Deploying a Compolet 2003 project

[Andy_P 7]

What is the correct way to deploy a Visual Basic .NET project that uses Compolet 2003, observing licensing requirements? I was told that once a project had been created, you distributed it along with a FinsGateway 2003 runtime. However, if you do this, when the project is run, warning boxes appear, saying 'This is not licensed...' etc, etc. The project does, however, run correctly after these boxes are acknowledged. These boxes do not appear on my development pc, presumably because I have Compolet 2003 installed. I can't have these boxes appearing on a customer's pc, it looks very bad. Does this mean that you have to supply a Compolet 2003 disk and fully install it, as well as a FinsGateway 2003 runtime disk? I do hope I am doing something wrong here, and that is not the case, otherwise the cost involved will be prohibitive. Hope someone can help, many thanks.

[PdL 71]

Have a look at the Compolet knowledge base, there are several articles dealing with license troubles.

[Andy_P 7]

Thanks for the link, but there are no articles relating to version 2003. The only relevant article is about version 2.0, and it doesn't say how to rectify the problem. I am having real problems finding anything on the net about this version. I am waiting for my Omron rep to give me some sort of an answer, and the lack of a reply so far is quite concerning. Does anyone have any experience with it? I can't be the only one, surely.....?! Thanks for any help anyone can give me.

[PdL 71]

Some more information. FGW2003 Compolet for .Net Languages @ MrPLC.com

[Andy_P 7]

Thanks once again for the link. These documents are included as part of the Compolet package, and they don't really say much at all about distributing a product. One of the documents states that 'The full product must be installed', meaning Compolet itself. Surely you don't have to buy and install a complete Compolet package for every project you supply to a customer? The FinsGateway runtime I can understand, but I was told that only the references to the Compolet dll's are required to satisfy licensing requirements. Have I been informed wrongly? Maybe I should ask the question differently: I have a Visual Basic .Net project, using Compolet 2003 and FinsGateway 2003. What do I have to do to send a project to a customer? I really hope someone can shed some light on this for me. Many thanks!

[PdL 71]

How is the software licensed ? Through serial, hardlock ? I hoped some of the regulars would jump in, amongst them are several Omron tech guys, who surely know the answer...

[Andy_P 7]

There is no actual physical license like a dongle, or a software license like a token disk. All there is, is the license agreement - 'Do not make illegal copies...' etc. In fact, there is nothing to stop you blatantly making a copy of the disks and never pay another penny... However - there is still this problem of the warning messag boxes being displayed, and this looks extremely unprofessional. Quote from the FGW documentation: It is the phrase 'Compolet must be installed in both the development and runtime environments' that worries me, as this is not what I was told by my Omron rep. Someone must know the answer to this! The software is dated 2003, and we are now in 2006, so it isn't a new product. Thanks for your help so far Pdl, much appreciated.

[PdL 71]

So if I understand correctly VB.net accesses the Compolet dlls directly FINS gateway is not actually installed and therefore this License agreement popup appears. Still I can't answer the intial question but have you tried running FINS gateway as well or is this even possible ?

[Andy_P 7]

No, this is how it is: On my development pc, I have installed FGW 2003 and Compolet 2003. I have created a project using VB.Net, and it works correctly without any warnings in this pc, as you would expect. When I package up this project, VB includes the required Compolet dll's in the setup package, along with any other references I have. To use this project on another pc, eg a customers, FGW must be installed first, otherwise, it completely doesn't work, with millions of errors as I would expect. When the project is installed, the Compolet dll's are copied also, into the project directory. Now, when the project is executed, I get the license warning message boxes, but as I say, after acknowledging them, the project works correctly. The message boxes say this: The project was created using legitimate Compolet and Fins Gateway software. I had been initially told that to distribute my project, I would need to buy a FinsGateway runtime disk for shipment every project, but I wouldn't need to supply a Compolet disk as well. I hope that makes the situation a little clearer for you. Thanks! Edited 2 Jan 2006 by Andy_P

[benbrad 0]

Sounds like the compolet code could be checking a registry key that isn't present. A key that is added when compolet is installed by the Omron installer program and is used to validate the authenticity of the installation. The Omron text says If you're bundling your app as an executable and not "installing" it, as Omron intended, this key won't be altered/present. I'm no wiz with VB and have never dealt with compolet, but I've played with registries before and have seen what some programs leave behind. This is just a shot in the dark, I might be barking up the wrong tree, but I'd be tempted to have a look at the development PC, record all the keys referenced to Omron/Compolet/FGW, and compare/copy them over to the customer/test PC. BACK UP THE REGISTRY BEFORE YOU ALTER ANY VALUES If it fails to do anything or does something undesirable then you can always restore the values.

[Andy_P 7]

Yes Ben, I am inclined to agree with you. I haven't tried this yet, but assuming it did work, this is really a bit of a hack, and almost certainly breaks licensing somewhere along the line. If it turns out that I have to do a complete install of the Compolet package onto customers' pc's then so be it, but I will most definitely be giving Omron some grief about this, because it is not what they told me, and they have yet to come back to me with an answer. I was told : Compolet was a one-off payment to allow development of applications, with the requirement to buy a Fins Gateway runtime for each application sold. I have never used any versions of Compolet before this one. Did previous versions have this problem? Has nobody used this version of the product at all???

[Andy_P 7]

Anybody....?

[Andy_P 7]

I have received the official response from Omron Japan, by way of my UK rep, and it is that a copy of Compolet 2003 must be bought and installed on any PC that it is to be used on. ie. You don't buy Compolet as a developement package only. It has staggered me how long it has taken for this simple question to be answered! My rep is paying me a visit on Monday, so that should be fun, as it was this guy who told me the complete opposite. It also appears that everyone in the UK has been in the complete dark about this issue. Has anyone else, anywhere in the world ever used Compolet 2003 and distributed an application that uses it to a customer? Anybody? Ever?