Ceetron Data Provider Framework
Ceetron Data Provider Framework

Copyright © 2020 by Ceetron AS

Ceetron Data Provider Framework Overview

Ceetron Data Provider Framework is a framework for writing data providers that can be plugged into applications based on Ceetron 3D Components (C3DC). This includes Ceetron Analyzer Desktop and the RemoteModel server (CeeCloudServer) in Ceetron Cloud Components (C3). The same plugin can be used both in cloud and desktop.

The DataProvider enables the user to provide the following data based on a given ModelKey:

The DataProvider also supports communicating updated data to the host application. This is done via the pollForChanges() method which will be called at regular intervals by host applications that have polling support. This methods allows for notifying the host application that data has changed (using the CDPChangeNotifications interface), and the host will then ask for the updated data whenever needed.

The following modifications are supported:

Distribution Content

Getting Started

To compile the framework, example plugins and example apps, we recommend using CMake. Download CMake.

To build and run the examples, please follow the steps below:

On Linux/mac, build the solution with:

> make

On Windows, open the project file and build with the selected compiler (e.g. Visual Studio).

The build step will build:

To run the test driver:

```bash cd ExampleApps/TestDriver/ ./TestDriver ../../ExamplePlugins/MinimalPlugin/cdp_MinimalPlugin MINIMAL ```

Creating a DataProviderPlugin

There are three steps to creating a DataProviderPlugin

Step 1: Create the plugin

The main file defines the plugin. You define a version and a method for creating the Factory. One file can contain many data providers. The initializeDataProviderPlugin method is called by the host to initialize the provider(s).

Example: MinimalPlugin.cpp

Step 2: Create the data provider factory

The factory is responsible for instantiation and deletion of the DataProvider, providing information about the provider and checking if the provided ModelKey is supported by the provider. To create the factory, derive from CDPDataProviderFactory and implement the 4 pure virtual methods.

Example: MinimalProviderFactory.h/cpp

Step 3: Create the data provider

The provider is where all the CAE data is communicated to the host. To create a provider, derive from CDPDataProvider and implement the 7 pure virtual methods.

Example: MinimalProvider.h/cpp

Using Data Providers in Ceetron Cloud Components (C3)

Data providers can be used with the RemoteModel server (CeeCloudServer). To load your data provider, set the C3_UG_DATA_PROVIDER_FOLDER environment variable to point to the folder with your data provider. The CeeCloudServer will load all data providers in the specified folder. The data provider needs to comply to the following naming scheme:

cdp_{PROVIDER_NAME}.[dll|so|dylib]

Example:

cdp_MyDataProvider.dll (Windows), cdp_MyDataProvider.so (Linux)

The server will list the registered data providers when a file is opened.

Using Data Providers in Ceetron Analyzer Desktop

To use your data provider with Ceetron Analyzer Desktop, define the environment variable CEE_DATA_PROVIDERS_FOLDER to point to the folder where your data provider is located. Ceetron Analyzer will load all data providers in the specified folder. The data provider file needs to follow the same naming scheme as described above.

Polling of the data provider can be controlled by two settings in the Advanced pane of the Settings dialog:

Supported Platforms

Ceetron Data Provider framework supports most compilers on most platforms. It has been tested on:

Change log

Version 4.1 [May 4, 2020]

Version 3.1 [Dec 20, 2019]

Version 3.0 [Sept 5, 2019]

First public release of Ceetron Data Provider Framework

Terms & Conditions

By using this software, you agree to the Terms & Conditions for use of Ceetron Software as described in https://ceetron.com/licenses/developer-terms-and-conditions.

Contact information

Ceetron AS, Innherredsveien 7, N-7014 Trondheim, NORWAY
URL: www.ceetron.com
Support: support@ceetron.com


All Rights Reserved. No part of this documentation or the accompanying source code shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without written permission from the publisher.