Spellex Windows SDK Technical Support

Clarification: Differences between "Basic API" and "Windows API

The SSCE DLL contains two API "layers:" The "basic API," which contains no user-interface and is independent of any particular operating system, and the "Windows API," which is specific to Microsoft Windows. Distinctions between the two APIs is a frequent source of confusion.

If you program entirely at the basic API level, your application must take responsibility for opening a session (via SSCE_OpenSession), opening lexicons (via SSCE_OpenLex), and setting any required options (via SSCE_SetOption). Because the basic API is platform-independent, it does not read from the system registry or SSCE.INI file (which are both Windows specific).

To make integration easier for Windows developers, the SSCE DLL can automatically perform some of the basic API "housekeeping" tasks. The DLL will automatically open a session, read the SSCE.INI file (16-bit DLL) or system registry (32-bit DLL) to determine which lexicons to open and which options to set, then open those lexicons and set those options. This is described in the SSCE Programmer's guide section titled "About SSCE in the Windows environment." Because this housekeeping work is done automatically, an application can call any function in the SSCE Windows API (such as SSCE_CheckCtrlDlg) without having to perform any initialization.

An application which needs to use the basic API can take advantage of automatic housekeeping done by the SSCE DLL by using the SSCE_GetSid function. SSCE_GetSid returns the session id of the session automatically opened by the SSCE DLL. This session will have open lexicons and option settings according to the properties defined in the system registry or SSCE.INI file. This is described in the SSCE Programmer's guide section titled "How to call the basic SSCE API."

If your application calls SSCE_OpenSession itself, the opened session will initially have no lexicons open and only the default options set. You would have to call SSCE_OpenLex and SSCE_SetOption to open lexicons and set options.

If your application calls SSCE_OpenSession, it should call SSCE_CloseSession before terminating.

Your application should not call SSCE_CloseSession to close the session id returned by SSCE_GetSid. The SSCE DLL will automatically close the session when your application terminates.