COM API
The COM-based API of Authentic Desktop enables other applications to use the functionality of Authentic Desktop. As a result, it is possible to automate a wide range of Authentic Desktop tasks. Authentic Desktop and the Authentic Desktop API follow the common specifications for automation servers set out by Microsoft. It is possible to access the methods and properties of the Authentic Desktop API from common development environments, such as those using C#, C++, VisualBasic, and Delphi, and with scripting languages like JScript and VBScript.
Authentic Desktop API documentation
The Authentic Desktop API documentation can be accessed here: https://www.altova.com/manual/en/api/authenticapi/index.html.
Usage
You can use external scripts to manipulate Authentic Desktop functionality. For example, you could write a script to open Authentic Desktop at a given time, then open an XML file in Authentic Desktop, validate the file, and print it out. External scripts would again make use of the Application API to carry out these tasks. For a description of the Authentic Desktop API, see its documentation.
Using the Application API from outside Authentic Desktop requires an instance of Authentic Desktop to be started first. How this is done depends on the programming language used. For information about individual languages, see the section of the API documentation called Programming Languages.
Essentially, Authentic Desktop will be started via its COM registration. Then the Application object associated with the Authentic Desktop instance is returned. Depending on the COM settings, an object associated with an already running Authentic Desktop can be returned. Any programming language that supports creation and invocation of COM objects can be used. The most common of these are listed below.
•JScript and VBScript script files have a simple syntax and are designed to access COM objects. They can be run directly from a DOS command line or with a double click on Windows Explorer. They are best used for simple automation tasks.
•C# is a full-fledged programming language that has a wide range of existing functionality. Access to COM objects can be automatically wrapped using C#..
•C++ provides direct control over COM access but requires relatively larger amounts of code than the other languages.
•Java: Altova products come with native Java classes that wrap the Application API and provide a full Java look-and-feel.
•Other programming languages that make useful alternatives are: Visual Basic for Applications, Perl, and Python.