Advanced PowerBuilder

Links

There are two types of DDE links: "Hot" and "Cold". The distinction is made depending on when the data will be sent to the client from the server.

Hot Link

When operating a hot link DDE conversation, as soon as the data changes in the server application, it is automatically sent to the client. The client requests the data only once: when it initially establishes a link to the server.

A hot link is used when you constantly want updated information from the server application. The following PowerBuilder functions are related to the hot link:

StartHotLink (location, appl_name, topic)
GetDataDDEOrigin (which_appl, what_topic, what_loc)
GetDataDDE (string)
RespondRemote (Boolean)
StopHotLink (location, appl_name, topic)

Cold Link

In a cold link conversation, data is sent from the server to the client only when the client requests it, rather than whenever the data is changed. This is useful only when the client doesn't need to be aware of the changed data immediately. However, it is processor intensive than the hot link because, the client must request data from the server every time it needs. The following PowerBuilder functions are related to the cold link:

ExecRemote (command, appl_name, topic)
GetRemote (location, target, appl_name, topic)
SetRemote (location, value, appl_name, topic)