Visual Basic

Mimic rtlMoveMemory for Speed

2-Jun-04 12:06

It doesn't get much easier. You're still hooking the system to catch the keystrokes. In VB6, this is very difficult. It gets easier in VB.NET, but you'll still have to either write a keyboard hook or a MessageFilter that you register with Application.AddMessageFilter.

There are example of this being done in VB.NET, but they are not specific to hooking the keyboard and you still need an in depth knowledge of Windows internals to udnerstand whats going on.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

Pugman8121-Jun-04 9:42

Pugman812

1-Jun-04 9:42

I have replaced most of the for loops with Array.Copy to mimic the functions of the dll call. But this did not have the speed increase that i was looking for. still same processor time at 100 for 3 seconds. I have also tried a few things like encrypting a 1.4 meg file with the 6.0 version of the blowfish program and it takes seconds. I try with the .Net conversion and it take around 10 minutes to do the same thing. Throughout the conversion of this 6.0 project i have had to make many sub procedures to mimic the function of this dll. I believe the extensive use of this procedures are what is slowing me down.

The function is pretty cool if i work in .net. I need an outside call to do some of the work for me because my app is straining a little to hard. I need something that does the same thing that the rtlMoveMemory does when you send it something like this

<br />
Public Declare Sub CopyMem Lib "kernel32" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" (Destination As Any, Source As Any, ByVal Length As Long)<br />

<br />
Dim LongValue as Long = 1415936116<br />
Dim BB() as Byte<br />
CopyMemory( BB(0), LongValue , 4)<br />

and what this does is turn this number into binary
looks like this BB(0) = 116 : BB(1) = 120 : BB(2) = 101 : BB(3) = 84 in the byte array. I also need a function that does this process in reverse. I had to mimic this with extensive for loops to check each bit. If i could find an outside call to do this same thing. I also found out if the value is greater than 2147483648 which is 2 ^ 31 and is also the highest value bit in a 32 bit number. the function causes the value to go negative and subtract any other amount that the bits equal preceding that last bit.

If there is any outside funtion can be used that would speed up my code. I really need to know because with the .net conversion that i am using now. If i didnt have a 6000 RPM Fan i would cook my P4 2.8 GHZ Processor. Oh yes a article on application throttling would be great too if anyone knows where i could read one.

Re: Mimic rtlMoveMemory for Speed

Dave Kreskowiak1-Jun-04 15:22

1-Jun-04 15:22

Your not going to find an equivelnet function in the .NET Framework. This is because the execution environment is MANAGED. This means that any object can be picked up and moved AT ANY TIME without you knowing it. You could write managed code to get around this, but it would also take time to execute this extra code, again slowing your app down tremendously because you have to call the Marshaler to pin the object in place, do your memory copy, then unpin the object. Pinning is a notoriously slow process, just like calling into unmanaged code, because of the overhead of converting the object from managed to unmanaged and back.

As a side to your 2^31 bit problem. Use UInt32 data types instead of Int32's or Integers (same as Int32). UInt32 is an unsigned 32 bit integer, where Int32, or Integer, is a signed 32 bit integer. The 1 bit being used for the sign...

Sometimes converting code instruction-by-instruction is not the most efficient method. Sometimes you have to rewrite an entire function from scratch to accomplish the same thing...

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

winsock error

GaryKoh1-Jun-04 4:24

1-Jun-04 4:24

hello
i currently got this error

\Form1.vb(34): Type 'AxMSWinsockLib.AxWinsock' is not defined.
The referenced component 'AxMSWinsockLib' could not be found. Could not load the type library. Library not registered.

what seem to be the problem?
i got the program from the my friend who say he have no problem running at his computer
i urgently need help cause this will effect my whole program/assigment
thank you in advance

Gary

Dave Kreskowiak1-Jun-04 4:31

1-Jun-04 4:31

You don't have the MSWinsock .DLL on your computer and regsitered. It's on his machine because he developed the application with the reference to it. He needs to supply you with the .DLL file, most likely winsock.dll, he used and any other .DLL files in the bin directory he got the finshed .EXE from. You then need to copy that .DLL into your C:\WINNT\System32 or C:\WINDOWS\System32 folder (WinNT or better), register the .DLL using REGSVR32 and the remaining .DLL's into the folder with your .EXE. Then your app should work.

Better yet! Tell him to make an Installer Project and add it his solution so you can install the application and any needed files.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

GaryKoh1-Jun-04 5:24

1-Jun-04 5:24

is there any way that i can do it without his help?
cause temporary now he is not around for me to contact him
can i download or install this .dll file from anywhere?

Gary

Dave Kreskowiak1-Jun-04 5:53

1-Jun-04 5:53

Another Windows machine... The problem you're going to run into is that you MUST get the version that was used to build the application. It's kind of odd that you don't have this .DLL. The other part of the problem is that you probably don't have the Interop .DLL that was generated when the application was built. Without that, you could get the correct WinSock.DLL, but still be unable to use it.

You might also have to have WSock32.DLL...

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

GaryKoh1-Jun-04 7:32

1-Jun-04 7:32

let me get this right
each program i build have a specific .dll file
this means that if i wish to move the program to test on other windows/computer, i must copy the .dll file together?
which folder should i get the .dll file from?
shouldn't VB.Net able to run all application?
below is the coding that provide me with the error

Friend WithEvents w1 As AxMSWinsockLib.AxWinsock(
Me.w1 = New AxMSWinsockLib.AxWinsock()
AxMSWinsockLib.DMSWinsockControlEvents_ConnectionRequestEvent
AxMSWinsockLib.DMSWinsockControlEvents_DataArrivalEvent
The referenced component 'AxMSWinsockLib' could not be found. Could not load the type library. Library not registered.
The referenced component 'MSWinsockLib' could not be found. Could not load the type library. Library not registered.

could this be the problem that i did not register after installation
or during installation some of this file is not installed?
or is it that i need to make some adjustment
sorry to trouble you so much Dave but i really need this help
thank you

Gary

Dave Kreskowiak1-Jun-04 14:58

1-Jun-04 14:58

WHen the application was built, in the bin directory where the final .EXE file is found, you will find .DLL file(s) that start with Interop.whatever.dll. These files MUST be distributed with the application .EXE file. If you don't have these files AND the .OCX file that they reference, you will get the error that your describing.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

GaryKoh1-Jun-04 20:45

1-Jun-04 20:45

hello Dave
i manage to get the wsock32.dll file which is not available in my computer
anyway since you have mention that those two other .dll file is only available upon application development
so is there any other way to recreate those two .dll file on my own?
cause i manage to call up my friend cellphone and he told me that the program he give me is the only copy after he formated his computer
then i search a few other computer that are available at my college but i have no luck in finding the .dll file
so is it possible for me to recreate them?
cause those two line is the example i need to complete my assignment
so if i cant try the code i wont know how im going to apply it
thank you for all your help and sorry to trouble you so much

Dave Kreskowiak2-Jun-04 0:30

2-Jun-04 0:30

You would have to recreate the IDENTICAL references he made in his app. You could use TLBIMP on the .OCX and .DLL files that he used to recreate the missing Interop.*.DLL's. But you have to get that list from him.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

GaryKoh2-Jun-04 14:48

2-Jun-04 14:48

today something odd have happen
i try my application on 1 of my college computer and the missing winsock file pop-up
i double check on my cd which the original program was and there is no winsock file in the bin
but after i compile at that particular computer, it show up
so Dave can i know why this happen and what file can i copy that can cause the 2 file to auto generate?
my lecturer say may be is my windows problem or when i install the program some file is missing
im getting blur on this
i think this might the last time i'll disturb you on this matter
thank you

Gary

Dave Kreskowiak3-Jun-04 12:11

3-Jun-04 12:11

It appeared in the bin folder because the compiler copied it there. The file is needed by your application because of the reference your created. If the 2 Interop.*.dll files are not there, it's because they are not needed...

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

Dave Kreskowiak4-Jun-04 0:13

4-Jun-04 0:13

The file with the little yellow "!" next to it is the one that is missing. Without that file, you can't compiler the project. That's why it will only compile on one machine. That one machine has the file it needs to compile this thing. Go back to that machine and search for the file that the other machines put that "!" next to. Copy that file to the other machine, in the same folder that you found it in, then you should be able to compile the project.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

GaryKoh6-Jun-04 18:00

6-Jun-04 18:00

hello dave
did you receive my mail?
if not this is what im trying to tell you
1. i try copying a lot of folder and files but none of it work
2. thinking of changing the codings to a much simplier that wont cause any error as before
3. asking you for advise and suggestion on how to recode so it is similiar to those using winsock or should i just use the tutorial in MSDN website
4. if possible tell me which folder to copy
5. telling you that i am very thankful that you are willingly to help me
thats all thank you

Gary

Dave Kreskowiak7-Jun-04 0:02

7-Jun-04 0:02

What mail?

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

GaryKoh7-Jun-04 2:13

How do I receive an external file name from within an application?

7-Jun-04 2:13

some sort like a thank you mail
but anyway
thanks for all your help Smile | :)

Gary

Alan Hallett1-Jun-04 4:06

Alan Hallett

1-Jun-04 4:06

I'm building an application to read and write formatted files on disk. I have associated the file
extension (.fod) with the application and this works fine. When I double-click on a file in, say
Windows Explorer, the application starts as it should. But I now need a way of finding the name
of the clicked file within the application so I can open it. How do I do it?

I've been searching the help systems and just not been able to find it, probably because I'm using
the wrong terms. I've tried 'parameter', 'external parameter', "%1" and a whole host of others.
Many thanks in advance for your help.

Alan Hallett

Re: How do I receive an external file name from within an application?

Dave Kreskowiak1-Jun-04 4:20

Re: How do I receive an external file name from within an application?

1-Jun-04 4:20

The parameter specifier is "%1". Keep the quotes around the %1 though. This will prevent file paths with spaces in them from being broken into multiple parameters.

In your app, check into the Environment class and its CommandLine Property and GetCommandLineArgs method.

Docs at MSDN[^]

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

Alan Hallett1-Jun-04 5:23

Alan Hallett

1-Jun-04 5:23

Dave - many many thanks. I've been looking for this solution for what seems like days - good on ya! Smile | :)

Re: How do I receive an external file name from within an application?

Dave Kreskowiak1-Jun-04 5:56