.net deploy plug-in dll
Let's clarify the problem. Are you trying to create a method that only allows authorized users to run the code or are you trying to create a deployment scheme?
BTW, I don't think you have the correct idea of what a back end database is. It's just the data store and there is a separate app that is the front end where you work with the data. An Access mdb is a case where both the forms, etc. used to access the data and the data are in the same file. And you don't need asp to work with either. Visual Studio has objects built in that make it easy to work with databases. ASP (Active Server Pages) is used where you have a dedicated web server to host the app or "serve" up pages to the user.
Ed
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How to post your code.
Ok, you want to do both...
You should be good to netload a dll from a network server. I do this when debugging. You just have to add the path to the TrustedFolders list.
I have a dll that checks a db (could simply be a file with a list of users) to see if they need any updates. You could use this to check the list of approved users and if they are on the list, then set a boolean true. Then add a check to each command to see if the boolean is true, then run the command, else exit the sub. I don't expect you to use the code as-is. It's just to give you an idea.
Public Class MyPlugin
Implements IExtensionApplication
Public Sub Initialize() Implements IExtensionApplication.Initialize
' Initialize your plug-in application here
Try
Dim AcadApp As AcadApplication = acApp.AcadApplication
Dim docMgr As DocumentCollection = acApp.DocumentManager
Dim ed As Editor = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Editor
Dim ds As CadmgrDataSet = New CadmgrDataSet
Dim taLog As CadmgrDataSetTableAdapters.LogTableAdapter = New CadmgrDataSetTableAdapters.LogTableAdapter
Dim dtLog As CadmgrDataSet.LogDataTable = taLog.GetData()
Dim taMgr As CadmgrDataSetTableAdapters.TableAdapterManager = New CadmgrDataSetTableAdapters.TableAdapterManager
My.User.InitializeWithWindowsUser()
Dim parts() As String = Split(My.User.Name, "\")
Dim strUser As String = parts(1).ToUpper
' This startup procedure uses sequential Try..Catch blocks so that a
' failure in one does not prevent others from loading.
CheckForUpdates: ' See if updates required.
Try
UpdatesRequired()
Catch ex As System.Exception
ed.WriteMessage(vbCrLf & "CheckForUpdatesFailed.")
taLog.Insert(strUser, Now(), "CheckForUpdatesFailed: " & ex.Message & " " & My.Computer.Name)
taLog.Update(dtLog)
End Try
Ed
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It's just a matter of copying the dll to the user's pc. There are many ways to do it. You can use a bat file with XCOPY command. @My_Civil_3D and I use a custom exe that does the copying. My exe can accept arguments of what to copy. My startup dll, queries the db to find out what the user needs and then passes that as an argument to the exe.
Ed
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It seems to me that your question is actually about 2 issues: only "licensed" user can run your plugin; secure the plugin DLL to prevent "physical access" (so some one may decompile the DLL to see the code logic).
Since you want to somehow "licensing" the plugin, obviously, the user would be the public AutoCAD users at large, not internal users in a corporation, right? The simplest way would be publish the plugin to Autodesk's App store and take advantage of its user entitlement API. That means you code the entitlement verification into the plugin, so when the plugin loads, or a command of the plugin runs, the code would use the entitlement API to access Autodesk's app store to verify if the user's entitlement status and let the plugin's continue/quit accordingly.
There maybe other third party licensing management online services available, playing the same/similar role as Autodesk app store's entitlement APIs. Or, if you are capable and have time to kill, you could re-invent the wheel (be prepared to invest times much more than you do your plugin), I'd say it is likely not worth it, unless your plugin has significant market value.
As for loading plugin DLL from "server", you may want to clarify what "server" means. if the server is just a computer in your internal organization (LAN), the dll is located in a network share/drive, then, yes, you can place a single copy of the DLL there and have all users in the same LAN to load it. However, you need to tweak the acad.exe.config of each AutoCAD installation to allow .NET DLL from outside the running computer to be loaded/executed. If the "server" means a invisible location of the internet, then, no, you cannot load the DLL directly from there. You need first download the DLL as binary data and save to the location computer; then Windows would automatically flag a downloaded executable as "unsafe" and you must manage to prompt user and manually flag he downloaded file as safe before it can be loaded into AutoCAD. If your users are public at large, I'd bet users would think they have downloaded a harmful ware and refuse to use it.
So, you should let your user to deploy/install your plugin locally. If you are truly concerned about protecting the code logic from decompiling the DLL and the code logic has the extremely high technology/commercial value, you may want to develop your plugin in ObjectARX C++ instead. The truth is, for a experienced/good AutoCAD programmer, once seeing how a plugin runs, he/she probably can develop a more or less similar plugin without having to other's source code, unless the plugin is extremely complicated.
Again, if your target users are the public at large, forget about loading the DLL from "server", and take advantage of Autodesk's App Store.
Is your objective to load the DLL file from a network path so that you can update it at anytime and ensuring that all users have the same version loaded?
If so, then I believe that this approach does not work because once the DLL is loaded it is locked by the first user. You can create a program that copies the DLL on load to user's local before netloading it.
