C / C++ / MFC

16-Jan-04 7:59

Hi everyone!
I'm trying to do a Speech application. It must read what the user writes in the edit box or the content from a text file. When it reads the text from that file and then tries to fill the edit box I get the file content but I get some garbage too. The part of the code in with I use files is this:

CFileDialog m_ldFichero(TRUE);
CFile m_Fichero;
char buffer[200];
int iTexto = 0;
DWORD nBytesLeidos;
CString m_snombre;
CFileException e;
DWORD longFichero;

if (m_ldFichero.DoModal() == IDOK)
{
m_snombre= m_ldFichero.GetFileName();
m_Fichero.Open(m_snombre, CFile::modeRead, &e);
longFichero = m_Fichero.GetLength();
nBytesLeidos = m_Fichero.Read(buffer,longFichero);
m_sTexto=buffer;
m_Fichero.Close();

UpdateData(FALSE);
}
When running the application I get the text and "ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÄÈJ_X" too.
I don't know what could I do or how could I eliminate that garbage... Please, some help!.
Thank you in advance Smile | :)

I'm lost... SOS

Antti Keskinen16-Jan-04 8:24

16-Jan-04 8:24

This happens because of the way you create the receiving buffer. You just create a variable that gets placed somewhere on your computer's memory. The memory contents, however, is NOT cleared. So, when you create the buffer, you can instantly use it to read and/or write characters to the memory it reserves for itself.

In order to clear the targetted area, you need to use some memory handling routines. Here is an example of how to clear the memory area:

// First, here is our buffer
char buffer[200];<DIV>

// Then we clear it's contents
ZeroMemory( &buffer[0], sizeof(buffer) );<DIV>

// Now, the buffer is ready to receive data. 
It will be filled from the first character up to the amount 'longFichero', 
and the rest of the buffer is left empty (null characters).

Hope this will help you out. An alternative method is to create a CString object, and read your data into that one. The CString object can automatically grow as a result of string operations (Append, Format, Insert etc), so you don't necessarily need to specify the amount of bytes to read.

-Antti Keskinen

----------------------------------------------
The definition of impossible is strictly dependant
on what we think is possible.

satcat16-Jan-04 15:22

16-Jan-04 15:22

Thank you very much, the application is OK now Smile | :)

Can you tell me how could I save a text in an inexistent file? It is, it must create a File and save the text from the Text editor with a click in a button.

Best regards!!! Wink | ;)

Antti Keskinen16-Jan-04 22:07

16-Jan-04 22:07

You can do this by creating a CFile object and opening a file with it. On the CFile's constructor or the Open member function, you can specify a flag to tell the program that it is to create a new file.

Here's an excerpt from MSDN:
CFile::modeCreate - Directs the constructor to create a new file. If the file exists already, it is truncated to 0 length.

I think this is what you wanted. See the CFile constructor for additional flags that you might find useful. As for the implementation, just create a message handler for the button click, then open and write to the file in there.

-Antti Keskinen

----------------------------------------------
The definition of impossible is strictly dependant
on what we think is possible.

satcat19-Jan-04 9:11

19-Jan-04 9:11

Well, finally it works!! But I've got a problem with buffer... I need to save the text from the Edit Box but it is a CString by definition and what I have to save in the file is char buffer[lenght] and they aren't compatible. I can't do
buffer=m_sTexto;
and the sentence
m_Fichero.Write(m_sTexto, sizeof(m_sTexto));
is no OK, so I'm lost again!! How could I convert the type or write the Edit Box content in my file?
Thank you Smile | :)

Antti Keskinen19-Jan-04 9:27

19-Jan-04 9:27

In here you need a conversion routine..

The CString object can be cast into type LPCTSTR by adding the conversion operation in front of the object. Then just use some sort of string copying routine, such as strcpy to copy characters. LPCTSTR is defined as const char*.

Here's a code fragment to help you get the idea:

// These are declared beforehand and the buffer is 'zeroed'
char buffer[length];
CString m_sTexto;<DIV>

// Copy from the CString object into the buffer
strcpy( &buffer[0], (LPCTSTR)m_sTexto );<DIV>

// Write into the file here, use one of the following
m_Fichero.Write( &buffer[0], sizeof(buffer) );
m_Fichero.Write( (LPCTSTR)m_sTexto, sizeof(m_sTexto) );

I am not 100% sure of the lower implementation, as I have never used it. According to the documentation, it should work properly.. Test it if you feel brave Smile | :)

-Antti Keskinen

----------------------------------------------
The definition of impossible is strictly dependant
on what we think is possible.

satcat19-Jan-04 15:04

19-Jan-04 15:04

Well, I felt brave at the beginning but it seems to be for really brave people Wink | ;)

I've tried with
m_Fichero.Write( (LPCTSTR)m_sTexto, sizeof(m_sTexto) );
but nothing is saved in the new file.
Then I used the other one implementation, but there is some trouble with my code (That's no strange, isn't it? Sigh | :sigh:

). Well I think the trouble is the CString variable. Must it be initialized? Where could I do it? I can't use ZeroMemory function (can I?). If it has to be initialized, it must be done before the user could write in the edit box... Roll eyes | :rolleyes:

When I've tried
strcpy( &buffer[0], (LPCTSTR)m_sTexto );
m_Fichero.Write( &buffer[0], sizeof(buffer) );
lots (200) of identical symbols (squares) have been saved but I had written some words in the edir box Confused | :confused:

Thanks

(I'm very sorry because I have lots of foolish doubts but I've just begun with Visual C++ and all of this is new to me. I hope you'll not be fed up with me & my questions Blush | :O

. Thanks a lot!)

I have no idea D'Oh! | :doh:

Antti Keskinen20-Jan-04 8:05

20-Jan-04 8:05

It is ok to ask questions and seek for answers, as long as you do it politely and with a gentelmanic approach. I'm not fed up with you or with your questions either. Afterall, when I get you to understand this, I have someone else who can give advice to another person asking perhaps the same thing.

Now, off with the question. I was quite sure that the second implementation would not work, but the first one should have. Like you said, there were some squares written into the file. This means that the writing routine works properly and something gets saved. In the start of your routine, have you called UpdateData( TRUE ) to tell your program to move the data from the edit box to the CString member ? If you did not already know, there is a system called Dialog Data Exchange (or DDX, for short) at work in your dialog. This system is responsible for moving data and control between (to and back) the actual controls of the dialog and the variables bound to them. You can find a function called DoDataExchange from your dialog's implementation.

In order to determine that the data gets moved corretly, you can use the TRACE-macros in a debug build of your application. These macros are very useful in dumping object or other data into the output window of the debugger. For example, after calling UpdateData, you could use TRACE1-macro to determine that the correct text was copied into the CString variable. Then, you can use the same macro again to see that data gets copied into the character buffer properly.

Perhaps these will help, most importantly, learn about and get to know how to use the TRACE-macros properly. They are an important key to displaying debug-time status information, if you don't want to use message boxes. Try adding a few of those macros inbetween the function calls in your application and see what get's printed into the output window.

-Antti Keskinen

----------------------------------------------
The definition of impossible is strictly dependant
on what we think is possible.

satcat20-Jan-04 13:30

20-Jan-04 13:30

Well, it works!
I'd written UpdateData(TRUE) in the wrong place (my brain and me... Sigh | :sigh:

) and when you have suggested me about this I realised!
The squares are blank spaces. I was using wordpad instead of notepad and there, in wordpad, they appear in this squared way, but if I open the file in the application or in notepad it is OK, so we got it and the files work perfectly! Big Grin | :-D

I just only need to change voices in my speech application to finish this phase (I have 4 phases in total in this project WTF | :WTF:

).
Do you know something about speech with Visual C++? I've asked here in other threads but nobody reply them Cry | :((

I only have some doubts.

Thank you for your great help!

I have no idea D'Oh! | :doh:

Antti Keskinen21-Jan-04 1:31

21-Jan-04 1:31

Good that it works.

As for the text-to-speech conversion, I would start from the Microsoft Speech[^] site. Register for a download of the MS Speech API SDK, then consult it's documentation to learn how to use it.

I can't give you any source code on this matter, because I neither have any nor do I have the SDK installed. You must explore the SDK yourself.. But isn't that part of the fun ? Smile | :)

EDIT: The Microsoft Speech SDK doesn't require registration, it seems. Here's a link to the actual download site: download here[^]

-Antti Keskinen

----------------------------------------------
The definition of impossible is strictly dependant
on what we think is possible.

satcat21-Jan-04 6:08

21-Jan-04 6:08

Thank you very much for your help Smile | :)

I had already read that documentation and I have some questions about the information that I got there, but I can find nobody who helps me, so I'm "alone in the dark". I'll be patient...

Thank you anyway Smile | :)

I have no idea D'Oh! | :doh:

satcat26-Jan-04 0:16

26-Jan-04 0:16

Hi again!

I'd like to get a warning window when the file that the user is trying to save already exists so that user could choose if overwrites it or not. Which funtions could I use?

Now my code is:
LPCTSTR sFiltros="Text Files (*.txt)|*.txt|All Files (*.*)|*.*||";
CFileDialog m_ldFichero(FALSE,"txt","*.txt",NULL,sFiltros);

CFile m_Fichero;
char buffer[200];
CString m_snombre;
CFileException e;

ZeroMemory(&buffer[0], sizeof(buffer));
if (m_ldFichero.DoModal() == IDOK)
{
m_snombre= m_ldFichero.GetFileName();
UpdateData(TRUE);
m_Fichero.Open(m_snombre, CFile::modeCreate | CFile::modeReadWrite, &e);
strcpy(&buffer[0],(LPCTSTR)m_sTexto);
m_Fichero.Write(&buffer[0], sizeof(buffer));
m_Fichero.Close();
}
}

Thank you!!

I have no idea D'Oh! | :doh:

Antti Keskinen26-Jan-04 4:16

26-Jan-04 4:16

I think the standard CFileDialog class is capable of handling a situation where a file already exists. Have you actually tried with this implementation ? It should notify that the file already exists. At least it does so for me..

But, if it doesn't work so for you, you can always derive a new class from CFileDialog, and override it's OnFileNameOk virtual function. This function is called to validate a filename entered into the dialog box. In this handler, just do a quick test and attempt to open the file. If the attempt fails, the file doesn't exist. If it doesn't, then it exists. According to the return value, display a quick message box with a notification of this issue, and a choice for the user to accept the file overwrite.

I can't provide any ready code, because I have never needed to do this myself. See the CFileDialog documentation for information about the overriddable function.

-Antti Keskinen

----------------------------------------------
The definition of impossible is strictly dependant
on what we think is possible.

satcat26-Jan-04 5:08