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pythonwin/mapi crystal ball needed
I've had great results with Python under Linux (doing a host of CGI
chores that I was too lazy or stupid to figure out with Perl) and
am now hoping that Pythonwin can save me from the many-headed Visual
Basic dragon under windows - (nothing particular against Visual Basic
except that it kept me locked in a dungeon over holidays cursing myself
for listening to its siren song -"hey, this looks easy doesn't it - come
this way" and later getting enmeshed in its buggy coils)

Anyway I've long put off learning much about MFC/COM/MAPI because
it looked too hard, but now have to find a way to implement a MAPI
service provider (an address book). I've looked at the MAPI stuff
in the python win32all distribution and it looks pretty complete (anyway,
it looks like lots of stuff that I don't understand yet is there).

Can anyone who has entered these
swamps before predict for me whether trying to do this using Python has
a chance of success, or should I instead sit with a couple thousand
page MFC/MAPI/C++ books as being more likely to succeed (perhaps, at
finally rendering me completely insane)...

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pythonwin/mapi crystal ball needed [ In reply to ]
Gustin Kiffney wrote in message <7fnbks$ga1$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...

>Anyway I've long put off learning much about MFC/COM/MAPI because
>it looked too hard, but now have to find a way to implement a MAPI
>service provider (an address book). I've looked at the MAPI stuff
>in the python win32all distribution and it looks pretty complete (anyway,
>it looks like lots of stuff that I don't understand yet is there).

Unfortunately, Python can not do this. The MAPI support allows us to _use_
MAPI objects, whereas implementing an Address Book provider requires you to
implement them.

The only way to go this route is to enhance the MAPI support to be able to
do this. This would not be trivial - I would allow myself 1 week to do
this. However, as writing an Address Book provider is very hard, and lots
of code, I personally would probably still go this route - I think the week
invested would buy me time...

Sorry I can't be more help, or give better news...

Mark.
pythonwin/mapi crystal ball needed [ In reply to ]
Thanks, your answer is in fact very helpful, since I don't know enough about
MAPI yet to figure out which way to go (in terms of least effort). Perhaps
when I'm done I can help w/ the python extensions - if I ever return alive!

BTW, pythonwin is a very neat job. Someday I hope it will make VB go away ...

"Mark Hammond" <MHammond@skippinet.com.au> wrote:
> Gustin Kiffney wrote in message <7fnbks$ga1$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>
> >Anyway I've long put off learning much about MFC/COM/MAPI because
> >it looked too hard, but now have to find a way to implement a MAPI
> >service provider (an address book). I've looked at the MAPI stuff
> >in the python win32all distribution and it looks pretty complete (anyway,
> >it looks like lots of stuff that I don't understand yet is there).
>
> Unfortunately, Python can not do this. The MAPI support allows us to _use_
> MAPI objects, whereas implementing an Address Book provider requires you to
> implement them.
>
> The only way to go this route is to enhance the MAPI support to be able to
> do this. This would not be trivial - I would allow myself 1 week to do
> this. However, as writing an Address Book provider is very hard, and lots
> of code, I personally would probably still go this route - I think the week
> invested would buy me time...
>
> Sorry I can't be more help, or give better news...
>
> Mark.
>
>

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