Given type

MEMB

DbElement[]

*DbElementType

All members, or members of

specific type

OWNLST

DbElement[]

PARENT

DbElement

SEQU

Int

Sequence Position in Member

List

TYSEQU

Int

Type Sequence Number

Connection error message

Int

Database
depth
hierarchy (World is 0)
String

within

Reference of first world of given

DB type in current MDB
DB hierarchy depth of lowest
level item beneath element

Owning hierarchy
*DbElementType

Reference
of
ascendant
element of specified type

'*'- qualifier is optional

Secondary Hierarchies
Standard navigation methods do not work for descending a secondary hierarchy. Pseudo
attribute SMEMB must be used. E.g. to get the design elements below a GPSET, you must
query the SMEMB attribute on the GPSET.
Pseudo attributes relating to secondary hierarchies are:
Attribute Name

Data Type

Description

GPPRXS

DbElement[]
DbElement[]
DbElement[]

Group proxy items referring to element

GROUPS
SEXPND

GPSETs in which element occurs

Recursive expansion of SMEMB

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Attribute Name

Data Type

Description

SITEM

DbElement
DbElement[]

Reference from secondary hierarchy

SMEMB

Immediate members in secondary hierarchy

The difference between SMEMB and SEXPND is that SEXPND allows for recursive
secondary hierarchies. Where there are no recursive possibilities, SMEMB and SEXPND
will be the same. The following example illustrates the difference between SMEMB and
SEXPND:

In the example there are two secondary nodes S1, S2. S1 holds element A, C, and S2 holds
S1,D,G.
For S1,
SMEMB returns A,C
SEXPND returns A,C
For S2,
SMEMB returns S1,D, G
SEXPND returns A,C, D, G

4.2.3

Getting Attribute Values

Basic Mechanism
The attributes available on for a DbElement will depend on its type. E.g. a site will have
different attributes to a branch. For this reason attributes are accessed through generic
methods rather than specific methods. These generic methods pass in the identity of the
attribute being queried (a DbAttribute object). There are separate methods for each attribute
type (int, double etc), plus separate methods for single values or arrays.
e.g.

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using ATT=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbAttributeInstance;
double length=myEle.GetDouble(ATT.XLEN);
This call returns the value of attribute XLEN. If 'myEle' is not a BOX then an exception will be raised.
If there is any doubt as to whether 'myEle' is a BOX or not, then there are a set of methods that return
false if the attribute does not exists. E.g.
e.g.
using ATT=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbAttributeInstance;
double length;
if (!myEle.GetValidDouble(ATT_XLEN,length)) {
// handle error in some way
}
In addition there is a IsAttributeValid() method that can be used to test if an attribute is valid
or not.
The basic mechanism works for all attributes including UDAs and pseudo attributes.
The attribute types supported are:

int, int[]
double, double[]
bool, bool[]
string, string[]
DbElement, DbElement[]
DbElementType, DbElementType[]
DbAttribute, DbAttribute[]
Position
Direction
Orientation
Expression
Note: The methods that are called GetAttribute, GetAttributeArray are the
'getattribute' methods that return DbAttributes. Similarly the GetElement,
GetElementArray methods are the 'getattribute' methods that return
DbElements. This is confusing since GetElement is also the name of the method
to return a DbElement given a name. We may change the names of these in the
future.

List of Valid Attributes

There are two lists of valid attributes:
1. The list of system attributes. Typically these attributes can be queried and set. These
can be queried using the GetAttributes() method.
2. There is a list of pseudo attributes that may be queried. Typically this list is large,
running into the hundreds. This list can be obtained via the PSATTS attribute. N.B.
querying PSATTS can be slow.

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Related pseudo attributes are:

Attribute
Name

Data Type

Description

ATTLIST

DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]
DbElementType[]

List of all visible attributes for element

ATTRAW
PSATTS
RLIS
UDALIS
UDASET

List of raw attributes

List of pseudo attributes
List of rules set
List of UDAs
List of UDAs set

Qualifier
Many attributes take a qualifier. The qualifier is the extra information to make the query.
Examples of where a qualifier is used are:
1. Querying a ppoint position (PPOS) requires the ppoint number
2. The ATTMOD attribute can be used to query when an attribute was modified but it
needs to be given the identity of the attribute.
3. A direction/position may be queried with respect to another element
The definition of what pseudo attributes take what qualifier is described in the data model
reference manual.
The DbQualifier class represents the qualifier. This can hold any type of qualifier, i.e. int,
double,string, DbElementType, Attribute, position, direction, orientation. It can hold multiple
qualifier values, although few current attributes require multiple valued qualifiers. There is a
separate method to set the WRT element.
There is a set of query routines that take a qualifier as an extra argument.
e.g. to query the bore of ppoint 1:
DbQualifier qual=new DbQualifier();
qual.Add(1);
double bore=myele.GetDouble(ATT.PPBO, qual);

Getting an Attribute as a Formatted String

If the attribute value is to go onto a form then the value must be formatted correctly. The
correct formatting is not always obvious or available. Therefore there are special methods to
return any attribute as a formatted string. This will format the attribute into the form that
would appear at the command line. For example if the attribute is a position and we are
working in finch unit, then something like 'W 39'4.7/16 N 59'0.85/128 U 4'0.31/
128' might be returned.
The method to do this is GetAsString().
Note: There is no generalised method for setting an attribute from a string.

4.2.4

Database Modifications
Overview
The following modifications are allowed:

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Set attribute

Create element

Delete element

Copy element

Change type

Move element

The Modification Pipeline

When an element is modified, it is not simply the case of directly updating the database. For
example, when setting an attribute the following sequence takes place:
1. Check that the attribute value is the right type
2. Check against any valid values or ranges
3. If the new value is the same as before, then return.
4. Check against the user access control defined in the system DB.
5. Check that the DB is open in write
6. Check LOCK flag
7. Do claim check, and claim if needed if DB is 'implicit claim'
8. Make attribute specific checks.
9. Make the actual database change.
10. Add to change list
11. Invoke attribute specific follow up code.
12. Update any dynamic rules affected
It can be seen that making what appears to be a simple modification is actually quite
complicated.
In particularly a lot of errors are possible. Errors may be generated by any of the steps 1-2
plus steps 4-8.
If an error occurs the code will raise a PdmsException. The calling code needs to allow for
this.
Clarification of some of these errors is as follows:
Check that the attribute value is the right type - i.e. if a text attribute then the new value
must be text. E.g. setting DESC to 99 will raise an error.
Check against any valid values or ranges - This will check the value against any user
provided criteria stored in the dictionary DBs.
Check access control - An error will be raised if the modification is not allowed. An error
will also be raised at this point if the attribute is not valid for the given element.
Check that the DB is open in write - An error will be raised if 'read only'.
Check LOCK flag - An error will be raised if the LOCK flag is true.
Do claim check, and claim if needed (and implicit claim is allowed) - An error will be
raised if:

The DB uses explicit claims and the primary element has not been claimed.

The primary element is claimed by another user or extract.

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Call the legality checking routines to ensure that the modification is valid - These
checks are made by the plugged in application specific code. Thus potentially any error
could be raised.

Claiming Elements
If a DB has been set up to be 'implicit' the user will claim elements as needed without having
to do explicit claims.
There are some methods on DbElement to claim/release individual elements or a hierarchy
of elements. If working on a hierarchy of elements, and errors occur, then the system will
still do what it can.
There are also methods on the MDB class to claim/release a list of elements. Performance
is improved by claiming or releasing elements in bulk, thus in general the MDB methods
should be used rather than the ones on DbElement.
The granularity of claim is at the level of primary element. This is described in the data
management reference manual.

Pseudo Attributes Relating to Claims

Attribute Name

C# Data Type

Description

CLMID

Unique system ID of user claiming element

CLMNUM

String
int

CLMTIE

DbElement[]

Reference
to
elements
that
automatically claimed along with
element

NPDESC

DbElement[]
bool
Bool

List of non primary offspring

bool
Bool

True if element may be released

True if element is primary

PRMMEM

Bool
bool

PRMOWN

DbElement

Primary owning element (will be itself if

primary)

USCLHI

DbElement[]

Elements in descendant hierarchy claimed

to this user

USERC

String
DbElement[]

User name of user claiming element

OKCLA
OKCLH
OKREL
OKRLH
PRIMTY

USNCLH

User or extract number claiming element.

Extract numbers are negative
are
this

True if element may be claimed

True if element and hierarchy may be
claimed
True if element and hierarchy may be
released
True if there are any primary elements
amongst descendants

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Set Attribute
As for getting attributes, there is a family of methods for setting attributes depending on the
attribute type.
ele.SetAttribute(ATT.DESC, "Example description");

There are no methods that take a qualifier.

The code should always be prepared to handle any exceptions raised.
There is a boolean method IsAttributeSetable to test if a given attribute may be set.
This does not take the new value, so it is possible that the actual setting will still fail if the
new value is invalid.

Creating Element
Creation is relatively straightforward. Elements can be created:

Below a given element

After a given element

Before a given element

If creating an element below a given element then the position in the list must be given. E.g.
DbElement myNewPipe=myZoneElement.Create(1,NOUN.PIPE);

This creates a new PIPE below 'myZoneElement' as the first member. If the position is
beyond the end of the current members list, it will create it at the end.
An exception will be raised if the required type of element cannot be created at the required
point.
There is a boolean method IsCreatable to test if an element of a given type could be created
at the required location.
Deleting element

The method to delete an element is Delete(). e.g.

MyEle.Delete();
All descendants in the primary hierarchy will be deleted. It will not delete elements in any
secondary hierarchies.

There is a boolean method IsHierarchyDeleteable to test if an

element can be deleted.
Copy
As with Delete, the standard COPY method copies the primary hierarchy. The following
points are relevant when copying:

Certain attributes are not copied. e.g. NAME.

For Name attributes, automatic renaming is possible

The element may be copied to an existing element, or as a new element.

Cross references within the copied hierarchy are automatically updated to the copied
element. References external to the copied hierarchy are left unchanged.

There are further details in the reference manuals.

An example of the DbElement method is:
myEle1.Copy(myEle2);
myEle1.CreateCopyHierarchyAfter(myEle2,copyoption);

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The first example copies 'myEle2' on top of myEle1. The second example copies myEle2
and all its descendants to a new element after myEle1.
There are methods to:

Copy a single element to an existing element

Copy an element and all its descendents to an existing element

Copy an element and all its descendents to a new element

Copy common attributes ('CopyLike') between existing elements

There is a separate class DbCopyOption to hold the options when doing a copy. These
options are only available when copying an element and all its descendents.
The element types must match if copying to an existing element.
There is a boolean method IsCopyable to test if an element can be copied.

Moving Element
An element can be moved to a different location in the primary hierarchy. There are
methods to:

Inset before a given element

Insert after a given element

Insert into members list at the last position

Currently an element may only be moved within the same database.

An error will be raised if the element is not allowed at the new location.
There is a boolean method IsInsertable to test if an element can be moved.
Currently there is not an exposed C# method for moving elements between DBs. This will
be exposed shortly.

Changing Type
It is possible to change the type of certain elements.
When a type is changed, the attributes are copied from the old to the new value. Any
attributes not valid for the new type are lost. Thus a round trip of changing back to the
original type may represent a loss of data.

Pseudo Attributes Relating to Modifications

Attribute Name

Data Type

DACCLA

bool

Qualifier

True if DAC allows element to be

claimed

DACCOH

bool

True if DAC allows element

hierarchy to be copied to another
DB

DACCOP

bool

True if DAC allows element to be

copied to another DB

DACCRE

bool

DbElementType

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True if DAC allows element to be

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4.2.5

DACDEL

bool

True if DAC allows element to be

deleted

DACERR

String

DACEXH

Bool

True if DAC allows

hierarchy to be exported

DACEXP

Bool

True if DAC allows element to be

exported

DACISS

Bool

True if DAC allows element to be

issued

DACMOD

bool

DbAttribute

True if DAC allows attribute of

element to be modified

MODATT

Bool

DbAttribute

True if attribute of element can be

modified

MODDEL

Bool

DbAttribute

True if element can be deleted

MODERR

string

DbAttribute

Returns the error text that would

occur if attribute was modified

DbAttribute

Returns the DAC error

element

Storage of Rules and Expressions

Database Expressions
Database expressions are PML1 expressions. E.g (XLEN * 1000 ). Expressions are of the
following type:

Double

DbElement

Bool

String

Position

Direction

Orientation

Database expressions are stored in various places in PDMS as follows:

As part of a rule

Parameterisation of the catalogue

There is a DbExpression class to hold an expression. An DbExpression may be obtained in

one of the following ways:

Use the static method internalParse() that creates a DbExpression from a

string. e.g. internalParse("XLEN * 100" )

Retrieve an expression from a rule

Retrieve an expression from a catalogue parameter

Having got an DbExpression there are two things that can be done with it:
1. Turn it back into text
2. Evaluate it against a given element
The methods to evaluate an expression against an element are on the DbElement class.
There are different methods depending on the expected result of the expression. The

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method names start with 'Evaluate'. The method that returns a double has an argument for
the units (distance/bore/none). The result will always be in millimetres (mm). E.g.
DbExpression expr = DbExpression.Parse("DIAM OF PREV + 2");
double dval;
DbAttributeUnit units = DbAttributeUnit.DIST;
dval = nozz1.EvaluateDouble(expr4, units);

In this case the core system can work out that it is a distance, since DIAM is a distance.
Thus although we specified that it was a distance, it was not strictly needed. Thus if the
distance units were inch or finch then the '+2' would be interpreted as '+2inches'.
However consider:
DbExpression expr = DbExpression.Parse("10");
double dval;
DbAttributeUnit units = DbAttributeUnit.DIST;
dval = nozz1.EvaluateDouble(expr4, units);

In this case we do not know if "10" is 10mm or 10 inches. We must tell the system that it is a
'distance' unit. The system then interrogates the current distance units to return the result. If
the current distance units is mm, then dval will be 10.0. If the current distance units is inch/
finch then "10" is interpreted to mean 10 inches and is hence returned as 254. N.B. if the
value is required to be formatted for output, then it must be converted back in all cases. A
method will be added to return values in local units at a later point.

Rules
PDMS rules consist of an expression and a dynamic/static flag. When constructing a rule,
the expression type is also needed.
There are methods on DbElement to:

4.2.6

Set a rule for any attribute.

Get a rule for any attribute

Evaluate a rule

Verify that the rule result is up to date

Pseudo Attributes Relating to Rules and Expressions

Attribute Name

Data Type

NRULEE

Int

RCOU

Int

RULEER

String

RULSET

DbAttribute[]

Qualifier

Description
Number of rule inconsistencies on
element
Number of rules on element

int

Text of "nth" rule error

List of rules set

Comparison of Data with Earlier Sessions

There are no explicit methods exposed in C# which cover comparison across sessions. It is
not currently possible to set the comparison date in C#.

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There are however a number of pseudo attributes that can be accessed as follows:
Attribute Name

Data Type

Qualifier

Description

ATTMOD

Bool

DbAttribute

True if specified attribute has been

modified this session

ATTMODC

bool

DbAttribute

True if specified attribute has been

modified since comparison date

ATTMODLIST

DbAttribute
[]

int

List of attributes modified since given

session

ATTMODLISTC

DbAttribute
[]

List of attributes modified since

comparison date

CRINFO

string

DB creation information

DBSESS

int

ELECRE

bool

ELECREC

bool

ELEDEL

bool

ELEDELC

bool

ELEMOD

bool

ELEMODC

bool

True if modified since comparison

date

EXMOD

bool

True if element modified in this

extract

HIST

Int[]

DbAttribute

History of sessions in which element

or specified attribute were made

LASTM

string

DbAttribute

Date of last modification

MSESS

int

DbAttribute

Last session number

PRVSES

int

int

Previous Session to that specified

RULEMOD

bool

DbAttribute

True if rule modified this session

RULEMODC

Bool

DbAttribute

True
if
rule
comparison date

RULEMODLIST

DbAttribute
[]

int

List of rules modified since given

session

RULEMODLISTC

DbAttribute
[]

SESCLA

int

SESSC

string

SESSCA

Int[]

List of pairs of DB number, last

session number for all referenced
DBs

SESSCH

Int[]

As for SESSCA, but searches all

descendants for referenced DBs

SESSD

string

int

Date of specified Session

SESSM

int

DbAttribute

Session Of Last Modification

SESSNO

int

Last DB session
int

True if created since given session

True if created since comparison
date

int

True if deleted since given session

True if deleted since comparison
date

int

True if modified since given session

List of rules
comparison date

modified

modified

since

since

Session Of Claim
int

Comment for specified session

Current opened Session

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Attribute Name

Data Type

Qualifier

Description

SESSU

string

int

User creating specified session

USERM

string

DbAttribute

User making last modification

4.3

Filters/Iterators

4.3.1

Iterators
The DBElementCollection class can be used to iterate through the database hierarchy.
The iterator is created with a root element and an optional filter. There are then methods to
step through the hierarchy and return the element at the current location.
E.g. to look for all nozzles below a given element
TypeFilter filt = new TypeFilter(DbElementTypeInstance.NOZZLE);
DBElementCollection collection;
collection = new DBElementCollection(ele, filt);

The collection can the be iterated through using foreach

foreach (DbElement ele in collection)
{
. Do something
}

The iterator class has been written to avoid unnecessarily scanning parts of the database
that will not match the filter. e.g. if looking for all boxes then the iterator will not bother to look
below pipes.

4.3.2

Filters
There are a variety of ready built filter classes available. The main ones are:
TypeFilter - True for given Element type(s)
AttributeFalseFilter - True if given attribute is false
AttributeTrueFilter - True if given attribute is true
AttributeRefFilter - True if given attribute value matches given DbElement
AndFilter - AND two existing filters.
OrFilter - OR two existing filters
BelowFilter - Filter to test if element is below an element for which the given filter is true.

4.4

Dabacon Tables

4.4.1

Overview of Dabacon Tables

In the Dabacon schema we can define an attribute to be an indexed attribute. Indexed
attributes go into a Dabacon table.

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Tables consist of a list of key/value pairs. The key may be a string (ntable), integer (itable)
or reference (ftable). The 'value' part of the pair is always the refno of the element having
that attribute value. e.g. internally a name table may look something like:
..
Janet = 123/456
John = 321/543
Jonathon = 111/321

Thus for a given name, the corresponding element can rapidly be found without having to
scan the entire MDB.
The keys in a name table must be unique. Integer and reference tables may contain the
same key many times. e.g. internally a reference table may look like:
.
=123/456 =234/555
=123/456 =222/333
=123/456 =211/999
=123/458 =203/909
In the above table, element =123/456 has appeared in the table three times. This means
that three different elements were all referencing =123/456 for this particular attribute. This
is common. e.g. catalogue references are reference tables, and for these there may be
hundreds of elements referencing the same catalogue component. A further point worth
noting with respect to tables:

4.4.2

Each DB has its own table. The entries in that table are for 'values' in that DB. Thus for
the above ftable, =234/555 etc must be in this DB. However =123/456, =123/458 may
be in a different DB. Indeed there may well be further references to =123/458 from
other DBs. Hence to find all references to =123/456 we need to check the tables in
each opened DB.

Table Classes
There are C# classes that enable direct access to the Dabacon tables. The classes are
defined as follows:
NameTable - for iterating through name tables
RefTable - for iterating through reference tables
IntTable - for iterating through integer tables
These classes work on a single DB. In most cases, we really want to iterate through all DBs
in the MDB as if it was one table. Thus for integer and name tables there are iterator classes
that go across the whole MDB as follows:
MdbNameTable - for iterating through a name table across entire MDB
MdbIntTable - for iterating through an integer table across entire MDB
There is no method for iterating through a reference table since the order of references in a
table is not meaningful.

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There are also methods to return all entries for a given key. This is particularly useful for
reference tables; these are methods of the MDB class.
In C# there is a NameTable class. An example of C# code that looks for all names starting
with the letter 'B' is as follows:
string nam1=new string(/B);
string nam2=new string(/C);
NameTable ntable = new MdbNameTable(db, DBAttribute.NAME, nam1, nam2);
using (ntable)
{
foreach (Element ele in ntable)
{
// Do something here with each element
}
}

Freeing search tokens

Dabacon allocates search tokens when scanning tables. It has a limited number of search
tokens. If you get to the end of the table then the token is freed automatically. However if
you stop the search before you get to the end then you must explicitly free the token.
The IDispose method is used to free the underlying Dabacon token. Therefore ALWAYS
scan the Dabacon table within a 'using' block to ensure that the Dispose method is called. If
the underlying token is not freed then errors will be output to the PDMS command line of the
form:
"xx dabacon search tokens - Expected none "

The error generating code does not actually free the tokens. So typically you will see the
number climb as more tokens are used up and not freed. The messages will be generated
until the database is closed.

4.5

DBs, MDBs and Projects

4.5.1

MDB Functionality
The MDB class exposes methods that act on the currently opened MDB. This is a singleton
class. It contains methods to

open/close an MDB

savework/quitwork

query claims

claim/release elements

extract operations, e.g. flush, refresh, extract claim, extract release, extract drop.

get opened DBs

return an element(s) of a given name

return elements with matching values in name and integer tables (as described in
previous section

Related pseudo attributes are:)

Attribute Name

Data Type

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4.5.2

OKDROP

bool

True if element may be dropped

OKRLEX

bool

True if element may be extract released

DB Functionality
When an MDB is opened, a DB class instance is created for each opened DB.
The functionality offered by this class falls into the following categories:

Query the properties of the DB. e.g. number, MULTIWRITE or not

Returning the world element for that DB

Session information. e.g. when was the session written and by whom. There is a
DbSession object that holds details on a database session.

Return the DbElement in the system DB that represents this DB. This DbElement can
then be used to query system attributes and additional pseudo attributes. The
additional pseudo attributes available on the DbElement representing the DB are
described below:

Attribute Name

Data Type

Qualifier

ACCEDB

string

DB access

CLAIM

String

Implicit or explicit claims

CLCCNT

int

Claim list changes count

CSESS

String

DACC

String

Database access

DBLC

DbElement[]

List of LOCs belonging to a DB

DCLA

String

Database claim mode

DSESS

String

EXPIRY

String

Protected DB Expiry date

EXTALS

DbElement[]

Extract ancestors

EXTCLS

DbElement[]

Extract children

EXTDES

DbElement[]

Extract descendants

EXTFAM

DbElement[]

Extract family

FILENAME

String

DB filename

FOREIGN

string

Originating project

HCCNT

int

Header/Extract list changes count

ISDBFR

bool

True if database is foreign

ISDRDB

Bool

True if database has drawings

ISWORK

bool

True if a working extract

LINKSN

int

Linked session on parent extract

LPROT

bool

Protected DB Flag

MDBCLS

DbElement[]

List of MDBs in which DB is current

MDBLS

DbElement[]

List of MDBs to which DB belongs

NACCNT

int

Non-additive changes count

NAMEDB

string

DB name

NXTDBN

int

Next DB number

NXTEXN

int

Next DB extract number

int

int

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Description

Comment
session

entered

for

specified

Date of specified session

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Attribute Name

Data Type

NXTFDB

int

Qualifier

Description
Next DB file and DB number

NXTFLN

int

Next DB file number

PSESS

int

SIZEDB

int

Size of DB

STPDBS

DbElement[]

Stamps containing db

STPSES

Int[]

Sessions used in at least one stamp

STYPDB

string

DB sub type

TYPEDB

string

USESS

string

Previous session number

int

DB type
User creating session

int

In addition for any DbElement in any DB, the following pseudo attributes provide information
on the current DB:
Attribute
Name

Data Type

DBAC

String

DB Access, MULTIWRITE or UPDATE

DBCL

String

DB Claim

DBCNTL

Bool

True if element is in a control DB

DBEXNO

int

DB Extract Number

DBFI

String

DB filename

DBFN

int

DB file number

DBNA

String

DB name

DBNU

int

DB Number

DBREF

DbElement

Reference of DB element

DBTY

String

DB type (DESI, CATA etc)

DBVAR

Bool

True if element is in a variant DB

DBWRITE

Bool

True if element is in a writable DB

WDBNA

STRING

Working DB name

4.6

Events

4.6.1

Overview of Events

Qualifier

Description

The database events fall into the following groups;

4.6.2

General capture of Database changes

Writing Pseudo attributes for UDAs

DB/MDB related events

Overview of C# Mechanism
The generalised mechanism in C# is as follows:

There is a delegate to define the event signature.

There is a method to add a delegate to the list of event handlers to be called.

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4.6.3

General Capture of DB Changes

DBlayer maintains a change list of Database changes. Users can subscribe to this list of
changes.
The list of changes is encapsulated in the DbUserChanges class. The DbUserChanges
class has methods to determine what changes have been made. E.g. elements created or
deleted or modified.
The delegates are:
public delegate void ChangeEventHandler(DbUserChanges changes);

To add a subscriber (handler), the method is:

public static void AddChangeEventHandler(ChangeDelegate plug)

This will be in the DbEvents class.

The subscribers receive a DbUserChanges class instance which has a list of elements
changed and what the changes are.
The events are fired as follows:

At the end of running in a PML macro

After the execution of a PDMS command on the command line

When any action on a form has completed.

The event will only be fired if database changes have been made.

4.6.4

Adding Pseudo Attribute Code

Code can be plugged in to calculate the value of pseudo attributes. The code to do this must
be registered in PDMS by passing in a C# delegate.
Code can be registered in two ways:
1. Against a specific UDA. The code will then be invoked for all elements having this UDA.
2. Against a specific UDA and a specific element type. The code will only be invoked for
all elements of that type.
The same UDA may have multiple delegates registered for different element types.
There is a different delegate for each attribute type. E.g. for integer attributes the delegate
is:
public delegate double GetDoubleDelegate(DbElement ele, DbAttribute att,
int qualifier);

These are defined in the DbPseudoAttribute class.

The user must write a method that matches the method signature of the delegate. E.g. to
write pseudo attribute code for a 'double' attribute, the user must write a method that has the
signature defined by 'GetDoubleDelegate'. i.e. a method that takes a DbElement, a
DbAttribute, int and returns a double.
E.g. the following method would be valid:
// Double delegate for UDA
static private double VolumeCalculation(DbElement ele,DbAttribute
att,int qualifier)
{
// calculate the volume by multiplying the lengths along each side
double x=ele.GetDouble(ATT.XLEN);

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double y=ele.GetDouble(ATT.YLEN);
double z=ele.GetDouble(ATT.ZLEN);
// Result of UDA must be returned
return (x * y * z);
}

An instance of the delegate containing the method must then be created and registered with
PDMS.
There are separate methods to register the different types of delegates. There are also
separate methods to add a plugger for a particular element type. E.g. the two methods to
add a GetDoubleDelegate are:
public static void AddGetDoubleAttribute(DbAttribute att,GetIntDelegate
plug)
public static void AddGetDoubleAttribute(DbAttribute
type, GetIntDelegate plug)

att,

DbElementType

An example of registering a delegate is:

using System;
using NOUN=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbElementTypeInstance;
using Ps=Aveva.Pdms.Database.DbPseudoAttribute;
namespace Aveva.PDMS.Shared.Tests
{
static public void RegisterDelegate()
{
// get uda attribute
DbAttribute uda=DbAttribute.GetDbAttribute(":VOLUME");
// Create instance of delegate containing "VolumeCalculation"
method
Ps.GetDoubleDelegate dele=new Ps.GetDoubleDelegate(VolumeCalculation);
// Pass delegate instance to core PDMS. This will be invoked
later
// when :VOLUME is queried.
// In this case registry for all valid element types.
Ps.AddGetDoubleAttribute(uda,dele);
}
}

Code may be plugged by UDET as well as the base type. The following criteria are used to
locate the right plugged code:
1. If a UDET, look for a delegate plugged by UDET and attribute.
2. Look for a delegate plugged by base type and attribute
3. Look for a delegate plugged by matching attribute only.
e.g. you could add three delegates to calculate :WEIGHT. You could add one that calculates
the :WEIGHT on a :MYELE, one that calculates the :WEIGHT of SCTN and one that
calculates WEIGHT for any other element for which :WEIGHT is valid.
A delegate only needs adding once at start up.
The events do not allow for errors. Thus if the value can not be calculated then the pseudo
attribute code should return a sensible default.

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4.6.5

DB/MDB Related Events

The following events can be captured:
1. Committing of any cached changes to the database. Called once prior to a Savework,
undo, quitwork, setMark, Getwork
2. Pre and post events for the following actions: Savework, Getwork, undo, Redo, drop,
flush, quit, refresh. These are only called if the action succeeds, and are there to cope
with the changes. The pre events should not make any database changes.
3. Failure event for Savework, flush
4. Clearing out any local caches.
5. Claim/Release events
Except for quit, the pre actions are really called post action but with the DB in the pre action
state. The pre action is only called if the action succeeds.
Most of the pre and post actions fall into just two categories:
1. Changes made to the database file itself, but not our view of it (Savework, Flush,
Refresh, drop).
2. Changes in our view of the database, but no changes to the database file (Getwork,
undo, Redo, quit).
The interested parties are different in the two cases. When changing the database file, the
interested parties are 3rd party systems outside of PDMS. When changing our view of the
database it is the current PDMS session that needs to reflect the changes. E.g. update the
3D graphics and explorer.
The events raised reflect this split.
The events are:

CommitPending - This is called to commit any outstanding change to the database. It is

called prior to setmark, undo, redo, Savework, quit, Getwork.

ClearCache() - This will be called after doing a temporary switch to a different session
in a DB, or after doing a Getwork, undo, redo, quit.

Note: ClearCache may be called thousands of times within a single operation. Thus any
event handlers must be fast.

Pre and Post events for local changes. i.e. changes affecting the current view of the
data. These will be Getwork, undo, redo.

Pre and Post events for changes affecting the data on the DB. These will be Savework,
refresh, drop, flush, refresh. These will pass the list of changes. For 'global' DBs, if the
parent extract is at a different location, the flush event will be raised by the child extract.

Note: In this case the flush could still fail at the parent. Alternatively the daemon needs to
raise the flush event.

Post claim/release events

Post failed Getwork/Savework

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PMLNet

PMLNet

5.1

Introduction
PMLNet allows you to instantiate and invoke methods on .NET objects from PML proxy
objects. PML proxy class definitions are created from .NET class definitions at run time.
These proxy classes present the same methods as the .NET class which are described
using custom attributes. Proxy methods are passed arguments of known types which are
marshalled to the corresponding method on to the .NET instance. The PML proxy objects
behave just like any other PML object.

5.2

Design Details
PML callable assemblies are loaded by PDMS using the IMPORT syntax. Assemblies may
be defined in potentially any .NET language, for example managed C++, C# or VB.NET. The
PMLNet Engine loads a given assembly using reflection. The assembly may be located in
the %PDMSEXE% directory, a subdirectory below %PDMSEXE% a mapped drive or on a
UNC path. When the assembly is loaded PML class definitions are created for each PML
callable class within the assembly. The PMLNet Engine only loads assemblies which are
marked with the custom attribute PMLNetCallable. Only classes and methods which are
marked as PMLNetCallable are considered. In order to create a valid PML Proxy class
definition the .NET class and its methods must adhere to certain rules. Once an assembly
has been loaded instances of PMLNetCallable classes may be created. No additional code
to interface between PML and .NET is necessary. This is provided by the PMLNetEngine.

5.2.1

Using PMLNet
The diagram below shows how PDMS may be customised using PMLNet. A number of
.NET API's are available which allow access to the current database session, drawlist,
geometry and other functionality. Users are able to write their own managed code which
accesses PDMS via these C# API's. It is not possible to directly call PML from C#. However
there is an event mechanism which allows PML to subscribe to events raised from C#
(these are shown in dashed lines below). Events are also raised when the database
changes and can be subscribed to from C# (also shown in dashed lines). In this example
the external C# assemblies share the same database session as Design i.e. they run in the
same process and therefore see the same data.

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Limitations

Only .NET classes which are marked as PMLNetCallable and adhere to certain rules
can be called from PML (these rules are described later)

Module switching does not persist .NET objects. Core PML objects defined in
FORTRAN or C++ are not persisted either.

Passing other PML system/user objects to .NET e.g. DIRECTION, ORIENTATION,

is not possible. It is possible to pass database references to .NET either as an array or
String. It is also possible to pass an existing instance of a PML Net Proxy to .NET.

It is not possible to call directly PML objects from .NET. The only way to call PML from
.NET is via events.

It is not possible to enter 'partial' namespaces as you might in C# and expect them to
be concatenated.

E.g. the sequence:

USING NAMESPACE Aveva.PDMS
!netobj = object namespace.NETObject ( )

will give an error.

Objects and Namespaces
In order to identify and load a particular class definition the PML proxy class is assumed to
have the same name as the .NET class (PML callable classes must be case independent).
This class name is passed to the PMLNetEngine which creates the .NET instance e.g.
!a = object netobject()

creates an instance of the .NET class netobject. To specify in which assembly this class is
defined and resolve any name clashes the user needs to also specify the namespace in
which the .NET class is defined using the following syntax:
USING NAMESPACE <string>

Where <string> is the namespace in which the class is defined.

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e.g. 'AVEVA.PDMS.PMLNetExample'
The namespace is considered to be case independent. This namespace will remain current
until it goes out of scope (e.g. at end of macro). When the user types:
!netobj = object

NetObject ( )

then all namespaces in the current scope will be searched to find a match. In this example,
if 'Aveva.PDMS. PMLNetExample' is not currently in scope, then the error:
(46,87) PML: Object definition for NETOBJECT could not be found.
will be raised.

Object Names
Object names can consist of any alpha but not numeric characters (this restriction is
imposed by PML). They are treated as case-independent. However, it is no longer
necessary to define them in upper case - any mixture of upper and lower case letters will
have the same effect.

Query Methods
The query methods on an object have been enhanced as follows:
(a) Querying an object will show the namespace name as well as the object name:
e.g.

var !x

< AVEVA.PDMS.NAMESPACE.NETOBJECT>
AVEVA.PDMS.NAMESPACE.NETOBJECT
(b) There is a new query method to list all the methods of an object (including constructors)

Q METH/ODS
e.g.

q meth !x
<AVEVA.PDMS.NAMESPACE.NETOBJECT>AVEVA.PDMS.NAMESPACE.NETOBJECT

NETOBJECT ( )
NETOBJECT (REAL)
ADD (REAL)
REMOVE(REAL)
ASSIGN(AVEVA.PDMS.NAMESPACE.NETOBJECT)
DOSOMETHING(REAL, REAL, REAL)
Note that query methods will not list the methods on objects of type ANY, even though such
methods are available on all objects.

(c) A new query:

Q NAMESP/ACES

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lists the namespaces currently in scope.

Global Method
There is a new global method on all objects:

.methods()
which returns a list of the methods on the object as an array of strings.
e.g.

!arr = !x.methods()
q var !x
returns:

<ARRAY>
[1] <STRING>
[2] <STRING>
[3] <STRING>
[4] <STRING>
[5] <STRING>
[6] <STRING>

'NETOBJECT ( )'
'NETOBJECT (REAL)'
'ADD (REAL)'
'REMOVE(REAL)'
'ASSIGN(AVEVA.PDMS.NAMESPACE.NETOBJECT)'
'DOSOMETHING(REAL, REAL, REAL)'

Importing an assembly
Before an instance of a .NET object can be instantiated the assembly containing the class
definition must be loaded. This is done using the IMPORT syntax as follows

IMPORT <string>
Where <string> is the case-independent name of the assembly

Method Arguments
Only PML variables of the following types may be passed to methods on .NET classes. In
the table below the PML variable type is in the left column and the .NET equivalent variable
type is in the right column. Data is marshalled in both directions between PML and .NET by
the PMLNetEngine.

PML

.NET

REAL

double

STRING

string

BOOLEAN

bool

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PML

.NET

ARRAY (these can be sparse and

multi-dimensional)

Hashtable

OBJECT Any existing PML Net PMLNetCallable class

instance
Arguments to PML Proxy methods are passed by reference so can be in/out parameters (in
.NET output arguments must be passed by reference).
Value Semantics
PML Gadgets and DB elements have reference semantics when they are copied whereas
all other objects have value semantics when they are copied. This is controlled by the
Assign() method on the .NET class. So, for example if the Assign() method here copies the
value then

!a = object netobject()
!a.val(1)
!b = !a
!b.val(2)
then
q var !a.val() returns 1
and
q var !b.val() returns 2
i.e. !a and !b do not point to the same object.
In order to perform either a shallow or deep copy of the member data inside the .NET class
the Assign() method must be defined on the Net class (see rules). This is analogous to
overriding the operator "=" in C++.

Method Overloading
Overloading of methods is supported for all variable types in PML so a .NET Proxy can be
created from a .NET class which has overloaded methods.

Custom Attributes
The custom attribute [PMLNetCallable()] is used to describe the PML interface for a .NET
class. This metadata allows the PML callable assemblies to be self-describing. This clearly
defines the class and allows an assembly to expose a subset of its public interface to PML.
The PMLNetEngine uses this metadata to decide which .NET class definitions can be
created in PML. Reflection is used to load an assembly and create PML class definitions. All
classes and methods for which PML Proxy class definitions will be created must be marked
as PMLNetCallable. The assembly itself must also be marked as PMLNetCallable.
So, a PML callable .NET class in C# looks like this:
[PMLNetCallable()]
namespace PMLNet
{
[PMLNetCallable ()]
public class PMLNetExample

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{
[PMLNetCallable ()]
public PMLNetExample()
{
}
[PMLNetCallable ()]
public void DoSomething(double x, double y, double z)
{
z = x + y;
}
}
}

This class has a default constructor and a single method. Both the constructor and method
are marked as PMLNetCallable along with the class itself.
The assembly itself must also be marked as PMLNetCallable. This is normally done in the
AssemblyInfo file as follows
using Aveva.PDMS.PMLNet;
[assembly: PMLNetCallable()]

Private Data and Properties

In PML there is no concept of private members or methods - everything is public. Access to
public data in .NET must be via properties or get/set accessor methods. Properties in .NET
class are defined as get and set methods in PML. So, for example the following
PMLNetCallable property in .NET
[PMLNetCallable()]
public double Val
{
get
{
return mval;
}
set
{
mval = value;
}
}

would have the following Proxy methods in PML

REAL VAL()
VAL(REAL)

Scope
PML variables are of two kinds: global and local. Global variables last for a whole session
(or until you delete them). A local variable can be used only from within one PML function or
macro. The lifetime of the .NET instance is controlled by the scope of the PML proxy.

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Instantiation
Classes can have any number of overloaded constructors but must have a default
constructor which is marked as PMLNetCallable. The PML Proxy constructor instantiates an
instance of the underlying .NET class. When the proxy goes out of scope the destructor
destroys the underlying .NET instance.

ToString() Method
The string() method is available on all PML objects. For a .NET Proxy this will call the
ToString() method on the .NET instance. If the ToString() method is overridden on the .NET
class then this will be called.

Method Names
PML is case independent, so it is not possible to have MyMethod() and MYMETHOD() in
.NET. PML will report non-unique object/method names.

Double Precision
Doubles are used in PMLNet to store reals and ints so doubles must be used in .NET
(integers are not available in PML)

Events
Events on PMLNet objects may be subscribed to from PML. A PML callback on a particular
instance may be added to an event on another PMLNet instance. Events are defined by a
.NET component by associating the delegate PMLNetEventHandler with the event. This
delegate has the signature
__delegate void PMLNetEventHandler(ArrayList __gc *args);

Where args is an array of event arguments of any PMLNet type (see table of valid types).
The following code associates this delegate with an event
[PMLNetCallable()]
public class PMLNetExample
{
[PMLNetCallable()]
public event PMLNetDelegate.PMLNetEventHandler PMLNetExampleEvent;
[PMLNetCallable()]
public PMLNetExample ()
{
}
[PMLNetCallable()]
public void Assign(PMLNetExample that)
{
}
[PMLNetCallable()]
public void RaiseExampleEvent()
{
ArrayList args = new ArrayList();
args.Add("PMLNetExampleEvent ");

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args.Add("A");
if (PMLNetExampleEvent!= null)
PMLNetExampleEvent(args);
}
}
This event can then be caught in PML by adding an appropriate callback to the instance raising the
event
!n = object pmlnetexample()
!c = object netcallback()
!handle = !n.addeventhandler('pmlnetexampleevent', !c, 'callback')

Where

!n is the PMLNet instance on which the event will be raised

!c is the instance of a PML object with a method callback() with the appropriate
arguments

At some later time the event handler may be removed

!n.removeeventhandler('pmlnetexampleevent', !handle)
where !handle is the handle of the PMLNet delegate returned by addeventhandler().
Netcallback is a PML object defined as

define method .callback(!array is ARRAY)

!args = 'NETCALLBACK object ' + !array[0] + !array[1]
$P $!args
endmethod

Error Handling
Exception handling is placed around the Invoke method to handle .NET method invocation
exceptions like TargetException, ArgumentException etc. The result of catching such an
exception is to ultimately return a PMLError object from PMLNetProxy::Invoke() which
results in a PML exception (1000,n) being thrown where 1000 is the module number for
PMLNet.
.NET can throw its own PML exceptions. The exception to throw is
PMLNetException. For example
throw new PMLNetException(1000, 1, "PMLNetExample Exception");

This may then be handled inside a PML macro i.e.

handle(1000,1)

endhandle

Any other exception within the loaded assembly itself is caught by the global exception
handler inside PDMS.

Rules for Calling .NET

Certain rules must be adhered to when defining a .NET class which is PML callable. These
are enforced by the PMLNetEngine when an assembly is imported. They are

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PML callable assemblies must be marked as PMLNetCallable and reside in the

%PDMSEXE% directory, subdirectory of the application or UNC path.

Only classes may be PML Callable (this excludes Structures, Interfaces, Enums, ).

A PML callable class must be marked as PMLNetCallable.

A PML callable method must be marked as PMLNetCallable.

A PML callable method can only pass valid argument types (see table of types).

PML callable classes and methods must be public.

PML callable methods with default arguments cannot be defined.

PML callable class and method names must be case independent.

PML callable classes must have an Assign() method.

PML callable classes must have a public default constructor which is PMLNetCallable.

If these rules are not adhered to then errors are reported to the trace log when the assembly
is loaded and a PML class definition will not be created. If the class definition has not been
defined then the following PML error will result
(46,87) PML: Object definition for XXX could not be found.

Tracing
In order to output trace to a log file and the console window add the following lines to the
exe's config file
<system.diagnostics>
<switches>
<add name="PMLNetTraceSwitch" value="4" />
</switches>
</system.diagnostics>
<appSettings>
<add key="PMLNetTraceLog" value="C:\temp\PMLNetTrace.log" />
</appSettings>

This will create the file PMLNetTrace.log in C:\temp and log all the valid class definitions as
they are imported.

5.2.2

.NET Controls
.NET controls can be hosted on a PML form. In order to do this PML provides a container
gadget which can host the control. This container gadget has attributes to set and get its
size and position and may be added to any PML defined form. It has similar behaviour to a
Frame gadget in terms of docking, anchoring and positioning within an owning form. An
instance of the .NET control is instantiated from PML. The PML container provides a
method to add an instance of a .NET control to it. The .NET control may raise events which
may be handled by PML. In order to customise the context menus of the .NET control from
PML the ability to define a PML menu which can be shown when the .NET control raises an
event is provided.

Creating a Container
A container on a form that can host the .NET control can be created in the following way in
the form setup
container .exampleContainer PmlNetControl 'example' dock fill width 30
height 20

which can be docked and positioned.

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Hosting .NET Control

The control may be added to the container by setting the container's control to the .NET
control's handle.
using namespace 'Aveva.Pdms.Presentation'
!this.exampleControl = object PMLNetExampleControl()
!this.exampleContainer.control = !this.exampleControl.handle()

Events
Events on the control are supported by PML delegates already described. These allow you
to add popup menus to the control for example. Events may be subscribed to by adding an
event handler as follows to the .NET control
!this. exampleControl.addeventhandler('OnPopup', !this,
'rightClickGrid')

where the method to call when the event is fired is defined as follows

define method .rightClickGrid(!data is ARRAY)

!this.exampleContainer.popup = !this.examplePopup
!this.exampleContainer.showPopup(!data[0], !data[1])
endmethod

and the menu shown by the method which is added to the container is defined as follows

menu .examplePopup popup

!this.examplePopup.add( 'CALLBACK', 'Add to 3D View',
'!this.addToThreeDView()' )

5.2.3

Examples
The following examples are available in the Samples directory -

PMLGridExample
Example of a .NET grid hosted on a PML form

PMLNetExample
Example of a PML Callable assembly

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6.1

Introduction
This section describes how to use an instance of an Aveva C# Grid Control on a C# form.
The example which is used in this documentation is supplied with the product. The Visual
Studio project containing the source code is located in the following directory:
Samples\NetGridExample
Note: That you can only use the Aveva C# Grid Control on your own Visual Studio form if
you have a design time license for Infragistics version 6.1.
Note: That you can run this C# Addin with PDMS without having an Infragistics license.

6.2

Create a C# Addin which Contains an AVEVA Grid

Control
The supplied C# project is an example of a C# addin for use with PDMS. The C# addin
includes an AVEVA C# Grid Control and some other Visual Studio WinForms gadgets to
demonstrate how the Grid Control can be used with PDMS.
The addin creates the docked window shown below when run within the PDMS Design or
Outfitting Design module.

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The example C# code collects all the Equipment items within the current project and lists
them inside the grid along with attribute values for Name, Type, and Owner.
The data in the grid can be selected, sorted and filtered.
Note: The following features of the example addin. These features make use of the
published Grid Control API (see the section below entitled "AVEVA Grid Control
API").
1. The data in the grid can be exported to a Microsoft Excel file (XLS) by entering a path
name in the text box beneath the grid and by clicking on the "Export to Excel" button.
2. The grid content can be previewed and printed by clicking on the "Print Preview"
button.
3. The colour of the first row in the grid can be set either by choosing a colour in the drop
down list, or by typing a valid colour into it.
4. The number of selected rows in the grid is written to a read-only text box. Note that this
feature makes use of an event on the grid. (See the section below entitled "Adding an
event to the C# Grid Control").
5. Notice that there are two different context menus available on the grid. One is available
when equipment items are selected:

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And the other menu is available from the header bar at the top of the grid:

Note: That these menu options will only become available once you have made some
modifications to the Design.uic file through menu customisation. See below for
instructions on how to do this.

6.3

Provide Access to the Addin in PDMS Design or

Outfitting Design
In order to see the addin inside PDMS Design you will need to do the following:
1. Build the addin.DLL inside the Microsoft Visual Studio project
2. The majority of the menus and toolbars in these two AVEVA modules are still currently
defined in PML. If you wish access to your addin functionality to be provided from a
additional entry on an existing menu then it is necessary to add the following line
shown in red to the PML form file appdesmain.pmlfrm which resides within the PDMS
directory: "PMLLIB\design\forms". The other lines are shown to help you locate where
to add the PML menu. This will add a PML menu option beneath the Display menu in
PDMS Design, and will allow you to open the addin.

!menu.add('TOGGLE',

'My Data',

'',

'My Data')

!menu.add('TOGGLE',

'Reference List',

'',

'Reference List')

!menu.add('TOGGLE',

'Attributes Utility',

'',

'Attributes Utility')

!menu.add('TOGGLE',

'Search Utility',

'',

'Find Utility')

!menu.add('TOGGLE',

'Search Results',

'',

'Output Utility')

!menu.add('TOGGLE',

'New Addin',

'',

'New Addin')

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Note that you could also create your own toolbar which contained a menu item to open/
close the addin.

6.4

Use the AVEVA Grid Control with Different Data

Sources
The supplied C# addin populates the grid with database items and their attribute values.
The following data sources are available for this method of working. See the AVEVA Grid
Control API section below for further information.

NetDataSource(String TableName, Array Attributes, Array Items)

NetDataSource(String TableName, Array Attributes, Array AttributeTitles, Array Items)

NetDataSource(String TableName, Array Attributes, Array Items, String Tooltips

There are two other ways that an instance of the grid can be populated with data:
1. Populate the grid with non-database data
The grid can be populated with collections of non-database data.
The following data sources are available for this method of working. See the AVEVA Grid
Control API section below for further information.

NetDataSource(String TableName, Array columns, Array of Array of rows)

NetDataSource(String TableName, Array columns, Array of Array of rows, String

Tooltips)

2. Populate the grid with non-database data direct from a Microsoft Excel file

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The grid can be populated with non-database data from a Microsoft Excel file. The first row
of the Microsoft Excel file will supply the headings for the grid and the other rows will supply
the row data.
The following data source is available for this method of working. See the AVEVA Grid
Control API below for further information.

6.5

NetDataSource(String TableName, string PathName)

Add an XML Menu to the Form

Code has been added to the supplied addin to allow two different context menus to be used
with the grid: a selection menu, and a header menu.
To enable this to work with your session of PDMS Design you will need to use the Menu
Customisation utility described earlier in this document.

To add the menus you will need to do the following in the Menu Customisation utility:
1. Add a new Context Menu, which has its name property set to: NewAddin.SelectMenu.
This name is used by the code to locate the set of menus to display when the user
makes a context menu selection on one or more equipment items in the grid. The C#
method below from the addin class, is the code which loads the menu. The menus
which you create in the Menu Customisation Utility will be stored in the Design.uic file.

private void mCommandBarManager_UILoaded(object sender, EventArgs e)

{
String contextMenuKey = "NewAddin.SelectMenu";
if(mCommandBarManager.RootTools.Contains(contextMenuKey))

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{
MenuTool menu = (MenuTool)mCommandBarManager.RootTools[contextMenuKey];
mAddinControl.SelectionMenu = menu;
}
contextMenuKey = "NewAddin.HeaderMenu";
if(mCommandBarManager.RootTools.Contains(contextMenuKey))
{
MenuTool menu = (MenuTool)mCommandBarManager.RootTools[contextMenuKey];
mAddinControl.HeaderMenu = menu;
}
}

2. Create a button and set the command to AVEVA.DrawList.Add. When this menu is
used in the Addin it will add the selected equipment item(s) to the 3D view.
3. Assign the button to the context menu named NewAddin.SelectMenu. You can create
other menu options (either from existing PDMS commands which have been exposed,
or from existing PML methods and functions) in the same way and assign these to the
context menu.
4. Create a second Context menu named NewAddin.HeaderMenu. This name is used by
the code to locate the set of menus to display when the user makes a context menu
selection on the header bar in the grid.
5. Create a button and set the command to AVEVA.Grid.ExportToExcel. When this menu
is used in the Addin it will export the grid data to a Microsoft Excel file.
6. Assign the button to the context menu named NewAddin.HeaderMenu. You can create
other menu options in the same way and assign these to the context menu.

6.6

Add an Event to the Addin

There are several events which have been exposed for the AVEVA Grid Control. These are:
1. OnPopup(Array)
1. Array[0] is the x coordinate of the current cursor position
2. Array[1] is the y coordinate of the current cursor position
3. Array[2] contains the ID of each of the selected rows
The position of the mousedown, and an array of selected items is passed through to the
calling application when the context menu is used on the grid.
2. BeforeCellUpdate(Array)
1. Array[0] is the new value the user typed in
2. Array[1] is the Row Tag of the cell
3. Array[2] is the Column key of the cell
4. Array[3] is a Boolean. If you set it to "false" then the new value will NOT be allowed
in the grid. If you set it to "true" then it is allowed.
5. Array[4] is a string. If you set Array[3] to "false" then this value can be set to give the
reason why the new value cannot be allowed. The message will be displayed in the
cell tooltip.
Cell data is passed back to the calling application as an array before a change is made in a
cell of the grid (This assumes that the grid is in editable mode or bulk editable mode). The

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fourth argument of the array (Array[3]) can be set to false by the calling application in order
to disallow the new value of the cell.
Note: This event is the opportunity for the calling code to make a synchronising change to
any related data source. In the case where the related data is Dabacon element/
attribute data, the BeforeCellUpdate event should arrange for the Dabacon element/
attribute to be modified appropriately. A convenient way to do this is to use the
NetGridControl.DoDabaconCellUpdate(Array) function to perform the modification.
Simply pass the Array to this function as an argument. If the function is unable to
perform the modification for any reason the Array[3] and Array[4] values will be set to
indicate the problem.
3. AfterSelectChange(Array)
1. Array[0] contains the ID of each of the selected rows
An array of selected items is passed through to the calling application. See the example C#
code snippet below. The example code shows that the number of selected items is written to
a text box.
private void netGridControl1_AfterSelectChange(System.Collections.ArrayLst
args)
{
//Print the number of the selected rows in textbox2
if (args == null)
{
return;
}
Hashtable al = new Hashtable();
al = (Hashtable)args[0];
if (al == null)
{
return;
}
this.textBox2.Text = al.Count.ToString();
}
Refer to Events for Event handling

6.7

Other Functionality Available within the PDMS

Environment
Note the following additional functionality available with the Addin:
1. Selected equipment items can be dragged and dropped from the grid into the 3D View,
MyData, or any other form within PDMS which is a drop target. This functionality is
automatically available to the Addin as part of the Common Application Framework.
2. The Grid Control can be made editable, but any data which is changed in any cell of the
grid will not be written back to the database. The calling application would need to
handle the changes, and write this to the database, if relevant.
3. The Addin form can be docked and floated within the PDMS environment

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6.8

Use of the C# Grid Control with PML

The C# Grid Control can also be used on a PML form. See the PMLGridExample code in
the Samples directory.

6.9

AVEVA Grid Control API

The following table includes the API calls which have been made available for the Grid
Control.
Note: That you can only use the Aveva C# Grid Control on your own Visual Studio form if
you have a design time license for Infragistics version 6.1.

Name

Type

Purpose

Data Source methods for populating the grid

NetDataSource(String
TableName, Array Attributes,
Array Items)

Data Source constructor for database

Attributes and database items. The
Grid will populate itself with database
attribute values.

NetDataSource(String
TableName, Array Attributes,
Array AttributeTitles, Array
Items)

Data Source constructor for database

Attributes and database items. The
Grid will populate itself with database
attribute values. The attribute titles
can be added.

NetDataSource(String
TableName, Array columns,
Array of Array of rows)

Data Source constructor for column

headings, and a set of rows. In this
case the grid does NOT populate
itself with database attribute values.

NetDataSource(String
TableName, Array Attributes,
Array Items, String Tooltips)

Data Source constructor for database

Attributes and database items. The
Grid will populate itself with database
attribute values.

NetDataSource(String
TableName, Array columns,
Array of Array of rows, String
Tooltips)

Data Source constructor for column

headings, and a set of rows. In this
case the grid does NOT populate
itself with database attribute values.

NetDataSource(String
TableName, string PathName)

Data Source constructor for import of

an Excel XLS or CSV File

BindToDataSource(NetDataSo
urce)

Bind Grid to NetDataSource

General methods available for the grid

getDataSource()

NetDataSource

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Returns the data source that has

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Name

Type

Purpose

SaveGridToExcel(String)

Save All Data to Excel File. Note that

this will retain all grid groupings and
layout of data. The String should
specify the full pathname, eg:
'C:\temp\file.xls').

SaveGridToExcel(String,
Worksheet)

Save All Data to a Worksheet in an

Excel File. Note that this will retain all
grid groupings and layout of data.

FixedHeaders(Boolean)

Allow/disallow fixed headers. (Used

when scrolling).

FixedRows(Boolean)

Allow/disallow fixing of rows (Used

when scrolling).

OutlookGroupStyle(Boolean)

Allow/disallow Outlook group facility

HideGroupByBox(Boolean)

Hide the groupBy box. This will leave

the Outlook style grouping in place
and hence disallow the user from
changing the grouping

setGroupByColumn(colNum,
Boolean)

Set/unset
column
OutlookGroupStyle

ColumnExcelFilter(Boolean)

Allow/disallow Excel style filter on

columns

ColumnSummaries(Boolean)

Allow/disallow Average, Count, etc on

numeric columns

HeaderSort(Boolean)

Allow alphabetic column sorting.

ErrorIcon(Boolean)

Allow/disallow the display of the red

icon in the cell if a data value is not
available.

SingleRowSelection(Boolean)

Set grid to single row selection.

allGridEvents(Boolean)

Switch Grid Events On or Off.

ClearGrid()

Remove data & column headings.

RefreshTable()

For a grid displaying Dabacon data

this recalculates the content of every
cell to refresh to the latest database
state.

setAlternateRowColor(String)

Set alternate rows to a different color.

setAlternateRowColor(Red
Num, Green Num, Blue Num)

Set alternate rows to a different color.

The default is: (251, 251, 255).

FeedbackSuccessColor(String
)

Nominate (or query) the colour used

to highlight cells successfully edited.

FeedbackFailColor(String)

Nominate (or query) the colour used

to highlight cells where editing fails.

SyntaxErrorColor(String)

Nominate (or query) the colour used

to
highlight
cells
containing
syntactically invalid data.

ReadOnlyCellColor(String)

Nominate (or query) the background

colour used to indicate cells where
editing is not permitted.

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Name

Type

Purpose

resetCellFeedback()

Reset the cell editing feedback

highlight colour and tooltip text.

DisplayUnsetAs(String)

Nominate (or query) a text string to be

used in grid cells that hold "unset"
attribute data.

DisplayNulrefAs(String)

Nominate (or query) a text string to be

used in grid cells that hold "Nulref"
reference attribute data.

EditableGrid(Boolean)

Allow/disallow cells to be editable.

Note: That if the user is allowed to
write data to the grid, then this
data does not automatically
get written back to the data
source (or database). The
BeforeCellUpdate event of the
calling code is responsible for
doing this synchronisation,
and is in control of whether to
either allow or disallow the
change (Refer to Add an Event
to the Addin for more detail).
This does not enable the user
to add/remove rows, just to
edit the content of the existing
cells.

BulkEditableGrid(Boolean)

Allow/disallow cells to be bulk

editable. Bulk edit mode allows
multiple cells to be selected, and Fill
down/Fill up operations to be
performed.
Copy
and
Paste
operations are also permitted to apply
to multiple cells selected in the same
column.
The note about synchronising cell
data with the data source as
mentioned above for EditableGrid
also applies to BulkEditableGrid.

setLabelVisibility(Boolean)

Show/Hide label.

CreateValueList(Name,
for List)

Create a value list for the grid.

Array

ResetColumnProperties()

Reset column layout.

SaveLayoutToXml(String)

Save the grid layout (not data) to a file

on the file system.

loadLayoutFromXml(String)

Load a stored layout on the file

system (not data) into a grid instance.

PrintPreview()

Opens a Print Preview Form (which

also allows printing).

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Name

Type

Purpose

saveGridToExcel(string
excelFile,string
worksheet,
string strHeader)

Where strHeader is a user supplied

string which is output to the first row
in the Excel spreadsheet. The grid is
then output starting in row #2.

Methods on rows in the grid

GetSelectedRows()

Array of Array
(rows)

Returns array of selected rows.

GetSelectedRowTags()

Array
tags

Get the selected row tags.

GetRows()

Array of Array
(rows)

Returns array of rows.

GetRow(NUM)

Array

Get the cells in the row number NUM.

GetRow(row tag)

Array

Get the cells in the row with the

specified row tag.

GetRowTag(NUM)

String

Get the Tag ID of the row.

of

row

setEditableRow(Integer,
Boolean)

Allow/disallow a designated row to be

editable.

setRowColor(NUM, String)

Set row color to a string (eg 'red').

setRowTooltip(row, String)

Set row tooltip to the specified string.

setSelectedRowTags(Array
rows)

Programmatically select the given

row tags.

selectRow(NUM)

Programmatically
number NUM.

getNumberRows()

Real

select

the

row

Get the number of rows in the grid.

clearRowSelection()

Clear row selection.

addRow(Array data)

Add a single row of data. If DB

Element grid then only first array data
is read. If not, then the Array data
represents the data in each cell of the
row.

deleteSelectedRows()

Delete selected rows.

deleteRows(Array data)

Delete one or more rows given by the

"Tags" in the array.

deleteRows(Array data)

Delete one or more rows given by the

"Tags" in the array.

scrollSelectedRowToView(Boo
lean)

Scroll the selected row into view.

setRowVisibility(double
rowNum,bool)

Turn on/off the

specified row.

isRowVisible(double rowNum)

Query the visibility of the specified

row

visibility

of

the

Methods on columns in the grid

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Name

Type

Purpose

SetColumnMask(NUM,
STRING(MASK))
getColumnMask(NUM)

Set the Mask on column number

NUM (see valid masks in the table
below).
STRING

Get the mask on the specified column

(see valid masks in the table below).

setEditableColumn(Integer,
Boolean)
GetNumberColumns()

Allow/disallow a designated column

to be editable.
REAL

Return the number of columns.

AssignValueListToColumn(Na
me, Column NUM)

Assign the value list to a column.

GetColumns()

Array
STRING

of

Get the columns in the grid.

GetColumn(NUM)

Array

Get the cells in the Column number

NUM.

GetColumn(column tag)

Array

Get the cells in the column with a

specified tag.

setColumnColor(NUM, String)

Set column color to a string (eg 'red').

setColumnImage(NUM, String)

Set all cell images in column to the

pathname of the specified icon.

setColumnVisibility(colNum,
Bool)

Show/Hide column.

getColumnKey(NUM)

String

Get the Key of the column.

setNameColumnImage()

Displays standard icons in a "NAME"

attribute column when database items
are used.

AutoFitColumns()

Resize columns to fit widest text.

SetColumnWidth(Column
NUM, Column Width)

Set column to a designated width.

ExtendLastColumn(Bool)

Extend the last column.

ResizeAllColumns()

Resize columns to fit in available

width of form

isColumnVisible(double
colNum)

Query the visibility of the specified

column.

Methods on cells in the grid

GetCell(ROW, COL)

STRING

Get the content of cell(ROW,COL) by

row and column number.

GetCell(row tag, column tag)

STRING

Get the content of cell(ROW,COL) by

row tag and column tag.

setCellColor(row, col, String)

Set cell color to a string (eg 'red').

setEditableCell(Row NUM, Col

NUM, Boolean)

Allow/disallow a designated cell to be

editable.

setCellTooltip(row, col, String)

Set cell tooltip to the specified string.

setCellImage(row, col, String)

Set cell image to the pathname of the

specified icon.

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Name

6.10

Type

Purpose

setCellValue(rowNum,
ColNum, STRING)

Programmatically set a cell value to a

string.

AssignValueListToCell(Name,
Row NUM, Column NUM)

Assign the value list to a cell.

DoDabaconCellUpdate(Array
args)

This function is provided to support

user code in the BeforeCellUpdate
event when the grid is displaying
Dabacon element/attribute data. The
array provided as argument to the
BeforeCellUpdate event can simply
be passed on to this function to
modify the Dabacon element/attribute
in synchronisation with the cell data. If
the function is unable to perform the
modification for any reason the
Array[3] and Array[4] values will be
set to indicate the problem. For
further information refer to Add an
Event to the Addin.

Input Mask Characters

Masks can be set on data within a column. The mask will restrict the format and type of the
data which can be entered into cells within the column. The mask can consist of the
following characters:
Character

Description

Digit placeholder. Character must be numeric (0-9) and entry is

required.

Decimal placeholder. The actual character used is the one specified as

the decimal placeholder by the system's international settings. This
character is treated as a literal for masking purposes.

Thousands separator. The actual character used is the one specified as

the thousands separator by the system's international settings. This
character is treated as a literal for masking purposes.

Time separator. The actual character used is the one specified as the
time separator by the system's international settings. This character is
treated as a literal for masking purposes

Date separator. The actual character used is the one specified as the
date separator by the system's international settings. This character is
treated as a literal for masking purposes.

Treat the next character in the mask string as a literal. This allows you
to include the '#', '&', 'A', and '?' characters in the mask. This character
is treated as a literal for masking purposes.

&

Character placeholder. Valid values for this placeholder are ANSI

characters in the following ranges: 32-126 and 128-255 (keyboard and
foreign symbol characters).

>

Convert all the characters that follow to uppercase.

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Character

Description

<

Convert all the characters that follow to lowercase.

Alphanumeric character placeholder. For example: a-z, A-Z, or 0-9.

Character entry is required.

Alphanumeric character placeholder. For example: a-z, A-Z, or 0-9.

Character entry is not required.

Digit placeholder. Character must be numeric (0-9) but entry is not

required.

Optional minus sign to indicate negative numbers. Must appear at the

beginning of the mask string.

Character or space placeholder. Character entry is not required. This

operates exactly like the '&' placeholder, and ensures compatibility with
Microsoft Access.

Letter placeholder. For example: a-z or A-Z. Character entry is not

required.

Literal

All other symbols are displayed as literals; that is, they appear as
themselves.

Digit placeholder. A group of n's can be used to create a numeric

section where numbers are entered from right to left. Character must be
numeric (0-9) but entry is not required.

mm, dd, yy

Combination of these three special strings can be used to define a date

mask. mm for month, dd for day, yy for two digit year and yyyy for four
digit year. Examples: mm/dd/yyyy, yyyy/mm/dd, mm/yy.

hh, mm, ss, tt

Combination of these three special strings can be used to define a time

mask. hh for hour, mm for minute, ss for second, and tt for AP/PM.
Examples: hh:mm, hh:mm tt, hh:mm:ss.

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