I'm in the process of developing an add in for MicroStation that will allow information from their stores inventory system to be embedded in a dgn model and on the elements in the model. This information will be used to create a Bill of Materials and text based input file for another application in the customers workflow. Once the initial proof of concept is completed the add in will be handed over for further development by the customer.
My research so far as leed me to believe the using the Xml Instance Api is the best way to implement the required functionality. I have also located a managed code version (wrapper) of this library (Bentley.Microstation.XmlInstanceapi.dll in MicroStation's assemblies directory) that I may be able to use from within C# without having to delve into C++ to create my own (requiring somewhat of a steep learning curve to climb).
Is it possible to use these assemblies in a C# application? What things should I be aware of should I go down this route?
The MicroStationAPI documentation for the Xml Instance Api suggests that the schema required for these functions is an EC Schema format file and not an Xml Schema file. Is that correct?
Should I also be looking at the ECFramework SDK as well and where does one start with this SDK (Need some clear explanatory documentation and examples)?
Unknown said:Need some clear explanatory documentation and examples of the ECFramework SDK
It's early days. At the last DevCon Bentley Systems provided a simple example using the MicroStationAPI and C++. That introduces a word of caution: I believe there was initially an unpublished .NET API for EC Schemas but that was superseded by the MicroStationAPI published API. The picture is blurred.
Unknown said:I have also located a managed code version
You may find that is a vestige of the earlier work. Unless someone from Bentley verifies that it is safe to use the .NET assembly you found, it's safest to stick to the published API.
With the most recent SDK, additional documentation arrived...
However, the documentation is generated automatically from the header file tags. It's terse and unimaginative. Probably for a robot it would be interesting reading, but for humans it is less than engrossing.
Some of Bentley's iWare tools are related to your work.
Regards, Jon Summers LA Solutions
I agree with your statement re the EC Documentation. It just gives a brief description of each function/class but not how to use them or how things fit together. This results in far too much work in learning it to make it viable for a current project. But then if you are doing anything other than mundane things, programing is 80% research and 20% coding.