If you’ve ever built a .NET application that connects to Aras Innovator®, chances are you’ve worked with the Aras IOM (Innovator Object Model) SDK. It's a powerful tool to have in your back pocket - packed full of handy classes and functions to streamline development. You just download the IOM SDK for your version of Aras Innovator and then reference the local copy in a Visual Studio project. Pretty easy, right?
It was easy... until you wanted to build an integration that supported multiple versions of Aras Innovator. Or you shared a project with a colleague who saved their local IOM.dll in a different location. Or that colleague's version of the SDK didn't match yours.
Sound familiar? Then I have good news for you!
Aras published the IOM SDK as a NuGet package, making it easier than ever to integrate with Aras Innovator in a modern development environment.
Meet the Aras IOM SDK
The Aras IOM SDK is a .NET client library that lets you connect to Aras Innovator and interact with the platform using a high-level API. It abstracts the details of SOAP and simplifies tasks like authentication, querying, and item manipulation.
If you're more familiar with the Aras REST API, you might wonder which you should use in your projects.
The IOM SDK and the REST API each offer unique advantages. Choosing between them depends on your application's specific requirements and context.
| You might use the IOM SDK if: | In contrast, the Aras REST API may be a better fit when: |
|---|---|
| You're building a custom integration or automation tool in .NET. | You're building lightweight or cross-platform applications. |
| You want synchronous or stateful behavior that REST doesn't offer. | You prefer a stateless, standard HTTP interface. |
| You're working in a Windows-native context and prefer a .NET-first approach. | You need easier integration with non-.NET tech stacks. |
| Your app should send and receive XML. | Your app should send and receive JSON. |
Both the standalone IOM SDK on NuGet and the Aras REST API are suitable for connectors and applications that need to support multiple versions of the Aras Innovator platform.
Curious about how Aras InnovatorEdge APIs stack up? You get all the benefits of the standard Aras REST API plus API key authentication and a low-code editor to publish your own custom versionable APIs.
Add the SDK to your Visual Studio project
To get started, all you need is Visual Studio and a .NET project. Here’s how to add the SDK from NuGet:
- Open your solution in Visual Studio.
- In Solution Explorer, right-click your project and select Manage NuGet Packages for Solution.
- In the Browse tab, search for
Aras.IOM - Select the package published by Aras Corporation and choose Install.
- Accept any license prompts.
That's it! No more copying DLLs by hand. You can use the package manager to check for updates and install the latest Aras.IOM release in your project.
Updating a project that uses a local IOM.dll
If you’re upgrading an existing project that has a hardcoded IOM.dll reference, here's how to switch over to the NuGet package:
- Remove the old reference:
- In Solution Explorer, right-click the
Iom.dllreference and select Remove.
- In Solution Explorer, right-click the
- Add the NuGet package:
- Follow the same steps above to install
Aras.IOMfrom NuGet.
- Follow the same steps above to install
- Rebuild your project:
- The namespace and classes remain the same, so no code changes should be required.
Takeaways
Switching your .NET projects to the Aras IOM SDK package on NuGet is an easy way to simplify resource management and improve compatibility across Aras Innovator releases.
Want to play with the SDK in the sample app shown in this post? Check out the aras-innovator-cli repo on the Aras Labs GitHub.
