Hi all,
My ADS Driver beta tests are coming along nicely. I am currently trying to make it also run on Ignition Edge. Is there anything specific I need to do in order to make it work there? I know there are several limitations to Edge drivers, but to me it seemed as if these would more be usage issues (Like the limit to only one tag provider).
Would be cool if someone could provide me with a few pointers to how to update my modules to work on Edge too.
Chris
No, there's nothing that needs to be done on a technical level.
Third party modules simply aren't allowed on Edge by default. You have to work with somebody from IA (sales? sales engineering?) to see if you can be given an exception or not.
When/if you are allowed, a key point is that you cannot issue a license key for Edge. 3rd parties have to have their license info injected into the Edge platform key, which is not possible with the showcase API. IA has to do it for you.
When I was approved last year, I was told an API option would only be considered if sales volumes became significant. (I read that as "annoying for IA to handle manually".) Working on it. (:
Edge is a touchy subject, because its price point inspires lots of attempts to subvert the platform limitations, especially the time limit on history. Or complaints/whinging about not being able to subvert the limits.
So … Does it make sense to get in contact? One of my beta-testers is asking for this and I do see benefits in it. Would it be possible to get this approval for some tests (like max 10)?
How do I understand your comment @pturmel ? I cannot issue a license key myself using the API so I need to have someone at IA produce one that includes my plugin? Does anything change with the license validity checks in the plugin?
I can imagine that being slightly annoying for both AI and the third party vendors.
Not a hard prediction, but I don't imagine you will get Edge permission until:
Your module is displayed in IA's Module Showcase, which will mean
You've used the Showcase Licensing API to configure how it is displayed and gained experience generating license keys for your non-free module(s),
Which will also mean IA has reviewed your module embedded EULA,
You have acquired some public history of supporting your modules in practice.
Unfortunately, the licensing API tool for Vision is not maintained at the moment, and the Perspective-based alternative is not very user-friendly. Making something better is on my to-do list.
You definitely should contact your IA rep to start the process of getting your modules into the Showcase.