Not a member yet ?
Register Now

Developer Information

Data Engine 2 Beta

24/05/2007 NOTE: Data Engine Version 2.0 released as a beta version.

This version has a few data format and call changes and additions which are outlined in the updated versions of the

Data Definition and the

API definition.

You can download the new engine here.

If you have a third party application, DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THIS it is intended for application developers only.

Developing for the Bettordata feed

We welcome developers of all grades to write systems based on the Subscription Data model. We are working to attract developers to the format so that a diverse range of products based on the data feed becomes available.
Home and private programmers are also most welcome and we will assist as much as time and resources allow.

Please register your project with us, just email developer@subscriptiondata.com and inform us of your project name and your contact details (name, address & phone number). After registering you are welcome to use the same address to ask for help in resolving development problems.

Please do not ask us to list products that you develop on our website as SubscriptionData.com is strictly product neutral.

Windows DLL Based API access to the data engine

SubscriptionData offers open format access to Bettordata information, where developers can obtain complete access to all programming information, code examples and data samples before purchase of a subscription is necessary.

The engine is accessed via a Windows 32Bit API called cdbdapi.dll. When invoked, this dll will look for the data engine in memory and if not found it will search for and execute the engine (cdbde.exe) and establish communications with it. The API communicates with the engine via a local loop-back TCP socket so your Windows needs TCP/IP support before the engine and API can communicate.

The server listens on port 479 by default. This can be overridden using the menu item "Setup -> Set IPC Port" in the Bettordata Engine. The protocol between the API and the engine is not documented and is subject to change.

The system includes a complete API to access all of the data that Bettordata supplies.
The complete details of the API can be found here in the API Definition..
A full description of the data is available here in the Data Definition.
These two documents together with the example code (contained in the zip file) clearly explain how to develop an application for Bettordata using the Subscription Data model.

DDE access to data (for use in Excel etc)

While the complete DDE support is available via the engine and there is an example Excel spreadsheet included with the engine and data below, the section on DDE development has not been completed. You can establish links using the DDETool dialog triggered by clicking on the DDETool menu item. As you select the data you want, example link syntax for both Excel and OpenOffice (a free alternative spreadsheet) is shown in the "Link samples" area. You can ignore this if you wish and simply select the data you want and click "Copy Link". Then from Excel (or other DDE capable software) select "Paste Special" and then "Link" to create a live link between the engine and your spreadsheet.

Set up and required file details.

To get setup :

Download the latest Bettordata Engine and unzip it to your harddrive.
Start the Bettordata Engine(cdbde.exe) and load(file -> import downloaded dayfile) the sample data file (20041102.txt) that came in the zip file.
The Bettordata Engine is now ready to send data to your application through the API.

NOTE : If you are using a decoder to receive Bettordata you will need to disconnect your aerial from your decoder before loading the sample data.

Once you have your application coded you will need to subscribe to the feed to resolve issues like timing etc as while all of the sample data is available to the engine, the current Bettordata system time will naturally not be available to time race display by.

Please note that there is no formal install for the Bettordata Engine as the files should be included in the install of your Application.
The Data Engine does not use the registry (so everything can be accessed by remote control on embedded or hands free systems).

The core of the engine (which are the minimum you will need to deploy) consists of these files :

cdbde.exe Captive Data's Bettordata Engine for SubscriptionData.com

cdbdapi.dll API to access the data in the engine

sdapi.dll Required support DLL

usbtxt.dll Required support DLL for decoder users

usbtxt.inf Required support file for decoder users

cdbde.cfg Config file This file should NOT be overwritten if you are updating

Notes: These files should be kept together in a common directory and before your application opens the DLL, change directory to this directory to ensure path problems are avoided.

Other files included that are not necessary for deployment are:

autoback.txt This is a shadow file created every three minutes by the engine to back up the data in it's RAM based database.

api.h C declarations of calls and defines used by the API

20041102.txt a sample day file (same format as autoback.txt) for the 2004 cup day

samp3st2.xls Sample spreadsheet showing basic 3 state comparison and meeting lists etc

C++ Builder/ Borland C++ Builder example application and source files

Delphi/ Borland Delphi example application and source files

VB6.0/ Microsoft Visual Basic example application and source files

Notes: This software is licensed for restricted use for development of applications based on SubscriptionData.com data feeds, to access the feeds, or to distribute with programs written to specifically utilise SubscriptionData.com data feeds only.