A PowerBuilder marshaler extension usually provides a native class that acts as a creator. This class defines a function that creates an instance of the foreign component that is specified in the parameters passed into the function (1). If it succeeds in creating an instance of the foreign component (2), it creates a proxy for it using the PBVM (3, 4), creates a marshaler object (5), and associates the marshaler with the proxy (6).
Figure 3-1: Creating a foreign component, proxy, and marshaler
When a function of the proxy object is called in PowerScript, the PBVM calls the InvokeRemoteMethod function on the marshaler object through the proxy (1, 2). The marshaler object translates PowerBuilder function calls into requests that the foreign component understands, sends the requests (3), waits for a response, and send the results back to PowerBuilder (4).
Figure 3-2: Invoking a remote method
To develop the extension, you need to:
Step 1: Describe the extension
