Question How to split a large application

[Rossmc]

I have a large financial application which I am migrating to VB.NET

It has two main components: charting and financial statements.

I want to know if it is possible (and how) to create a main exe, and then two separate projects for the two components (as dll's?).

Then when I change the charting component I can simply modify and compile that project and send the resultant file to my users.

Is there a way to do this?

Many thanks from a newbie...

 

[Robert_Zenz]

Hello.

Yes, it is.
Simplified create one Solution, and add three projects (1 exe, 2 dlls) to it, your exe-Project will be your migrated application...from there you can copy and paste the stuff around you want to have in the other projects.
Don't forget to add the two projectsa as Reference.

Bobby

 

[Rossmc]

Hi Bobby

Thanks for the response! I have been able to get just about that far, but perhaps I should have been a little more informative.

Let's say I want one of the DLL projects to be the charting 'component' of the application. I really want to put all the forms, classes, and modules relating to charting into the DLL.

I have managed to place a form in a DLL and call it as a child of the main MDI parent window in the EXE project.

However for UI purposes there is ALOT of communication between child forms and the MDI parent form. For example as user makes changes to a chart, options on the menu and on the toolbar are enabled/disabled etc. I don't know how to do this as I cannot directly reference the parent form from code in the DLL?

Thanks again

 

[Robert_Zenz]

Right...as long as the DLL does not refer to the EXE you won't be able to access these objects.

You could use Public Events which you add/remove at runtime (AddHandler, RemoveHandler), and catch these events in the MDI Parent.

Bobby