Writing hex values to a file - C# Discussion Boards

Writing hex values to a file

10-Oct-04 11:07

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Window Position

dbetting9-Oct-04 10:59

dbetting

9-Oct-04 10:59

I've put together a component that, upon a certain action, a window opens. I am opening that window directly below the component, aligned with the bottom edge. It works great and exactly as I need it to...until the UC form is contained within a mdicontainer.

I am currently determining the position to place the window by looking at the position of the current component and its parents. Apparently with mdicontainers, the child form is a parent and I cannot get the appropriate screen position because the application form creates an unknown offset.

private void GetRefLocation(Control controlIn, ref int top, ref int left)<br />
{<br />
  /* Recursive procedure to get the total height position of the combobox.<br />
   *   This allows the use of the combo box within a User Class and the position <br />
   *   of the pop-up window will still be in the correct relative position.  */<br />
  Control controlParent = controlIn.Parent;<br />
  Form parent = this.FindForm();<br />
 <br />
  if (parent == controlParent)<br />
  {<br />
    top += parent.Top;<br />
    left += parent.Left;<br />
  }<br />
  else<br />
  {<br />
    int addHeight = 0;<br />
    System.Type a = controlParent.GetType();<br />
    string b = controlParent.GetType().FullName;<br />
    if (controlParent.GetType().FullName == "System.Windows.Forms.Panel")<br />
      addHeight = ((Panel)controlParent).BorderStyle == BorderStyle.None ? 0 : (((Panel)controlParent).BorderStyle == BorderStyle.FixedSingle ? 1 : 2);<br />
 <br />
    top += controlParent.Top + addHeight;<br />
    left += controlParent.Left;<br />
    GetRefLocation(controlParent, ref top, ref left);<br />
  }<br />
}

What do I really need to do to determine the position within the screen? I followed a couple trails involving GDI but I never found a way that I can set component.Location based on the screen position, let alone position of another component.

Thanks

Re: Window Position

Stefan Troschuetz9-Oct-04 22:50

Stefan Troschuetz

9-Oct-04 22:50

dbetting wrote:
What do I really need to do to determine the position within the screen?

Use the PointToScreen and PointToClient methods of Control class to convert a location from client coordinates to screen coordinates respectively the other way round.

www.troschuetz.de

Re: Window Position

dbetting10-Oct-04 3:11

dbetting

10-Oct-04 3:11

Thank you very much. With the code below, I eliminated the entire routine previously shown. I suspected it would end up being something simple.

  Point newPos = PointToScreen(this.Location);<br />
  newPos.Y = newPos.Y - this.Top + this.Height;<br />
  newPos.X = newPos.X - this.Left;<br />
  popup.Location = newPos;

Once I had screen position, all I had to do is offset the position by the local form position and it seems to pass the test regardless of depth of the User Controls on the form.

Thanks.

Re: Window Position

Stefan Troschuetz10-Oct-04 7:07

Stefan Troschuetz

10-Oct-04 7:07

My pleasure Big Grin | :-D

www.troschuetz.de

cgcrute9-Oct-04 6:50

cgcrute

9-Oct-04 6:50

Sorry for the newbie question! I'm trying to write hex values into a file.

I started out using a streamwriter and writing a string:
"\x48\x41\x53\x48\x0D\x0A\xff\x00\x00\x01"

This worked fine, except that when looking at the output file in a hexeditor I got

48 41 53 48 0D 0A C3 BF 00 00 01

Where is should have read FF there was C3 BF!!

The same happens if I create an array and write that using a binary writer, ie:
char[] temp = new char[] {'\x48','\x41','\x53','\x48','\x0D','\x0A','\xFF','\x00','\x02','\x00','\x00','\x00','\x01','\x00','\x00','\x00'};

The only way I can do it is to convert all the hex to decimal and write it that way with a binarywriter:
byte[] temp = new byte[] {72,65,83,72,13,10,255,0,2,0,0,0,1,0,0,0};

But this is a pain, can anyone tell me how I SHOULD be doing this.

Thanks, in advance,

Chris

Re: Writing hex values to a file

Heath Stewart9-Oct-04 8:01

Re: Writing hex values to a file

9-Oct-04 8:01

Any TextWriter or TextReader uses an Encoding to encode and decode bytes from and to text. More than likely it is the encoding that decided there was a better alternative, though that's just an educated guess.

You might consider using the ASCIIEncoding which is always single-byte characters, so 0xC3 0xBF isn't replaced with a "more suitable" character.

What are you writing binary characters to a file, though? If you are just trying to write the equivalent Unicode characters, you can specify Unicode in C# using \uXXXX.

Otherwise, you could use a Stream to write the entire binary file, and when you need to write text use the Encoding you find appropriate, like ASCIIEncoding or UTF8Encoding (which is nice, since for the ASCII character set (first 128 bits) it looks like an ASCII file but can handle other characters sets like Unicode without using a codepage).

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Software Design Engineer
Developer Division Sustained Engineering
Microsoft

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cgcrute10-Oct-04 7:46

cgcrute

10-Oct-04 7:46

Heath,

Thanks for that comprehensive reply! I have tried changing the encoding method, but to no avail it changes the output - but it still isn't right!

Here is the code I am currently playing with:

FileStream outputFile = new FileStream(destination, FileMode.CreateNew);

BinaryWriter outputBin = new BinaryWriter(outputFile,System.Text.Encoding.ASCII);

char[] temp = new char[] {'\x48','\x41','\x53','\x48','\x0D','\x0A','\xFF','\x00','\x02','\x00','\x00','\x00','\x01','\x00','\x00','\x00'};

outputBin.Write(temp);

The ouput it produces is:
ASCII:
48 41 53 48 0D 0A 3F 00 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 00

Which is closer to what I want (in that FF is replaced with only 1 char not 2 as previously), but is still wrong.

I tried unicode as well, just for giggles, and that did work and produced an FF as required. Unfortunately the file I wish to write is to be read by another piece of software which requires a very specific format(not unicode).

Been at this hours now - brain melting....

Re: Writing hex values to a file

Heath Stewart10-Oct-04 11:05

Add dropdownlist to datalist

10-Oct-04 11:05

I definitely think it's the encoding, especially if it worked under Unicode. If you're trying to write binary data, though, you can just use the FileStream itself instead of a BinaryWriter. You also should take a look at the using statement to make sure the streams are disposed, like so:

using (FileStream file = new FileStream(...))
{
  // write to the file. When 'file' goes out of context - even if an
  // exception is thrown - the file handle is freed.
}

Sorry, just something I really think people should do when working with objects with ties to native resources.

Anyway, anything over 0x7f using encodings like UTF8 mean that 2 bytes should be used. IIRC, some codepages work this way, too. So, make sure you're using the right codepage (you can pass this to the Encoding class you need).

If I were you - and I do this a lot - dig through the IL using ildasm.exe or a decompiler like ".NET Reflector" to trace through the code itself to see what happens when you call BinaryWriter.Write or BinaryWriter.WriteLine and see how the Encoding class is used. Then see how the Encoding class derivative you're using works.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Software Design Engineer
Developer Division Sustained Engineering
Microsoft

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macsgirl9-Oct-04 6:14

macsgirl

9-Oct-04 6:14

Re: Add dropdownlist to datalist

Heath Stewart9-Oct-04 7:50

Re: Add dropdownlist to datalist

9-Oct-04 7:50

Are you asking how to bind this data to a ComboBox? Use a DataAdapter implementation (like SqlDataAdapter, if you're querying a SQL Server RDBMS) and assign the resultant DataSet to ComboBox.DataSource:

// Assume a shared connection object 'conn'
using (SqlCommand cmd = conn.CreateCommand())
{
  cmd.CommandText = "SELECT CM_REF, PM_INDEX, PM_NAME, PM_DESCRIPTION" + 
    "PM_TYPE, PM_CONTENT, PM_DIRECTION, PM_LENGTH FROM TBPARAMETERS";
  DataSet ds = new DataSet();
 
  SqlDataAdapter adapter = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);
  try
  {
    adapter.Fill(ds);
  }
  catch (Exception ex)
  {
    // Log the exception and display a user-friendly error.
  }
 
  if (ds.Tables.Length == 1)
  {
    comboBox1.DataMember = ds.Tables[0].TableName;
    comboBox1.DataSource = ds;
  }
}

You could also just assign ds.Tables[0] to DataSource, but that can be pretty inflexible in scenarios when you want to related data from the same DataSet in other controls on the form.

If this is not what you're asking, please clarify.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Software Design Engineer
Developer Division Sustained Engineering
Microsoft

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macsgirl9-Oct-04 8:04

macsgirl

9-Oct-04 8:04

This is my query for my dropdownlist

select PD_REF, PD_DIRECTION FROM TBPARAMDIRECTION

PD_REF PD_DESCRIPTION
---------- ------------------------------
0 ParamUnknown
1 ParamInput
2 ParamOutput
3 ParamInputOutput
4 ParamReturnValue

This is my main query for my main the datalist is

SELECT CM_REF, PM_INDEX, PM_NAME, PM_DESCRIPTION,
PM_TYPE, PM_CONTENT, PM_DIRECTION, PM_LENGTH FROM TBPARAMETERS

I must include something in my main grid query to link the two?
But What?

How can I display the dropdownlist.

Can someone help me with the query.
How can I display my dropdownlist also?

This is my query for my dropdownlist

select PD_REF, PD_DIRECTION FROM TBPARAMDIRECTION

PD_REF PD_DESCRIPTION
---------- ------------------------------
0 ParamUnknown
1 ParamInput
2 ParamOutput
3 ParamInputOutput
4 ParamReturnValue

This is my main query for my main the datalist is

SELECT CM_REF, PM_INDEX, PM_NAME, PM_DESCRIPTION,
PM_TYPE, PM_CONTENT, PM_DIRECTION, PM_LENGTH FROM TBPARAMETERS

I must include something in my main grid query to link the two?
But What?

Re: Add dropdownlist to datalist

Heath Stewart9-Oct-04 11:43

9-Oct-04 11:43

Wait, so you want a ComboBox embedded in a DataGrid? You really need to explain yourself a little better and use actual class names, since "dropdownlist" isn't a control, nor is "grid". I can only assume you mean a ComboBox and a DataGrid.

Search for "ComboBox" and "DataGrid" in a search engine. Several people have written such DataGridColumnStyle-derivatives.

If you want to "link" (again, please use technical terms, like "relate" as in "relational data") two DataGrids together, you have to establish a DataRelation between two DataTables in the same DataSet. The easiest way to do this is to create a typed DataSet in Visual Studio. You can do this by right-clicking on your project (or project folder), select Add -> Add New Item and select DataSet. Add two elements and some fields that match your tables. Using the designer right-click and add a new relation between a child and parent key. You can also do this programmatically using a non-typed DataSet by adding DataTables, then DataColumns to each table, then a DataRelation (which includes an example in the .NET Framework SDK documentation) between your DataColumns from the two different tables.

To fill this DataSet, make sure that you use DataAdapter.Fill(DataSet) and add DataAdapter.TableMappingss for the result set names and your actual tables names (since the result set names are, by default, "Table", "Table1", "Table2", etc.).

Finally, for each DataGrid for which you want to relate the data, set the DataMember property of the parent relationship to the table name of the parent table (as string). For the second, child DataGrid, set the DataMember to the "parenttable.relationship" name.

Finally, assign the DataSet as the DataSource for both. Now when you select a row in the parent DataGrid, the related records in the child DataGrid are displayed.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Software Design Engineer
Developer Division Sustained Engineering
Microsoft

[My Articles] [My Blog]

NDoc 1.2 Problems

Kevin McFarlane9-Oct-04 5:12

Kevin McFarlane

9-Oct-04 5:12

I was using this successfully at work last week to document C# applications. So I thought I'd try it at home.

It generates the HTML files OK but the .chm file refuses to display pages "Page cannot be displayed" error. Any ideas?

At work I was using Visual Studio 2003 on Windows Server 2003 running inside MS Virtual PC 2004 on a Win 2k SP4 box.

Here I've just tried it with VS 2003 on Win 2k SP4. I also have an XP Pro box but I've not tried it there yet.

Kevin

Re: NDoc 1.2 Problems

Colin Angus Mackay9-Oct-04 5:49

9-Oct-04 5:49

NDoc 1.2 is very buggy. Version 1.3 beta is less buggy. http://ndoc.sourceforge.net/[^]

Vogon Building and Loan advise that your planet is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on any mortgage secured upon it. Please remember that the force of gravity can go up as well as down.

Re: NDoc 1.2 Problems

Kevin McFarlane9-Oct-04 6:43

Kevin McFarlane

9-Oct-04 6:43

I discovered that the Help compiler has a problem with long paths. So specifying the output directory as a shorter path, e.g., c:\development\test, solves the problem.

Kevin

Re: NDoc 1.2 Problems

Heath Stewart9-Oct-04 7:41

hide form from close button

9-Oct-04 7:41

If you have issues with a specific application or library, you need to ask on their support pages. NDoc has both support and bug tracker pages, as do all projects hosted on SourceForge. Post your issues at http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=36057&atid=416078[^].

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Software Design Engineer
Developer Division Sustained Engineering
Microsoft

[My Articles] [My Blog]

Mridang Agarwalla9-Oct-04 3:40

Mridang Agarwalla

9-Oct-04 3:40

i have a form with a system tray icon...now what i want is to hide the form when the user clicks the red cross(close button) of the window....when he double clicks the system tray icon...i will write....form1.show().....how do i hide the form when he clicks the close button on the top right corner of the form...

Colin Angus Mackay9-Oct-04 3:56

9-Oct-04 3:56

Mridang Agarwal wrote:
how do i hide the form when he clicks the close button on the top right corner of the form...

When the Close button on the top right of the form is clicked two events get fired. The Closing event and the Closed event.

Closing happens BEFORE the form is closed, while Closed happens AFTER the form is closed. The Closing event is usually used to pop up message boxes such as "Your file is not saved. Do you want to save it?". However you can do what you like with it, including cancelling the Close operation, you'll see there is a property in the event arguments for the closing event that permits you to stop the form being closed. Instead you will do your own thing to hide or minimise the form.

Does this help?

Vogon Building and Loan advise that your planet is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on any mortgage secured upon it. Please remember that the force of gravity can go up as well as down.

Colin Angus Mackay16-Oct-04 6:11

16-Oct-04 6:11

I don't reply to direct emails so I am answering you on the forum.

In an email Mridang Agarwal wrote:
no....i want to hide the form when he clicks the close button....i dont want to display any messages
....how do i do this....

That was simple an example of what is 'normally' performed in the Closing event. As I already said:

Colin Angus Mackay previously wrote:
However you can do what you like with it, including cancelling the Close operation, you'll see there is a property in the event arguments for the closing event that permits you to stop the form being closed. Instead you will do your own thing to hide or minimise the form.

So, as you see, in your event handler for the Closing event you cancel the form closing, and instead Hide the form.

private void NameOfFormClass_Closing(object sender, System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
	e.Cancel=true;
	this.Hide();
}

Vogon Building and Loan advise that your planet is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on any mortgage secured upon it. Please remember that the force of gravity can go up as well as down.

Anonymous17-Oct-04 0:13

Anonymous

17-Oct-04 0:13

hey colin....this may sound silly....ur names really catchy...like....colin McRae.....the World Rally Champioship driver...heheh.....anyways....i need...a bit a bit o hlp with a few more questions....what do i do...

Colin Angus Mackay17-Oct-04 1:20

17-Oct-04 1:20

Anonymous wrote:
anyways....i need...a bit a bit o hlp with a few more questions....what do i do...

Normally if you post the question on the relevant forum and if someone knows the answer then they will do their best to help you.