In PowerBuilder 10.5, you can import PowerBuilder extensions into a library in your application using a pop-up menu item, and authors of PowerBuilder extensions no longer need to supply a PBD file with the extension file.
A PowerBuilder extension is an extension to PowerBuilder functionality created using the PowerBuilder Native Interface (PBNI). Some PowerBuilder extensions are provided with PowerBuilder, including the PBDOM, EJB client, SOAP client for Web services, and UDDIProxy extensions. You can also find PowerBuilder extensions on the PowerBuilder Samples and Utilities Web site.
In previous releases of PowerBuilder, the author of a PowerBuilder extension had to build the extension file (a .pbx or .dll file) in a C++ development environment, then use the pbx2pbd utility to create a PBD file. The user of the extension had to put the extension file in the application’s search path and add the PBD file to the target’s library list.
In PowerBuilder 10.5, the author needs to supply only the extension file, and the user can import the descriptions of objects in the extension file into an existing library using the Import PB Extension item on the library’s pop-up menu in the System Tree. The PBX or DLL file must be in the application’s search path at runtime.
In the System Tree, the imported extension displays as a user object in the library and can be used like any other user object.
Importing the PBX or DLL file converts the description of the extension into PowerScript and adds it to the PBL as source code. The new keyword native in the source code indicates that the PowerBuilder type was defined in an extension.
