Hi Everyone,
I've uploaded the installers for L3DT v2.4a build 14 to the downloads pages (both Pro and Standard). Barring some major catastrophe, this version will be re-badged as release 2.4b on or about October the first.
So, what's new?
Two things really; the first is general debugging and polishing to make L3DT more stable and easier to use. The second, as I mentioned a few days ago, is the new plugin system. L3DT v2.4b will allow users to add their own load/save/import/export plugins for different file formats. This release (2.4a build 14) includes that plugin system, a few working plugins, and - in the professional installer - the source code for some of those plugins.
If you would like to try your programming skills on writing a new plugin, you will need a working familiarity with C++, and a copy of MSVC v7.0 or later (that's .NET 2002, 2003 or 2005). I have not written any documentation for the code just yet, but I have included the full source code for two of the plugins:
The Plugin API does not currently support loading/saving mosaics. This will either be included with v2.4b, or in an update shortly thereafter.
Anyway, I would really appreciate it if some users would download and try out this latest dev build. It installs and uninstalls alongside - rather than over - your current 'stable' versions of L3DT, so it should be perfectly safe to try1). I welcome any and all feedback on the plugin code too.
Cheerio, Aaron.
PS: Feedback or comments can be left in this forum thread.
Edit #1 — aaron 2006/09/22 07:18
Oops, I nearly forgot. Compiled plugins should be placed in the '[L3DT path]\Extensions' directory. Then, to load the plugin into L3DT, open the new extension manager ('utilities→extension manager'), and load your plugin using the 'load' button (you will need to re-start L3DT afterwards). Should your plugin crash during start-up (which will take-out L3DT too, as the calling process), it will automatically be disabled the next time you start L3DT. To re-enable the wayward plugin, use the 'enable' button in the extension manager.
Plugins! The next release of L3DT includes a plugin system that allows third party developers to build their own file input/output handlers for L3DT. The system is running in the latest dev-build on the downloads pages (v2.4.1.12), handling support for the X and PGM formats. Once I've shoehorned a few more features into the plugin API I will release the code for public consumption, including the source for a few example plugin DLLs. It's all in C++, by the way.
On another subject, Bundysoft is now processing sales through Kagi. They accept a greater number of payment methods than PayPal (cheques, money orders, etc), and also have a key generator system that will allow sales to be processed automatically (once I've written a key-gen for them, that is).
Anyway, that's the story up until now.
Cheers, Aaron.