This guide is for Pro API version 7.67 and later.
The Pro API is a suite of functions that you integrate into your own applications. Once successfully integrated, Pro takes partial address information that you type in and returns a full, valid address.
To get started with Pro API, you must first install Pro API and the data that you have been supplied with. You will need a valid licence key to complete the installation.
The basic steps you should take for a successful integration are:
Understand how Pro searches:
This should provide an understanding of how Pro searches and clarify the values that are returned by some of the API functions.
Run the Test Harnesses:
Running one of the test harnesses supplied with the API should verify that you have installed the API correctly. It will also give you an idea of what Pro API can do, and the type of results it can produce.
Refer to the Pseudocode and Sample Code:
The Pseudocode example demonstrates a possible interpretation of the API functions. Sample are available in C and Visual Basic.
Use the API Functions:
You should choose whether the Primary API or the User Interface API is best suited to your requirements.
If you are running Windows, and the Pro front-end meets your input and output requirements, it is recommended that you integrate the User Interface API. This is the easiest method of gaining maximum functionality with the minimum of effort, as programming with these functions is simpler.
Pro User Interface API can be integrated with a minimum of five functions:
These functions start up and shut down the Pro API, perform searches and return full addresses. If you wish to provide additional functionality, such as viewing and selecting address layouts and datasets, the appropriate functions can be added to your program.
The User Interface API is available for Windows Server 2012 64-bit, Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit, Windows 7 Professional SP1 and Windows 10 64-bit.
If, however, you need to use your own front-end screens, or you are running UNIX, you should integrate the Pro Primary API.
The Pro Primary API provides you with the functionality you need to integrate Pro seamlessly into your application. It is up to you how searches are performed and results are returned, and you are responsible for any user interface that is required. Although these functions require more programming on your part, they also give you great flexibility in integrating the API.
Even if you choose to integrate the Pro Primary API, you might find it useful to look at the sample code provided for the User Interface API, to get an idea of the available functionality.
The Pro Primary API is available for Windows Server 2012 64-bit, Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit, Windows 7 Professional SP1, Windows 10 64-bit and UNIX.
It is recommended that you integrate the API in stages, beginning with the QA_Open, QA_Close and QA_Shutdown functions, followed by address search and retrieval facilities. Any other functions can be added in the appropriate places.
You should also make use of the system functions, especially QAErrorMessage and QAErrorLevel or QA_ErrorMessage. These functions enable you to see the description and severity of any errors that occur and as such should be called after any function that has returned an error.
When you wish to run your integrated application, you should ensure that the following files are in the same directory as the application executable.
Primary API | UI API |
---|---|
qaworld.ini - Pro API configuration file | qaworld.ini - Pro API configuration file |
qawserve.ini - Data file locations and other application configuration settings | qawserve.ini - Data file locations and other application configuration settings |
qaupied.dll (32bit)/qaupigd.dll (64bit) - Pro API DLL | qauwved.dll (32bit)/qauwvgd.dll (64bit) - Pro API DLL |
qalcl.dat - Locale information file | qalcl.dat - Locale information file |
qalicn.ini - Licence information file | qalicn.ini - Licence information file |
Configure your API:
Before running your integrated API, you need to give Pro API the following information:
You can test your integration by trying some of the search examples provided in the Data Guide for your dataset.