PowerTCP Sockets for .NET
Licensing and Trial Operation



Application Licensing

Dart provides flexible licensing that allows users to test our products before purchase. A free "30-day Trial License" allows unrestricted use for 30 days. Product dlls are provided for the .NET Framework and .NET Standard 2.0, which use different licensing techniques:

The licenses.licx File

Projects that reference a .NET Framework dll require a licenses.licx file in the executing assembly’s project, containing an entry for each licensed class (only one is necessary for each Dart dll). Without the licenses.licx, a runtime license will not be generated and compiled into the assembly, and a license exception will be thrown at runtime.

When a licensed control or component is added to a project using the Visual Studio designer, a licenses.licx file will be automatically generated if one does not already exist, and an entry for the class added.

When developing an assembly with no design surface such as a console application, or when instantiating a licensed class in code, the licenses.licx file must be added manually. If a licenses.licx file is not present in the project, add a new text file named "licenses.licx" to the project (not the solution) from the Solution Explorer. Add a single line to the licenses.licx that includes the fully-specified class name and the assembly name, separated by a comma. For example:

Dart.Sockets.Tcp, Dart.Sockets

Dart.Sockets.Tcp, Dart.Sockets.45

or

Dart.Sockets.Tcp, Dart.Sockets.Standard

Web Site Projects

Web Site projects include an App_Licenses.dll that must be rebuilt when changes are made to the licenses.licx file or when migrating from trial to licensed operation. The App_Licenses.dll can be rebuilt by right-clicking on the licenses.licx file in the Solution Explorer and selecting the "Rebuild Runtime Licenses" option.

Powershell and other Scripting Environments

Because PowerShell does not execute compiled code and its scripts are generally modifiable by end users, a development or trial license is required on any machine executing scripts. If an environment other than PowerShell is being used or another distribution method is desired, please contact support@dart.com for additional options.

Other .NET Framework Development Environments

For compilation environments that do not recognize the licenses.licx file, a license resource may be generated with the .NET or MONO lc.exe utility on a licensed machine and added to the project as an embedded resource, or linked during compilation using the appropriate resource switch. For specific instructions, check with the environment's manufacturer.

Development Platform Licensing

Trial Operation

Dart components include a 30-day introductory trial period, which starts the first time a project referencing a .NET Framework dll is compiled, or the time the .NET Standard trial license is generated. With the exception of trial messages and trial runtime license expiration exceptions, runtime trial operation is the same as licensed operation. 

A 30-day runtime license will be embedded in assemblies compiled during the trial period. After 30 days, Dart classes will throw an exception and the assembly will no longer function.

A trial installation can be licensed by purchasing and activating a Product Key.

Licensed Operation

A Developer License is required to compile licensed assemblies. A valid Product Key is required to generate a Developer License. Each Developer License is machine and version specific; major and minor version increments (for example, 4.0, 4.1 and 5.0) require separate Product Keys and Developer Licenses, build and revision do not.

For usage of .NET Standard dlls, Dart.Sockets.License.Set(string licenseKey) must be called with the content of the 2nd line of the .dartlic file acquired during product activation. The licenseKey argument should be in the format: XXXX(P)-4.5-XXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX.

Product and license upgrades are available through the Customer Center to developers with an active subscription.

Obtaining a Developer License

On Windows, run the included license activation utility from the Activate PowerTCP Sockets for .NET 4.5 shortcut in the product's Start Menu program group. The utility will guide you through the registration and activation process. Once complete, the Developer License file will be emailed to you. Copy the dartlic file attached to the email alongside the referenced dll, or to the following location:

Program Files (x86) \ Dart \ PowerTCP Sockets for .NET \ 4.5 \ bin

This location is also accessible from the 'Binaries Folder' shortcut in the product's Start Menu program group.

Note: On UAC-enabled operating systems, the dartlic file may need to be saved to a non-UAC-protected location before copying it to the aforementioned location.

If Internet access is not available on the development machine, the activation utility provides a URL for activating the license on a machine with Internet access so that the Developer License can be retrieved and copied to the development machine.

On non-Windows operating systems, navigate here in a web browser, and follow the instructions to generate a Developer License.


Note: All compile-time licensing messages and exceptions are written to the output window.

Deployment

Dart components support xcopy deployment and do not require any files other than the component dll and compiled project assemblies.

See Also

PowerTCP Sockets for .NET Documentation Version 4.5
© 2018 Dart Communications. All Rights Reserved.
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