I am looking into TAPI-enabling our software application that we develop and sell. I am a little hesitant to jump into this since it appears that TAPI hasn't moved forward in awhile. Is Microsoft going to move TAPI to .NET or continue its development at all? I would hate to start a major project like this to have it end up dead.
The thing you have to consider is that if you don't offer a TAPI interface what alternatives do you have?
CSTA is one option.
Another option is to provide a proprietary interface. for example, Mitel provide an SDK which developers can purchase and develop CTI programs - but obviously they will only work with Mitel PBX's.
It depends where you anticipate your market. If your PBX is destined to be used in call centres then CSTA could be a good option. If your PBX is general purpose then I would advise TAPI is the way to go.
Or if you want to make the interface to your PBX closed then a proprietary interface.
The proprietary interfaces tend to be C API's.
Note that none of these options tend to be .NET friendly. .NET developers would need a wrapper around all these interfaces. As would Java developers.
There is often a disparity between what developers want (flexibility, easy, low cost) and what PBX vendors want (making money out of developers, tie developers in, etc).
> I am looking into TAPI-enabling our software application that we develop and > sell. I am a little hesitant to jump into this since it appears that TAPI > hasn't moved forward in awhile. Is Microsoft going to move TAPI to .NET or > continue its development at all? I would hate to start a major project like > this to have it end up dead.
> I am looking into TAPI-enabling our software application that we develop and > sell. I am a little hesitant to jump into this since it appears that TAPI > hasn't moved forward in awhile. Is Microsoft going to move TAPI to .NET or > continue its development at all? I would hate to start a major project like > this to have it end up dead.
Brent, in addition to Angus' reply from the telephgony feature aspect TAPI2 seems to be pretty complete. TAPI3 has some TAPI2 features missing, on the other side it has an additional meadia access concept. See my TAPI and TSPI FAQ:
AFAIK MS won't do any new feature development but only maintainence (bugs, security). But TAPI is still available in all Windows versions from Win 3.11 to Vista / Windows Server 2008, and I expect at least TAPI2 being available in future OS.
Regarding TAPI and .NET see KB article "841712 - Telephony Application Programming Interface (TAPI) functionality is not supported from managed code". See my TAPI and TSPI FAQ: Q: Are there any .NET wrappers for TAPI2 available ? http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm#_Q:_A...
Andreas, thanks for the reply. Seems like unless you are dealing with one manufacturer and phone system, it can get a little hairy. I will keep digging and see if it's a viable project.
By the way, most of the links on your site that link to Microsoft have changed. If I do a search, I can find the referenced pages, but the links are broken.
> "Brent" <notha...@noemail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag > news:eKekwUWzIHA.2184@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> I am looking into TAPI-enabling our software application that we develop >> and >> sell. I am a little hesitant to jump into this since it appears that TAPI >> hasn't moved forward in awhile. Is Microsoft going to move TAPI to .NET >> or >> continue its development at all? I would hate to start a major project >> like >> this to have it end up dead.
> Brent, in addition to Angus' reply > from the telephgony feature aspect TAPI2 seems to be pretty complete. > TAPI3 has some TAPI2 features missing, on the other side it has an > additional > meadia access concept. > See my TAPI and TSPI FAQ:
> AFAIK MS won't do any new feature development but only maintainence (bugs, > security). > But TAPI is still available in all Windows versions from Win 3.11 to Vista > / > Windows Server 2008, > and I expect at least TAPI2 being available in future OS.
> Regarding TAPI and .NET see KB article "841712 - Telephony Application > Programming Interface (TAPI) functionality is not supported from managed > code". > See my TAPI and TSPI FAQ: > Q: Are there any .NET wrappers for TAPI2 available ? > http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm#_Q:_A...
> -- > Best Regards > Andreas Marschall > Microsoft MVP for TAPI / Windows SDK > TAPI / TSP Developer and Tester > My TAPI and TSPI FAQ: > http://www.I-B-A-M.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm > My TotoŽ Tools (a collection of free, mostly TAPI related tools): > http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_Toto_Tools.htm > TAPI development around the world (Frappr! map): > http://www.frappr.com/TAPIaroundTheWorld > * Please post all messages and replies to the newsgroup so all may > * benefit from the discussion. Private mail is usually not replied to. > * This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no > rights.
> Andreas, thanks for the reply. Seems like unless you are dealing with one > manufacturer and phone system, it can get a little hairy. I will keep > digging and see if it's a viable project.
Brent, you are welcome. In theory TAPI is an abstraction layer between the device and the app, but this concetpt actually works only for basic features. Advanced features that are more or less unique to a device / PBX may need special handling, at least special attention. In all cases it is highly recommended to test and a TAPI with all relevant TSPs (devices / PBXs).
> By the way, most of the links on your site that link to Microsoft have > changed. If I do a search, I can find the referenced pages, but the links > are broken.
Thanks for the hint with MS link issue within my FAQ. I will address this with the next update.
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