FEX Core SDK — Documentation

Welcome. This is the entry point for the FEX Core SDK 1.4.2 documentation. The SDK gives you a forensic image and filesystem engine accessible through a flat C-style DLL surface. The reference example application (FexViewer) is in C#; reference examples in additional languages will land in a future patch.

Start here

You want to…	Read
Get up and running with the C# example in 15 minutes	Quick Start (C#)
Same thing in Python	Quick Start (Python)
Understand the architecture	Architecture overview
Look up a specific export	Function index

API reference (DLL)

Every customer-facing export of FEX.Core.dll (and its Linux / macOS counterparts) is documented in one of three places:

V2 API reference — recommended for all new integrations. The DLL allocates buffers, the caller frees them with FreeAllocatedBuffer. This is the default path.
V3 API reference — column-windowed extraction for huge datasets and partial-column queries. Use this when V2 would materialise more memory than you can spend, or when you only need a small subset of properties.
Function index — alphabetical "where do I look up X?" reference.

The V1 buffer-pattern surface has been retired from the public docs as of 1.4.2 — the DLL still exports it for binary compatibility but new integrations should use V2 or V3 only.

Concepts and references

Types & constants — TFileRecord, TPropertySpec, TVersionInfo, file-status flags, property type enums.
Memory management — buffer ownership rules and the three patterns. Read once before you write your first integration.
Error codes — every result code with diagnostic guidance.
License keys — how to obtain and install your license key.

Tutorials & best practices

Common workflows — step-by-step guides for typical forensic tasks.
Best practices — API selection, performance, coding patterns.

Platform & deployment

Windows dependencies — required runtime DLLs.
Linux dependencies — required .so libraries.
Troubleshooting — common problems and fixes.

Example code

Language	Path	Notes
C#	`examples/csharp/` (FexViewer)	Canonical reference for 1.4 — IntelliSense XML doc, three subcommands (`info` / `list` / `extract`), pre-built `FexViewer.exe` ready to run.

The DLL surface is the same regardless of binding language — the V2 / V3 API references apply universally, so a Python / C++ / Delphi integration follows the same call shape as the C# example. Reference applications in those languages will be added in a future patch.

Sample data

sample-data/sample-image.dd is a 50 MB FAT32 image included with every SDK distribution. Use it for your first run-through; substitute your own E01 / Ex01 / L01 / DD / DMG / AFF4 once it's working.

Support

Technical support: support@getdata.com
Sales / license keys: sales@getdata.com
Subject convention: "FEX Core SDK — [brief description]"

For the latest SDK updates, visit www.getdataforensics.com.