Ok, Basically I know very little about programming, but what I know so far, is how to move rename delete files, or input output data from the program I write. But here is my question. How do I get the program I make to interact with another program already written. For example, I know a program which lets me change my online status from online to offline really fast to annoy my contacts. :) Ok, Im not talking now about the nature of the program. But Ive noticed that the program that I open, when I click start. It somehow interacts with Windows live messenger, and changes me from invisible to online, then back to invisible. How does it do that??? Ive always wondered. But there are lots of examples. Where one program doesnt just open the other with a command, but actually I dunno in the GUI does something without clicking. For example In MSN I can click appear invisible. But this program can do the same thing without clicking. How is that done? I would appreciate a good explanation, and maybe a site with a few examples or tutorials. Thanks guys I really appreciate it.
How do programs interact with each other? How do I make a program which interacts with another?
Different programs interact with eachother via %26quot;Interop%26quot; services. I assume you are using Windows, so Windows Application Programming Interface is something you should research, many programs use WinAPI to exchange data with eachother. To write a tutorial on your specific issue would be pretty difficult. What this program you are describing does, is it accesses MSN's functions via API and you can create simple programs using Visual Basic or C# that access these features of MSN. You would google %26quot;Visual Studio%26quot; and you can usually download a demo, then you would have to download the extension for MSN messenger%26quot;
Here are a site,
Windows Live APIs:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/鈥?/a>
How do programs interact with each other? How do I make a program which interacts with another?
some programs have what's called an API (Application Programming Interface) which allows it to interact with other programs, however, if a program does not have an API, it can not interact with other programs on the same computer.
