C++ SDK Configuration and Usage

15min
C++ SDK allows implementing licensing in two ways:
- using the License and LicenseManager classes;
- using the LicenseHandler class.
LicenseHandler encapsulates License and LicenseManager functionality. By default, it is exceptions-free, but you can enable exceptions. It's up to you whether to use LicenseManager and License directly or use this class. LicenseHandler is also useful for Unreal Engine clients because it is free of memory access violation problems due to runtime conflicts with UE.
This article has code samples for both approaches. In the other ones, we will demonstrate  SDK usage only with LicenseManager and License. LicenseHandler class has methods corresponding to License/LicenseManager functionality. 
See also our Error Handling﻿ tutorial.
Configuration
To initialize the SDK you will need to fill in your application name and version, LicenseSpring API key, shared key and product code.
Both the API key and shared key can be found on your LicenseSpring account under Settings->Keys:
API and Shared Key Location
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Your product code is located in your product list under Configure Products:
Product Code Location
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Please, keep in mind that the product code field is case-sensitive. 
When you have the necessary values, create the configuration.
C++
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std::string AppName = "My LicenseSpring Application";
std::string AppVersion = "1.0.0";
std::string ApiKey = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string SharedKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string ProductCode = "XX";

auto configuration = LicenseSpring::Configuration::Create( ApiKey, SharedKey, ProductCode, AppName, AppVersion );
std::string AppName = "My LicenseSpring Application";
std::string AppVersion = "1.0.0";
std::string ApiKey = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string SharedKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string ProductCode = "XX";

auto configuration = LicenseSpring::Configuration::Create( ApiKey, SharedKey, ProductCode, AppName, AppVersion );
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Now you can initialize LicenseManager or LicenseHandler using this configuration object.
LicenseManager
LicenseHandler
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auto licenseManager = LicenseManager::create( configuration );
auto licenseManager = LicenseManager::create( configuration );
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License Activation
The license keys are located in Licenses section:
License Key Location
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To implement user-based licensing please refer to: User-Based Licensing﻿.
To activate a license, create a LicenseID using the given key and call activation method.
LicenseManager
LicenseHandler
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 auto licenseId = LicenseID::fromKey( "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" );
 auto license = licenseManager->activateLicense( licenseId );
 auto licenseId = LicenseID::fromKey( "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" );
 auto license = licenseManager->activateLicense( licenseId );
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The process of activating a license refers to binding a device to a license. On the LicenseSpring platform, activating the license increments the total activations counter within the license.
Local License
The local license is a copy of the license information that is saved on the end user's local computer. Users who have not activated the license on their end before will not have a local license. By default, the local license is stored: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\LicenseSpring\”Product Code”\License.key.
See Local License File﻿ for more information.
If a device already has a license, and you try to activate another license on that device, for the same product, that newly activated license will override the existing license, deleting it from the device. This will be on the developer to make sure that they check if a license exists on the device before a new activation:
LicenseManager
LicenseHandler
|
auto license = licenseManager->getCurrentLicense();
if( license == nullptr )
    //activate a new license
auto license = licenseManager->getCurrentLicense();
if( license == nullptr )
    //activate a new license
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License Check
It is recommended to perform a local license check at application start to confirm that the local license file belongs to the current device and has not been transferred. 
It is also useful to check whether the local license file has been tampered with and whether the local license is still valid. 
License
LicenseHandler
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license->localCheck();
//throws exceptions in case of errors
license->localCheck();
//throws exceptions in case of errors
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The local check can produce the following errors:
Exception
Error code
Reason
LicenseStateException
eLicenseDisabled
eLicenseInactive
eLicenseExpired
License is in invalid state (disabled, epired or inactive)
ProductMismatchException
eProductMismatchError
License does not belong to configured product
DeviceNotLicensedException
eDeviceError
License does not belong to current device
ClockTamperedException
eClockTamperedError
Detected cheating with system clock
Online license check refreshes the local license with the data from LicenseSpring backend:
License
LicenseHandler
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license->check();
//throws exceptions in case of errors
license->check();
//throws exceptions in case of errors
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The online check can produce the following errors:
Exception
Error code
Reason
LicenseStateException
eLicenseDisabled
eLicenseInactive
eLicenseExpired
License is disabled, was reset or expired
DeviceNotLicensedException
DeviceBlacklistedException
eDeviceError
eDeviceBlacklisted
License does not belong to current device or the device was blacklisted
NoInternetException
NetworkTimeoutException
LicenseServerException
eNoInternetError
eNetworkTimeoutError
eServerError
Connection-related errors: if there's no Internet or an internal server error occured.
This method also returns the most recent InstallationFile available for the license which can be useful for managing software updates. 
For more information about managing software updates, see Handling Product Versions﻿.
You can also check for active, valid, enabled, and expired licenses using isActive, isValid, isEnabled, and isExpired methods respectively. 
Note that an active license does not necessarily mean a license is valid. A valid license means the license is active, enabled, and not expired. An active license means that the license is bound to a device, but may also be disabled or expired.
Full Code Sample
Below you can find a code sample that initializes the SDK, retrieves a local license or activates a new one, and performs the necessary checks.
LicenseManager
LicenseHandler
|
std::string AppName = "My LicenseSpring Application";
std::string AppVersion = "1.0.0";
std::string ApiKey = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string SharedKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string ProductCode = "XX";

auto configuration = LicenseSpring::Configuration::Create( ApiKey, SharedKey, ProductCode, AppName, AppVersion );
try
{
    auto licenseManager = LicenseManager::create( configuration );
    auto license = licenseManager->getCurrentLicense();
    if( license == nullptr )
    {
        auto licenseId = LicenseID::fromKey( "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" );
        license = licenseManager->activateLicense( licenseId );
    }
    license->localCheck();
    license->check();
}
catch( const LicenseSpringException& ex )
{
    std::cout << "LicenseSpring exception encountered: " << ex.what();
}
std::string AppName = "My LicenseSpring Application";
std::string AppVersion = "1.0.0";
std::string ApiKey = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string SharedKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx";
std::string ProductCode = "XX";

auto configuration = LicenseSpring::Configuration::Create( ApiKey, SharedKey, ProductCode, AppName, AppVersion );
try
{
    auto licenseManager = LicenseManager::create( configuration );
    auto license = licenseManager->getCurrentLicense();
    if( license == nullptr )
    {
        auto licenseId = LicenseID::fromKey( "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" );
        license = licenseManager->activateLicense( licenseId );
    }
    license->localCheck();
    license->check();
}
catch( const LicenseSpringException& ex )
{
    std::cout << "LicenseSpring exception encountered: " << ex.what();
}
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License Deactivation
Deactivating a license unbinds the device from the license, and decrements the number of total activations. Depending on the license transfer policy, this usually means that the license is freed up to be activated onto a new device. Deactivating is done using the following method:
License
LicenseHandler
|
if( license->deactivate() )
    std::cout << "License deactivated successfully.";
if( license->deactivate() )
    std::cout << "License deactivated successfully.";
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The License::deactivate() method allows to specify whether you want to remove the local license file after the deactivation. Set the removeLocalData parameter to true if you want the local files to be removed.
Updated 15 Sep 2023
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exception	Error code	Reason
LicenseStateException	eLicenseDisabled eLicenseInactive eLicenseExpired	License is in invalid state (disabled, epired or inactive)
ProductMismatchException	eProductMismatchError	License does not belong to configured product
DeviceNotLicensedException	eDeviceError	License does not belong to current device
ClockTamperedException	eClockTamperedError	Detected cheating with system clock