Link without IB API installation

[fgoal]

Hi! New to this forum and TWS Link magic app!
Before I use TWS Link, and probably some other softwares from TC, I'm just curious about the techno used. How is this possible to connect to TWS without installing the IB API package? I don't find any official doc about this kind of link without API install...

[board_admin]

Hi,
the API is only a protocol definition. Not more. Any API client, like TWSLink,
connects per TCP/IP to TWS or Gateway and sends commands according this
protocol.

If the command you send via TCP/IP is not in line with what the protocol defines,
TWS or gateway immediately closes connection.

---
The API module of IB is an ActiveX, implementing this protocol just like TWSLink.
You can use this ActiveX like you can use TWSLink. (TWSLink can be used as DLL and as COM (ActiveX)).

But TWSLink is much more comfortable and powerful. Placing an order
or many other typical API tasks are done with a few lines of code.

With IBs original ActiveX you need much more code and it has not
features like automatic reconnection, subscription control
and many other features (database support) as it has TWSLink.

---

Short TWSLink is just a more convenient and powerful version
of IBs original ActiveX API.

[fgoal]

Oh I see. TWSLink is then a substitute of the IB API dll/ocx.
What if I don't need the samples, docs, etc...Is the TWSLink installation exe required to be run, or can we simply copy and use the TWSLink2.dll ? Any other dependencies? MS redistributables?
Any .ocx or .net package of TWSLink?

[board_admin]

Hi,
you can just copy the DLL into Windows/system32 or Windows/syswow64. Depending where you need it.
But in this case, you can't use it as COM or ActiveX. Just as DLL. The setup also does a registration.