Accessing external functions

In this section, you will learn how to use the VA Smalltalk parts for accessing external functions and programs. Parts for accessing C and COBOL functions and programs are included in VA Smalltalk.

You will also learn how to access external functions from scripts that do not have VA Smalltalk dependencies and can be used in both VA Smalltalk and non-VA Smalltalk applications.

The VA Smalltalk parts related to external functions and programs are:

  External Functions category

     Program Starter

Provides access to any program

     C External Function

Provides access to external C functions in dynamic link libraries

     COBOL External Function

Provides access to external COBOL procedures in dynamic link libraries

     DDE Server

Provides Dynamic Data Exchange server capabilities that allow data to be exchanged with other applications

     DDE Client

Provides Dynamic Data Exchange client capabilities that allow data to be exchanged with other applications

The DDE parts are discussed in Dynamic Data Exchange.