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Accessing APIs

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If your application has requirements that cannot be met by the features already built into Visual FoxPro, you can extend the program by taking advantage of external libraries — Microsoft ActiveX controls or dynamic-link libraries (DLLs). Using external libraries, you can add objects to your application, everything from enhanced text boxes to calendars and other full-featured applications, and you can take advantage of the functionality offered by other programs (including Microsoft Windows) through their application programming interfaces (APIs).

In This Section

  • Extending Visual FoxPro with External Libraries
    You can add Microsoft ActiveX controls (.ocx files) to your application easily, which provides you with new objects to use in forms, to subclass, and to manage the way you work with native Visual FoxPro controls. In addition, you can link to an external library, such as a DLL, and call the library's functions to use in your own programs.
  • Accessing the Visual FoxPro API
    If an external library is not available to suit your needs, you can write your own Microsoft ActiveX control or Visual FoxPro -specific dynamic-link library (.fll file). By calling the functions available in the API available in Visual FoxPro, you can create controls or libraries that are tightly integrated with and optimized for use in Visual FoxPro.
  • Using Visual FoxPro
    Visual FoxPro programming features are designed to improve developer productivity, including Access and Assign methods, support for more graphic file formats, and language to simplify programming tasks.
  • Developing Visual FoxPro Applications
    This section includes conceptual information about how to develop Visual FoxPro applications, instructions for creating databases and the user interface, and other tasks needed to create Visual FoxPro applications.
  • Programming in Visual FoxPro
    Visual FoxPro is a powerful interactive data management tool, but you also can access the full power of Visual FoxPro by creating applications. Understanding object-oriented programming techniques and the event-driven model can maximize your programming productivity.
  • Extending Applications
    To extend a basic Visual FoxPro application, you can enable it to work for multiple users, take advantage of Microsoft ActiveX controls and automation-enabled applications, and add international capabilities.