Can AddIns be used in WVS?
Simple answer: yes, but...
Types of AddIns, Types of WVS
There need to be distinguished between a AddIn Service and an AddIn Wizard. Whereas the first is started and stopped and reacts in between on events is the latter executed and ended immediately after it performed its tasks.
Also, the WVS can be distiguished as running as "Instance 0" directly on the server or connected to the server as WVS client (started by the OPS manager for all other instances after the first).
| AddIn Service | AddIn Wizard |
WVS | 1 | 2 |
WVS Client | 3 | 4 |
What are the limitations?
In general the AddIn Services and AddIn Wizards work for WVS and WVS Clients as they do for the Service Engine (case 1 to 4). It might be, that the access to some screen elements or does not work as the screen elements are rendered differently in WVS as they are in a classical Service Engine. If the execution of the AddIn Service or Wizard differs from being executed on the zenon server or client, the AddIn must take care of it itself. If the AddIn is started by a function in WVS, the AddIn could be started on the Server OR on any WVS client as the WVS clients are spun up dynamically on demand by the OPS Manager.
Can I access the zenon COM interface from an external application?
Some customers access the COM interface by marshalling it in their own software. Generally said: COPA-DATA does not see this as a valid used case. Although it has been done in the past and will be done in the future it seems rather complicated to access the COM of the correct Service Engine instance. This session management must then also be implemented in the external software. Hence, the general recommendation is to use the AddIn Framework.
Sauce: