Hydra vNext: New features

antonk · December 22, 2020, 4:54pm

This topic will contain brief information about interesting new features, significant bugfixes and breaking changes in the next releases of Hydra.

antonk · December 22, 2020, 6:03pm

New feature: Custom App.config support for .NET plugins loaded by Delphi hosts

Currently .NET plugins use default App.config file that should be bundled with the host .exe. This is a major issue in case App.config should contain assembly rebinding configuration (a very common case for projects using NuGet packages) or framework configuration (WCF / EF / etc). Main issue is that it was not possible to use different .config files for different plugins.

Starting next release the following approach will be used for App.config configuration files handling:

If a .NET plugin is loaded into a custom .NET domain and there is a file named [plugin assembly name].config (f.e. MyPlugin.dll.config) then this configuration file will be applied. Each .NET plugin loaded into a custom .NET domain can use its own App.config file
If a .NET plugin is loaded into the default .NET domain and there is a file named Hydra Global AppDomain.config then this configuration file will be applied. Note: Due to platform restrictions only one .config file can be used for the default .NET domain. So only one .config file will be applied.
If no custom App.config files are provided then the default .config file named [host exe name].config (f.e. DelphiHostapp.exe.config) will be used. This file should be placed next to the host .exe file. Its settings are applied to all plugins loaded by the host. Configuration is applied when the first .NET plugin is loaded and cannot be changed afterwards. This is the current behavior that remains unchanged.

EvgenyK · March 15, 2021, 6:14pm

Delphi only, since v1265

breaking change: Library was refactored and unit names were renamed and divided by logical namespaces.
- VCL interfaces now have VCL prefix, i.e. IHYVisualPlugin => IHYVCLVisualPlugin, etc
  old interfaces names are provided for backward compatibility as aliases.

alias table

  IHYControl = IHYVCLControl;
  IHYHost = IHYVCLHost;
  IHYHostAware = IHYVCLHostAware;
  IHYImage = IHYVCLImage;
  IHYInstanceCounting = IHYVCLInstanceCounting;
  IHYMenuController = IHYVCLMenuController;
  IHYMenuItem = IHYVCLMenuItem;
  IHYModuleController = IHYVCLModuleController;
  IHYNonVisualPlugin = IHYVCLNonVisualPlugin;
  IHYObjectReference = IHYVCLObjectReference;
  IHYPlugin = IHYVCLPlugin;
  IHYServicePlugin = IHYVCLServicePlugin;
  IHYSubImageList = IHYVCLSubImageList;
  IHYToolbar = IHYVCLToolbar;
  IHYToolbarController = IHYVCLToolbarController;
  IHYToolbarItem = IHYVCLToolbarItem;
  IHYUpdateableController = IHYVCLUpdateableController;
  IHYVisualPlugin = IHYVCLVisualPlugin;

- At opening project in IDE, old units started with uHY* in uses section will be replaced with new names.

units' renaming table

old unit name	new unit name
Hydra_Core_Reg.pas	Hydra.Core.Reg.pas
Hydra_DX_Reg.pas	Hydra.DX.Reg.pas
Hydra_FMX_Reg.pas	Hydra.FMX.Reg.pas
Hydra_RO_Reg.pas	Hydra.RO.Reg.pas
Hydra_TB2K_Reg.pas	Hydra.TB2K.Reg.pas
Hydra_VCL_Reg.pas	Hydra.VCL.Reg.pas
uHYActions.pas	Hydra.VCL.Actions.pas
uHYAutoUpdateClient.pas	Hydra.RO.AutoUpdateClient.pas
uHYBaseCrossPlatformPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Core.BasePluginWrapper.pas
uHYBaseModule.pas	<deleted>
uHYBaseModule_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.HostWrapper.pas
uHYBaseModuleManager.pas	Hydra.Core.BaseModuleManager.pas
uHYCLRHelpers.pas	Hydra.Managed.Helpers.pas
uHYCLRManagedModuleController.pas	Hydra.VCL.ManagedModuleController.pas
uHYCLRManagedPluginFactories.pas	<deleted>
uHYCLRmscoree_TLB.pas	Hydra.Managed.mscoree_TLB.pas
uHYCLRmscorlib_TLB.pas	Hydra.Managed.mscorlib_TLB.pas
uHYCLRWrappers.pas	Hydra.Managed.Wrappers.pas
uHYConsts.pas	Hydra.Core.Consts.pas
uHYCrossPlatformDescriptorWrapper.pas	Hydra.Core.CrossPlatformDescriptorWrapper.pas
uHYCrossPlatformHostWrapper.pas	Hydra.Core.HostWrapper.pas
uHYCrossPlatformInterfaces.pas	Hydra.Core.Interfaces.pas
uHYCrossPlatformModule.pas	Hydra.Core.Module.pas
uHYCrossPlatformModuleController.pas	Hydra.Core.ModuleController.pas
uHYCrossPlatformNonVisualPlugin.pas	Hydra.Core.NonVisualPlugin.pas
uHYCrossPlatformNonVisualPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Core.NonVisualPluginWrapper.pas
uHYCrossPlatformPlugin.pas	Hydra.Core.Plugin.pas
uHYCrossPlatformPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Core.PluginWrapper.pas
uHYCrossPlatformVisualPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Core.VisualPluginWrapper.pas
uHYD5Helpers.pas	<deleted>
uHYD5MSXML_TLB.pas	<deleted>
uHYDXUI.pas	Hydra.DX.UI.pas
uHYEntryPoints.pas	<deleted>
uHYEnumProcs.pas	Hydra.Core.EnumProcs.pas
uHYFileUtils.pas	Hydra.RO.FileUtils.pas
uHYFireMonkeyModule.pas	Hydra.VCL.FireMonkeyModule.pas
uHYFireMonkeyModule_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.FireMonkeyModule.pas
uHYFireMonkeyPluginFactories.pas	<deleted>
uHYFireMonkeyPluginWrappers_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.FireMonkeyPluginWrappers.pas
uHYFMXCrossPlatformPluginPanel.pas	<deleted>
uHYFMXCrossPlatformPluginWrapper.pas	<deleted>
uHYGDIPlus.pas	Hydra.Core.GDIPlus.pas
uHYInterfaceHelpers.pas	Hydra.Core.FakeIDispatch.pas
uHYIntf.pas	Hydra.VCL.Interfaces.pas
uHYIntf_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.Interfaces.pas
uHYJarClassDescriptor.pas	Hydra.Java.JarClassDescriptor.pas
uHYJavaBridge.pas	Hydra.Java.Bridge.pas
uHYJavaEnvironment.pas	Hydra.Java.Environment.pas
uHYJavaInterfaces.pas	Hydra.Java.Interfaces.pas
uHYJavaModule.pas	Hydra.VCL.JavaModule.pas
uHYJavaModule_FMX.pas	Hydra.Core.JavaModule.pas
uHYJavaModuleController.pas	Hydra.Java.ModuleController.pas
uHYJavaNativeInterface.pas	Hydra.Java.NativeInterface.pas
uHYJavaNonVisualPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Java.NonVisualPluginWrapper.pas
uHYJavaPluginDescriptor.pas	Hydra.Java.PluginDescriptor.pas
uHYJavaPluginFactory.pas	<deleted>
uHYJavaPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Java.PluginWrapper.pas
uHYJavaTypes.pas	Hydra.Java.Types.pas
uHYJavaVisualPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.Java.VisualPluginWrapper.pas
uHYJavaVM.pas	Hydra.Java.VM.pas
uHYLocalService.pas	Hydra.RO.LocalService.pas
uHYManagedDescriptor.pas	Hydra.Managed.Descriptor.pas
uHYManagedModule.pas	Hydra.VCL.ManagedModule.pas
uHYManagedModule_FMX.pas	Hydra.Core.ManagedModule.pas
uHYManagedSupport.pas	Hydra.Managed.Support.pas
uHYModuleController.pas	Hydra.VCL.ModuleController.pas
uHYModuleController_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.ModuleController.pas
uHYModuleManager.pas	Hydra.VCL.ModuleManager.pas
uHYModuleManager_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.ModuleManager.pas
uHYNativePanel_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.NativePanel.pas
uHYNonVisualPlugin.pas	Hydra.VCL.NonVisualPlugin.pas
uHYNonVisualPlugin_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.NonVisualPlugin.pas
uHYPluginControlsRepository.pas	Hydra.VCL.PluginControlsRepository.pas
uHYPluginDescriptors.pas	Hydra.Core.PluginDescriptors.pas
uHYPluginFactories.pas	Hydra.VCL.PluginFactories.pas
uHYPluginHelpers_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.PluginHelpers.pas
uHYRes.pas	Hydra.Core.Res.pas
uHYRODLReader.pas	Hydra.RO.RODLReader.pas
uHYROFactory.pas	Hydra.RO.VCL.Factory.pas
uHYROIntf.pas	Hydra.RO.Intf.pas
uHYROModuleManager.pas	Hydra.RO.VCL.ModuleManager.pas
uHYSilverlight_TLB.pas	Hydra.Silverlight.TLB.pas
uHYSilverlightModule.pas	Hydra.VCL.SilverlightModule.pas
uHYSilverlightModule_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.SilverlightModule.pas
uHYSilverlightModuleController.pas	Hydra.Silverlight.ModuleController.pas
uHYSilverlightPluginControl.pas	Hydra.VCL.SilverlightPluginControl.pas
uHYSilverlightPluginFactories.pas	Hydra.Silverlight.PluginDescriptor.pas
uHYSilverlightPluginWrappers.pas	Hydra.VCL.SilverlightPluginWrappers.pas
uHYSilverlightPluginWrappers_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.SilverlightPluginWrappers.pas
uHYStdVCLUI.pas	Hydra.VCL.StdVCLUI.pas
uHYTB2KUI.pas	Hydra.TB2K.UI.pas
uHYUnmanagedCrossPlatformModule.pas	Hydra.VCL.UnmanagedModule.pas
uHYUnmanagedCrossPlatformPluginDescriptor.pas	Hydra.Core.UnmanagedPluginDescriptor.pas
uHYUnmanagedCrossPlatformRegisteredPlugin.pas	Hydra.Core.UnmanagedRegisteredPlugin.pas
uHYUnmanagedModule_FMX.pas	Hydra.Core.UnmanagedModule.pas
uHYUserInterface.pas	Hydra.VCL.UserInterface.pas
uHYUserProfile.pas	Hydra.VCL.UserProfile.pas
uHYVCLControlAsNonVisualPlugin.pas	Hydra.VCL.ControlAsNonVisualPlugin.pas
uHYVCLControlAsVisualPlugin.pas	Hydra.VCL.VisualPluginWrapper
uHYVCLCrossPlatformNonVisualPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.VCL.NonVisualPluginWrapper.pas
uHYVCLCrossPlatformPanel.pas	Hydra.VCL.CrossPlatformPanel.pas
uHYVCLCrossPlatformPluginFactories.pas	Hydra.VCL.CrossPlatformPluginFactories.pas
uHYVCLCrossPlatformPluginHostWrapper.pas	Hydra.VCL.HostWrapper.pas
uHYVCLCrossPlatformPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.VCL.PluginWrapper.pas
uHYVCLCrossPlatformVisualPluginWrapper.pas	Hydra.VCL.VisualPluginWrapper.pas
uHYVCLJavaModule.pas	<deleted>
uHYVCLModule.pas	Hydra.VCL.VCLModule.pas
uHYVisualPlugin.pas	Hydra.VCL.VisualPlugin.pas
uHYVisualPlugin_FMX.pas	Hydra.FMX.VisualPlugin.pas

Also we provide ...\Hydra for Delphi\Bin\HYConvert.exe utility that performs such replacing in batch mode.

HYConvert syntax

Hydra Converter for Delphi platform
RemObjects Hydra Conversion Utility - Version 0.1

Syntax:
HYConvert [/wait] [/nobackup] [/s] /folder:
HYConvert [/wait] [/nobackup] <filename1> [<filename2> […]]

The specified filenames can be the .pas, .dpr or .dpk

The optional switchs:
‘wait’ - waits ‘Enter’ for continue
‘s’ - allows to process subfolders
‘nobackup’ - disables creating .bak files

new feature: Java non-visual plugins are supported by Linux and OSX platforms

the HYD\Java plugin sample shows this feature.

new feature: Remoting SDK service plugins are supported by all frameworks (None, VCL, FMX)

new syntax is

RegisterServicePlugin('PluginService');

old VCL syntax is

  THYROFactory.Create(HInstance,
    TROClassFactory.Create('SecondModuleService', Create_SecondModuleService, TSecondModuleService_Invoker)  
  );

Note: both syntaxes are supported.

new feature: Remoting SDK service plugins are supported by Linux and OSX platforms

These samples show this feature:

the Remoting SDK Modular Server sample
the Remoting SDK Plugin Server sample

minor feature: new component: THYSimpleModuleController

this component is designed for using in cross-platform plugins.
if you need to access to VCL interfaces (like IHYVCLHost, etc), use the THYVCLModuleController component

minor feature: new component: THYSimpleModuleManager

this component is designed for loading non-visual cross-platform plugins with minimal overhead.
loaded plugins can be accessible via IHYCrossPlatformNonVisualPlugin.
supports Remoting SDK service plugins.

minor feature: new component: THYVCLSimpleModuleManager

this component is designed for loading cross-platform plugins with minimal overhead.
loaded plugins can be accessible via IHYCrossPlatformNonVisualPlugin and IHYCrossPlatformVisualPlugin.
supports Remoting SDK service plugins.

minor feature: Wizard allows to create console applications and non-visual plugins with none framework.

it is usable for creating host and non-visual/Remoting SDK service plugins for Linux and OSX platforms.

EvgenyK · March 16, 2021, 1:16pm

5 posts were split to a new topic: Hydra vNext: New Features - Discussion

claudio.piffer · March 15, 2021, 9:22pm

EvgenyK WOW!!!

EvgenyK · March 22, 2021, 10:13am

6.3.0.1267 was released last week.

Note: this build requires RO/DA 10.0.0.1505+ for proper generation of service modules (*_Impl.pas).

EvgenyK · November 23, 2021, 12:37pm

New feature: Delphi Host can load COM plugins

THYBaseModuleManager (and his descendants) can load COM plugins.
usage:

ModuleManager.LoadModule('{C590127E-FCBB-4FBA-A6A6-3BF2C5F7D359}');

or

ModuleManager.LoadComModule('{C590127E-FCBB-4FBA-A6A6-3BF2C5F7D359}');

where is {C590127E-FCBB-4FBA-A6A6-3BF2C5F7D359} - guid of COM object.

COM object have to support IHYCrossPlatformModule interface.

New feature: Delphi templates allow to generate COM plugins

New plugin modules are generated from template contain COM_PLUGIN definition that allows to use them as COM plugins:

{.$DEFINE COM_PLUGIN}

After you uncomment above definition and build plugin, you have to register it with regsvr32.exe and admin rights as

C:\Windows\System32\regsvr32.exe <fullname_with_path>

or

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe <fullname_with_path>

depending on your platform.

Plugin contains Class_HydraComServer guid constant that should be used for loading this COM plugin

Note: since .1281

EvgenyK · November 24, 2021, 10:06am

Island COM plugin example - island-complugin.zip (3.1 KB).

Note: should be registered with admin rights:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe <fullname_with_path>

requires the latest Island snapshot or Elements .2693+.

EvgenyK · November 30, 2021, 8:59am

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Hydra vNext: New Features - Discussion

antonk · December 7, 2021, 3:42pm

Major feature: .NET Core / .NET 5+ plugins

Next Hydra release will provide support for .NET Core / .NET 5+ - based plugins, including Non-Visual, Visual WinForms and Visual WPF plugins

https://docs.hydra4.com/Plugins/VisualPlugin_NETCore_WinForms/
https://docs.hydra4.com/Plugins/VisualPlugin_NETCore_WPF/
https://docs.hydra4.com/Plugins/NonVisualPlugin_NETCore/

EvgenyK · August 4, 2022, 3:05pm

since .1297
Feature: Linux platform is supported by Hydra for Island.

untitled

EvgenyK · March 20, 2024, 12:10pm

since .1333

feature: NET Core host

limitation: Silverlight plugins aren’t supported by .NET Core host

EvgenyK · August 8, 2024, 9:15am

since .1341

feature: NET Core project templates were added

it simplify creation of hosts and plugins

feature: NET host can load COM plugins

usage:

ModuleManager.LoadComModule("E4D10888-B166-488D-9E62-A0F365F35910");

or

ModuleManager.LoadModule("E4D10888-B166-488D-9E62-A0F365F35910");

where is E4D10888-B166-488D-9E62-A0F365F35910 - guid of COM object.

Note: Delphi COM plugins have to be registered with tmBoth mode:

  TComObjectFactory.Create(ComServer, THydraComServer,
       Class_HydraComServer, 'NewPluginLibrary.Library',
       'NewPluginLibrary.Library', ciMultiInstance, 
       tmBoth); //<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Known issue: .NET Core host can’t load .NET Core COM plugins. System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x800080A5) exception is raised. more info at Self-contained .NET Core apps can't use .NET Core COM components · Issue #3719 · dotnet/runtime · GitHub

EvgenyK · September 26, 2024, 10:18am

Delphi only

breaking change: Hydra_RO packages of Hydra .1343 require Remoting SDK for Delphi .1597+