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Using Sentry Windows SDK with PowerBuilder

Product: Sentry Spelling Checker Engine Windows SDK

The following information may help customers who need to integrate Sentry Spelling Checker Engine into a PowerBuilder application.

Contents:

• Function declarations
  

• About the Sentry license key (Version 5.15 and earlier)
  
• Interactively checking text in a multi-line edit control

Function declarations

Sentry API functions documented in the Sentry Programmer's Guide are shown in C/C++ syntax. The following table shows how to translate C/C++ data types into PowerBuilder data types:

C/C++ type	Type description	C/C++ example	Equivalent PowerBuilder type	PowerBuilder Example
char *	String, or more accurately, pointer to an array of characters	char *fileName	ref String	ref String fileName
SSCE_CHAR *	String, or more accurately, pointer to an array of Latin 1 characters (i.e., text being spell-checked)	SSCE_CHAR *errWord	ref String	ref String errWord
SSCE_S16	Signed, 16-bit integer	SSCE_S16 blkId	integer	integer blkId
SSCE_S16 *	Pointer to a signed, 16-bit integer ("pointer" meaning "pass by reference")	SSCE_S16 *format	ref integer	ref integer format
SSCE_S32	Signed, 32-bit integer	SSCE_S32 strLen	long	long strLen
SSCE_S32 *	Pointer to a signed, 32-bit integer ("pointer" meaning "pass by reference")	SSCE_S32 *cursor	ref long	ref long cursor
SSCE_U16	Unsigned, 16-bit integer	SSCE_U16 fileNameSz	integer	integer fileNameSz
HWND	Window handle	HWND parentWin	ulong	ulong parentWin
HINSTANCE	Instance handle	HINSTANCE clientInst	ulong	ulong clientInst

For pointer-type parameters (denoted by "*", as in SSCE_CHAR *str) the keyword "const" indicates that the parameter is passed by reference but will not be modified by the called function. If "const" is missing, the parameter is either an output parameter (meaning it is modified to by the called function) or an input/output parameter (meaning its value is read by the called function and may be modified by the called function). PowerBuilder has no equivalent, so the "const" keyword can be omitted, but you should be aware of its meaning.

Following are some example function declarations:

FUNCTION LONG SSCE_CheckBlockDlg(ulong parentWin, ref String TextBlock, long TextLen,  long TextSize, integer showContext) library "SSCE5532.DLL"

FUNCTION INTEGER SSCE_GetSid() library "SSCE5532.DLL"

FUNCTION INTEGER SSCE_CheckString(integer sid, ref String str, ref long cursor, ref String errWord, integer errWordSz, ref String otherWord, integer otherWordSz) library "SSCE5532.DLL"

(Note that references to SSCE5532.DLL should be changed to the name of the Sentry DLL included with your version of the Sentry Windows SDK.)

NOTE: PowerBuilder must be configured to pass ANSI (single-byte) strings to the Sentry DLL. Passing Unicode strings will not work.

About the Sentry license key (Version 5.15 and earlier)

In Sentry Windows SDK version 5.15 and earlier, the license key is provided as a hexadecimal constant. Unfortunately, PowerBuilder lacks a means for expressing hexadecimal constants, so the license key must be converted to decimal before it can be passed to the SSCE_SetKey function. Convert your license key from hexadecimal to decimal using a hex-capable calculator (if you don't have one, use the Windows calculator in "Scientific" mode). For example, 1234ABCD hexadecimal is 305441741 decimal. If the hexadecimal key begins with 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E or F, convert it to a negative decimal number by subracting 4294967296 (decimal) after converting your key to decimal. For example, if your key is ABCD1234 hexadecimal, convert it to decimal: 2882343476. Because the key starts with "A," subtract 4294967296: -1412623820.

Note that in Sentry Windows SDK 5.16 and later, the license key is provided as a long decimal integer, so conversion is not necessary. Pass the key provided by Wintertree Software to the SSCE_SetKey function as-is.

Interactively checking text in a multi-line edit control

If you want to check the text in a multi-line edit control (named myMLE in this example), follow these instructions.

First, declare the following local (or global) external functions:

Function integer SSCE_SetKey(long key) library "SSCE5532.DLL"
Function integer SSCE_CheckCtrlDlg(ulong parentWin, ulong ctrlWin, integer selectedOnly) library "SSCE5532.DLL"

Next, insert statements similar to the following in an event handler (e.g., in response to a menu selection or button press:

ulong ull_key = 305441741  /* Sentry license key converted to decimal */
long ll_rc
ll_rc = SSCE_SetKey(ull_key)
ll_rc = SSCE_CheckCtrlDlg(Handle(This), Handle(myMLE), 0)

Invoke the event handler to which you added the call to SSCE_CheckCtrlDlg. You should see the spelling-checker dialog box.