The API-Guide

The API-Guide Readme

Sunday, 2002/03/31

1. Program Specific Information:

    API-Guide Readme
   

2. General information:

   API-Guide was created by the KPD-Team 1998-2002 For more information, visit the AllAPI.net at http://www.allapi.net/ or The AllAPI Network website at http://www.allapi.net/php/redirect/redirect.php?1

   You can always send questions, comments or bug-reports to KPDTeam@AllAPI.net

   The API-Guide download page is located at http://www.allapi.net/php/redirect/redirect.php?10

3. Disclaimer:

   Information provided by these programs is intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the user of these programs, who accepts full responsibility for its use. It is provided "as is", with no guarantee of completeness or accuracy and without warranty of any kind, express or implied.

4. Contact us:

   You can contact us on this address:

    The KPD-Team
    J.P. Minckelersstraat 70
    3000 Leuven
    Belgium, Europe
   

   or by email at KPDTeam@AllAPI.net or by ICQ at 14662588 or 12728318

Copyright © The KPD-Team 1998-2002 Send email to KPDTeam@AllAPI.net with comments or suggestions Visit http://www.allapi.net/ for the latest information

What is API-Guide?

Required files

What's new?

Version History

Creating Language Packs

1. What is API-Guide?

Many people have asked us if they could download our API-List because they couldn't go online for a very long time and it could take ages to download all the API-examples. Of course, this was very unpractical, since the list is changing every month. For these people we've created API-Guide! API-Guide is an API-database with all the API-functions of our API-list.

API-Guide has over 900 functions, all documented, and explained with an example.

You can choose from an alphabetically sorted list of functions, or a grouped list of functions.

If you're searching for a specific functions, you can try to find it in the alphabetical list.

If you don't know the name of the function you're searching for, the grouped list might prove useful.

API-Guide has it's own Internet Update. This allows you to download new language packs, data patches or executable patches when they become available. After downloading new data files, the new functions are marked with a blue x.

A collection of different languages can help you to better understand the program's functionality.

If you don't see your language in the list, you can easily create your own language pack.

API-Guide Readme

Creating Language Packs

1. Required files:

   API-Guide.exe The main executable file Functions.api This file contains all the function names, descriptions, libraries, examples, related functions, parameters and return values. Functions.ini Initialization file for functions.api Examples.api This file contains all the examples for the functions. Examples.ini Initialization file for examples.api Dotnet.api This file contains all the dotNET data. Dotnet.ini Initialization file for the dotNET data. VB5 runtimes API-Guide is written in VB5 and therefore it needs the VB5 runtimes. If you don't have these runtimes, you can download them from the Microsoft website or from here MSComCtl.ocx Common Controls

1. What's new in version 3.7.x ?

   • .NET update: We extensively updated the .NET list.

   • Internet update: The internet update supports SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 proxies from now on.

   • Toolbar We added a toolbar to give the users quick access to the most common features.

   • Next & Prev butons We added new 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to the toolbar, allowing you to quickly navigate trough the recently selected functions.

   • Minor changes We added some minor features and bug fixes.

   • New functions: Added 107 new functions to the guide.

1. Version History

   What was new in version 3.6.627

   • .NET Support: We added a list of .NET alternatives for API functions. Each alternative method is illustrated with an example.

   • Return values: Every functions now has a description of the return values.

   • Color Coding: The examples are now color coded!

   • Language Support: Updated the language support in API-Guide. You're now able to translate practically everything.

   • New data file structure: We redesigned the data files to allow the data files to be updated dynamically. Instead of downloading the entire data files, you only have to download the new functions and API-Guide will automatically add them to the data files.

   • Internet update Not only does it now support dynamic data update, but you can also download the latest language packs and .NET data files with the internet update. We also got rid of the multithreading we used in the Internet Update, so it should be more stable now.

   • New functions: Added 61 new functions (list total: 818).

What was new in version 3.5.134

- WinME bug removed:
Nasty bug removed that caused API-Guide to crash on some WindowsME systems.

- Postcard Ware:
API-Guide is no longer freeware, but PostcardWare. This means that, if you like
the program, you have to write a postcard from the city where you live
to us, the KPD-Team. Our address can be found here.

- Completely rewritten API-Guide:
We completely rewrote the program for better performance and easier debugging.

- Notes:
You can add your own notes to the functions.

- Language packs:
There are now language packs for API-Guide!

- Parameters tab:
We added a new parameters tab

- Alpha Blend:
You can now choose to alpha blend the API-Guide windows if you're working
with Windows2000.

- Bold items in Group Tree:
New functions are now bold in the Group Tree.

- New functions:
We added 141 new functions to the list (list total: 757).

What was new in version 3.0.112

- New Version Number:
Since our new data-file structure isn't compatible anymore with the older
API-Guide versions, we decided to change API-Guide's version number
from 2.x to 3.0.

- Search:
You can now cancel during a search!

- Title bar button:
We added a new title bar button that allows you to minimize to the SysTray.

- Tree:
We removed a bug that caused the treeview to be hidden on some computers,
when API-Guide started.

- API-Guide Bar:
This new version has an Application Bar built in, so now it's even easier
to use API-Guide when you're working on one of your projects.

- Add your own example:
Due to popular demand, we added a new function that allows you to add
your own examples to the list.

- Splitter Bar:
For your convenience, we added a splitter bar between the API-list and
the information window.

- PrevInstance-Bug:
We fixed a bug that always caused the 'Couldn't find the other window'-
message box popup whenever a second instance of API-Guide was started.

- Caching-bug:
API-Guide didn't cache certain examples.

- DDE Link:
We added a DDE-link between API-Guide, API-Toolshed and API-Guide Network.

- General Code:
Some small bugs were removed and we optimized several parts of the code.

- Keyboard-friendly:
The new API-Guide became a little more keyboard-friendly by providing
keyboard accelerators.

- New Information:
We added an extra page of information on the Info-Tab. On that second page,
you can find the declaration and more information about the parameters
of that particular function.

- Search Options:
You can now search against declaration and parameter-info.

- Internet Update Bug:
We removed a nasty bug that caused the Internet Update to crash one some computers!

- New API-Functions:
96 New functions were added to the list (list total: 616)

What was new in version 2.3.159

- Decrypt bug:
A very serious bug was removed from the program, which caused API-Guide
to crash on the Eastern (Unicode) Windows versions.

- Groups:
We sorted all the functions by group and we added a group-tree

- Search Option:
Now you can also search against group-names in the search window

- OS-Info:
We added extra OS-information with each function. 

- Example-caching:
When Example caching is enabled, API-Guide decrypts a selected example
the first time and adds it to the examples-cache. The next time the user
selects the cached example, API-Guide doesn't have decrypt it anymore.

- Speed:
We optimized API-Guide for speed, which also decreased the size of
the API-Guide executable

- Debug script:
We removed the debug-script. We don't need it anymore.

- 19 New functions, which brings our total to 520 functions:

What was new in version 2.2.135

- Auto-update:
We added a new option to check for a new version, every time API-Guide is started

- Internet Update (download):
Version 2.2.135 uses a different method to download new API-Guide updates, which
makes our Internet Update totally asynchronous (the update option from the previous
versions was 'almost' asynchronous)

- Internet Update (ping):
As you can see, we also changed our ping method and layout

- New API-Functions:
Once again, 84 new API-functions were added to the list (a total of 501 functions).

What was new in version 2.1.10

- Internet Update:
A bug, which could cause some problems when downloading the compressed
data files, was fixed.

- Search option:
We added a new search option. Now you can search against examples.

- Links:
Two new links were added: MSDN Online Library and MSDN Online Support

- Debug:
A new debug-script was added to the API-Guide code.

- New API-Functions:
We added 47 new functions

What was new in version 2.0.83?

- Layout:
We've severely changed the API-Guide layout to, what we believe,
a new easy-to-use and handy layout.

- Data file:
We've removed some bugs from the data-file. Certain references
to examples contained typos, and these typo's caused
the program to crash, when the user tried to view the one
of these examples.

- Internet Update:
Version 2.0 supports the use of proxy-servers and asynchronous downloading
(this means that the files on the Internet can be downloaded without blocking
the response of the user interface. This allows the user to cancel a download
at any time).
You can also select a server to download from, and before you make your choice
you can ping the servers, to select the fastest one.

- Data-Decryption algorithm:
A little bug was fixed in the decryption algorithm for our data files, and the 
algorithm's speed has also been increased.

- New API-Functions:
We added 190 new API-functions (which brings our total to 370 functions).

The language files are located in the API-Guide directory and have a '.lng' extension.
You can open these files with a simple text editor (like notepad).

On the first line, you write the version of the language file. This should be the same
as the version of API-Guide (without the revision number).
On the second line, you write the name of the language. Please don't write the name
of the language in English, but in the language itself.

On the following lines, you change the name of the author to your name, and, if
necessary, add comments.
Comment lines always start with a single quote: '

Below the comments, you find all the constant strings that can be translated,
for instance: LID_MENU_FILE:File

"LID_MENU_FILE:" is the name of the string and should not be changed.
The rest of the line can be translated. Use the %CRLF% tag to add a line break.
For the menu item strings, you can use an ampersand ('&') to create
accelerators for that menu item, however, this is not advised since these
strings may also be used somewhere else.

You can send the language packs to KPDTeam@AllAPI.net and we'll make
sure other people can download your language pack via the internet update.

The name of the author of the selected language pack will be shown on the about window.