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Catia V5 Api

This document discusses how to use CATIA's scripting API with different programming languages like VBA, VB6, VB.NET, C#, and C++. It explains that an interop library needs to be generated for .NET languages to communicate with CATIA's COM objects. The manual and automatic methods for generating the interop library using tlbimp.exe are described. The code samples provided show how to access the CATIA application object after adding the required references in each language.

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mikejclark
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6K views

Catia V5 Api

This document discusses how to use CATIA's scripting API with different programming languages like VBA, VB6, VB.NET, C#, and C++. It explains that an interop library needs to be generated for .NET languages to communicate with CATIA's COM objects. The manual and automatic methods for generating the interop library using tlbimp.exe are described. The code samples provided show how to access the CATIA application object after adding the required references in each language.

Uploaded by

mikejclark
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Using Scripting API

When we talk about scripting on Windows we talk in fact about the COMenabled DLLs accessed through TypeLibraries CATIA provides. This is a short introduction how to use this Scripting API in CATIA-VBA, VB6 and VB.Net

Using the Scripting API with CATIA-VBA


You need to do nothing as all references are automatically added. You access the CATIA application object directly with the predefined CATIA object.

Using the Scripting API with VB6


You need to add the required CATIA references to your project through the Add references panel

To get the CATIA application object you need to use the GetObject or CreateObject method, e.g. when CATIA is already running
Dim CATIA As INFITF.Application Set CATIA = GetObject(, "CATIA.Application")

Using the Scripting API with the .Net Languages


Creating the InterOp libraries
In a .Net environment you need to use so-called InterOp libraries to communicate with CATIAs COM objects. How to create these is explained in the VB.Net section.

Using the Scripting API with VB.Net


There are 2 methods to do it: The simple method when using Visual Studio .Net You need to add the required CATIA references to your project. Therefor you need to select it under the COM tab in the Add references panel

This will create an Interop DLL in the bin folder of your VB.Net project

and add this reference to your project

Lets see how this works in a standard VB.Net Windows application. Such an application automatically imports the following libraries

The following would be possible


Dim CATIA As INFITF.Application CATIA = Microsoft.VisualBasic.GetObject(, "CATIA.Application")

However, good practice is to have the Strict option set to on which would lead to a compiler error with the above code as the GetObject method returns a generic object not an Application object. So it needs to be changed to the following
Dim CATIA As INFITF.Application CATIA = CType(Microsoft.VisualBasic.GetObject(, "CATIA.Application"), _ INFITF.Application)

The second method is to generate the interop libraries manually using the tlbimp utility of the .Net framework. This can be found in the installation path of the framework, e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\SDK\v1.1\Bin\tlbimp.exe To create a interop library for the basic API (the environment variables are used to make the command line more simple (which is represented as 2 lines in the following)
set set set set TLBIMP="C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\SDK\v1.1\Bin\tlbimp.exe" CATIA=C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B15\intel_a\code\bin TYPELIB=InfTypeLib OUT=C:\Active\Applications\VSNet\CATIAR15DLL

%TLBIMP% "%CATIA%\%TYPELIB%.tlb" /out:%OUT%\%TYPELIB%. 15.0.dll /namespace:CATIA.%TYPELIB% /asmversion:5.15.0.0

This creates the interop library InfTypeLib.15.0.dll in the directory %OUT% In addition a namespace is defined for this library as well as a version. You have to add this as a reference to your project using the Add references panels via Browse and select the newly created dll

which adds this library to your project

which then can be used with the following code (you have to use the Namespace you have defined with tlbimp utility).
Dim CATIA As CATIA.InfTypeLib.Application CATIA = CType(Microsoft.VisualBasic.GetObject(, "CATIA.Application"), _ CATIA.InfTypeLib.Application)

Optionally without using the Microsoft.VisualBasic compatibility library it is possible to use the InterOpServices
CATIA = CType(System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetActiveObject( _ "CATIA.Application"), _ CATIA.InfTypeLib.Application)

Using tlbimp you have to take care that some typelibs are dependant on others, e.g. KweTypeLib depends on InfTypeLib. In this case tlbimp would create an interop library automatically (like in the Visual Studio environment). To avoid this you first have to create the base interops and the reference them in the tlbimp, e.g. for KweTypeLib
set set set set TLBIMP="C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\SDK\v1.1\Bin\tlbimp.exe" CATIA=C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B15\intel_a\code\bin TYPELIB=InfTypeLib OUT=C:\Active\Applications\VSNet\CATIAR15DLL

%TLBIMP% "%CATIA%\%TYPELIB%.tlb" /out:%OUT%\%TYPELIB%. 15.0.dll /namespace:CATIA.%TYPELIB% /asmversion:5.15.0.0 set TYPELIB=KweTypeLib %TLBIMP% "%CATIA%\%TYPELIB%.tlb" /out:%OUT%\%TYPELIB%. 15.0.dll /namespace:CATIA.%TYPELIB% /asmversion:5.15.0.0 /reference: %OUT%\InfTypelib.15.0.dll

creating these dlls

Using the Scripting API with C#


Of course the above said is valid for C# as well. However it is necessary if using the GetObject method from the VisualBasic library to load the Microsoft VisualBasic .Net Runtime as a reference to your project.

Then you can get CATIAs Application object as follows


CATIA.InfTypeLib.Application CATIA; CATIA=(CATIA.InfTypeLib.Application) Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction.GetObject(null,"CATIA.Application");

Or using the InterOpServices


CATIA=(CATIA.InfTypeLib.Application) System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetActiveObject("CATIA.Application");

Using the Scripting API with C++ in .Net


Of course the above said is valid for C++ in a .Net application as well. So you have to include your reference for the interop CATIA dll in your C++ project. To get the CATIA Application object this code can be used To make the code shorter
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

Then in your code (just one checking at the end)


System::Object* CATIAObj; CATIAObj = Marshal::GetActiveObject("CATIA.Application"); CATIA::InfTypeLib::Application* CATIA; CATIA = dynamic_cast<CATIA::InfTypeLib::Application*>(CATIAObj); if (CATIA == 0) System::Diagnostics::Debug::WriteLine("CATIA not retrieved");

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