Developing ToolTalk Applications

Developing ToolTalk aware-applications is a design process. You can enable your application to send and receive ToolTalk messages in a simple three-step process:

1. Determine how your application is to interact with other applications, and with users.

2. Select messages and define their use within the context of your application

3. Integrate ToolTalk calls and messages into your code.

   ---

   Note - A demonstration of how your can easily add ToolTalk capability to your existing applications has been integrated with the ToolTalk software product. This demonstration is described in the paper entitled Tool Inter-Operability: A Hands On Demonstration (Sun Part Number 801-3593-01) and is part of the ToolTalk information pack available from Sun or your local Sun Sales office.

   ---

• Define how the tools will work together and what operations must be performed.

A clear understanding of what types of communications your application will require is a critical factor in successful application integration. The best approach to analyze this issue is to define scenarios that represent how your application will be used. From these scenarios you will be able to determine what interaction needs to take place and what information needs to be exchanged. Detailed scenarios that show exactly what information and status is being passed will greatly help you integrate messaging into your application.

• Select the appropriate messages that accomplish these tasks.

Once you have determined how your applications will interact with other applications and users, you must determine the specific messages needed to accomplish the required tasks.

First, look at the standard message sets available from industry groups such as Soft, ANSI, X3H6, and CFI. Use of these messages is strongly recommended for two reasons.

1. The standard messages provide your application with a well-known and documented interface. This interface allows other developers to independently develop applications that can interface with your work. In addition, it provides an interface around which your customers can build integrated systems.

2. The standard message sets provide your application with the “universal plug-and-play” capability. This capability allows you to provide your customers with the flexibility to use multiple applications to provide a service. By giving your customers a choice of applications to use, they can pick the best tool for a particular job and you are not forced to offer features that you feel your product does not need.

   If the standard message sets do not support your design, then you will need to develop custom messages.

   If you use non-standard message, please contact the Document and Media Exchange Messaging Alliance at media_exchange@Sun.COM so we can consider adding your new messages to the standard message sets.

• Integrate ToolTalk calls and messages into your application.

Once you have completed the design aspect, you are ready to add the ToolTalk capabilities into your application.

First, you need to include the ToolTalk header file in all files that will use ToolTalk API calls. You will also need to register and initialize the patterns that control the sending and receiving functions. For detail information about registering and initializing patterns, see the book entitled “The ToolTalk Service: An Inter-Operability Solution.” (The book is available in bookstores, and directly from Prentice Hall.)

Next, add the ability to send ToolTalk messages to your code. Based on the knowledge gained from designing the scenarios, it is very straight forward to determine what routines need to send what messages, and what the arguments for each message should be.

Once the ToolTalk service is initialized, your application uses the ToolTalk API calls to create and fill in messages to be sent to other applications.

• If your applications uses a windowing system, you only need to add the calls to activate the ToolTalk service in the event polling loop.

• If your application does not already use a polling loop, you need to create a simple loop that periodically checks for messages. For detailed information, see the book entitled “The ToolTalk Service: An Inter-Operability Solution.” (The book is available in bookstores, and directly from Prentice Hall.)