P/Invoke in ASP.NET (Reading/writing text file from dll) - c#

I have a C++ Win32 program in which I am writing and reading a text file. This C++ program generates a dll and I am referencing this dll in my ASP.NET web application.
Using P/Invoke, I am calling methods to read and write file from this dll.
The dll is working fine when I tested this out with P/invoke in WPF application.
The reference dll is in the bin/Debug folder for this WPF app, and the write method in dll when called generates a text file in the same folder.
Further, from the same folder, I can use the dll's read method to read the text file.
However, when I call the Dll methods from my ASP.NET web app, the genearted file goes to some other directory (most probably because the dll is loaded somewhere else to execute) and I am not able to locate where this generated file goes (without any error)
Similar to desktop application, is there some way that the fie will be written in bin folder itself, so that I can read from the bin folder itself?
Example code:
.cpp file
extern "C" D_API int Write1()
{
ofstream myfile;
myfile.open ("example.txt");
myfile << "Writing this to a file.\n";
myfile.close();
return 1;
}
extern "C" D_API char* Read1()
{
ifstream myReadFile;
myReadFile.open("test.txt");
char output[100];
if (myReadFile.is_open())
{
while (!myReadFile.eof())
{
myReadFile >> output;
}
}
return output;
}
C# .aspx.cs
[DllImport("Testing1.dll", EntryPoint = "fnTest", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl, CharSet = CharSet.Ansi)]
public static extern int Write1();
[DllImport("Testing1.dll", EntryPoint = "ReadTest", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl, CharSet = CharSet.Ansi)]
public static extern StringBuilder Read1();

Since you are using relative paths, the file will be relative to the working directory of the process at the point at which you call into the native code. This is a rather brittle arrangement as you have discovered.
I would solve the problem by adding an extra string parameter to the native code that specifies the full path of the file to use. You can generate this easily enough from your managed code I am sure.
Native code
extern "C" D_API int WriteTest(char *filename)
{
....
myfile.open(filename);
....
}
Managed code
[DllImport("Testing1.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern int WriteTest();
The other point to make is that your function to read data is incorrect. It attempts to return a stack allocated buffer. You need to allocate a buffer in the managed code and then pass that to the native code. Perhaps something like this:
extern "C" D_API int ReadTest(char *filename, char* buffer, int len)
{
//read no more than len characters from filename into buffer
}
And on the managed side:
[DllImport("Testing1.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern int ReadTest(string filename, StringBuilder buffer, int len);
....
StringBuilder buffer = new StringBuilder(100);
int retval = ReadTest(FullySpecifiedFileName, buffer, buffer.Capacity);

Related

Get the name of the exe which invoke my dll

I have a C# Project which Invoke a C++ dll
And before returning the value in the C++ dll, I would like to check the name of the C# exe which invoke my method. Can you advice me please?
I Load the c++ dll like this:
[DllImport("MindSystem.dll",
EntryPoint = "MindSystemPlusPlus",
CharSet = CharSet.Ansi,
CallingConvention = System.Runtime.InteropServices.CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern IntPtr MindSystemPlusPlus(int value);
And when I load it, I want that the c++ dll check the name of the exe which invoke it
Edit: I tried this code, but the output in c# is in strange characters :
char fileName[MAX_PATH + 1];
GetModuleFileNameA(NULL, fileName, MAX_PATH + 1);
return fileName;
You should try using GetModuleFileName() function. You can get the full path of the exe. Keep in mind if your DLL is loaded by more than one applications then returned file path will refer to only one of them.
You can call GetModuleFileName function. NULL as first parameter means that path to the executable of the current process is requested.
std::string expectedPath("C:\\expected.exe");
TCHAR fileName[MAX_PATH + 1];
DWORD charsWritten = GetModuleFileName(NULL, fileName, MAX_PATH + 1);
if (charsWritten != 0)
{
if (expectedPath == fileName)
{
// do something
}
}
#include <windows.h>
#include <shellapi.h>
int argc = 0;
auto wargv = CommandLineToArgvW(GetCommandLineW(), &argc);
auto program_path = wargv[0];
...
LocalFree(wargv);
documentation:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb776391(v=vs.85).aspx
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms683156(v=vs.85).aspx
It depends.
If you are using c++ with /clr you can use read the name of the Process returned from Process::GetCurrentProcess().
In native code in Windows you can use GetModuleFileName()
In Linux or MAC there are different options depending on your platform.

C# call to a C DLL is only partly functional

I am learning C# from my C++/CLR background by rewriting a sample C++/CLR project in C#.
The project is a simple GUI (using Visual Studio/ Windows Forms) that performs calls to a DLL written in C (in fact, in NI LabWindows/CVI but this is just ANSI C with custom libraries). The DLL is not written by me and I cannot perform any changes to it because it is also used elsewhere.
The DLL contains functions to make an RFID device perform certain functions (like reading/writing RFID tag etc). In each of these functions, there is always a call to another function that performs writing to a log file. If the log file is not present, it is created with a certain header and then data is appended.
The problem is: the C++/CLR project works fine.
But, in the C# one, the functions work (the RFID tag is correctly written/read etc.) but there is no activity regarding the log file!
The declarations for DLL exports look like this (just one example, there are more of them, of course):
int __declspec(dllexport) __stdcall Magnetfeld_einschalten(char path_Logfile_RFID[300]);
int save_Logdatei(char path_Logdatei[], char Funktion[], char Mitteilung[]);
The save_Logdatei function is called during execution of Magnetfeld_einschalten like this:
save_Logdatei(path_Logfile_RFID, "Magnetfeld_einschalten", "OK");
In the C++/CLR project, I declared the function like this:
#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif
int __declspec(dllexport) __stdcall Magnetfeld_einschalten(char path_Logfile_RFID[300]);
#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif
then a simple call to the function is working.
In the C# project, the declaration goes like:
[DllImport("MyDLL.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall, EntryPoint = "Magnetfeld_einschalten", CharSet = CharSet.Ansi, ExactSpelling = false)]
private static extern int Magnetfeld_einschalten(string path_Logfile_RFID);
and, as I said, although the primary function is working (in this case, turning on the magnetic field of the RFID device), the logging is never done (so, the internal DLL call to save_Logdatei is not executing correctly).
The relevant code in the Form constructor is the following:
pathapp = Application.StartupPath;
pathlog = string.Format("{0}\\{1:yyyyMMdd}_RFID_Logdatei.dat", pathapp, DateTime.Now);
//The naming scheme for the log file.
//Normally, it's autogenerated when a `save_Logdatei' call is made.
Magnetfeld_einschalten(pathlog);
What am I missing? I have already tried using unsafe for the DLL method declaration - since there is a File pointer in save_Logdatei - but it didn't make any difference.
===================================EDIT==================================
Per David Heffernan's suggestion, i have tried to recreate the problem in an easy to test way. For this, i have created a very simple DLL ("test.dll") and I have stripped it completely from the custom CVI libaries, so it should be reproducible even without CVI. I have uploaded it here. In any case, the code of the DLL is:
#include <stdio.h>
int __declspec(dllexport) __stdcall Magnetfeld_einschalten(char path_Logfile_RFID[300]);
int save_Logdatei(char path_Logdatei[], char Funktion[], char Mitteilung[]);
int __declspec(dllexport) __stdcall Magnetfeld_einschalten(char path_Logfile_RFID[300])
{
save_Logdatei(path_Logfile_RFID, "Opening Magnet Field", "Success");
return 0;
}
int save_Logdatei(char path_Logdatei[], char Funktion[], char Mitteilung[])
{
FILE *fp; /* File-Pointer */
char line[700]; /* Zeilenbuffer */
char path[700];
sprintf(path,"%s\\20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat",path_Logdatei);
fp = fopen (path, "a");
sprintf(line, "Just testing");
sprintf(line,"%s %s",line, Funktion);
sprintf(line,"%s %s",line, Mitteilung);
fprintf(fp,"%s\n",line);
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}
The C# code is also stripped down and the only thing i have added to the standard Forms project, is Button 1 (and the generated button click as can be seen). The code is this:
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace TestDLLCallCSharp
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public int ret;
public string pathapp;
public string pathlog;
[DllImport("test", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall, EntryPoint = "Magnetfeld_einschalten", CharSet = CharSet.Ansi, ExactSpelling = false)]
private static extern int Magnetfeld_einschalten(string path_Logfile_RFID);
public Form1()
{
pathapp = #"C:\ProgramData\test";
pathlog = string.Format("{0}\\20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat", pathapp);
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ret = Magnetfeld_einschalten(pathlog);
}
}
}
As can be seen, I have avoided using an automatic naming scheme for the log file (normally i use the date) and in both the dll and the C# code, the log file is "20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat". I have also avoided using the app path as the directory where to put the log file and instead I have opted for a folder named test i created in ProgramData
Again, no file is created at all
This looks like a simple typo in your calling code. Instead of:
ret = Magnetfeld_einschalten(pathlog);
you mean to write:
ret = Magnetfeld_einschalten(pathapp);
In the C# code, these two strings have the following values:
pathapp == "C:\ProgramData\\test"
pathlog == "C:\ProgramData\\test\\20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat"
When you pass pathlog to the unmanaged code it then does the following:
sprintf(path,"%s\\20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat",path_Logdatei);
which sets path to be
path == "C:\\ProgramData\\test\\20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat\\20160212_RFID_Logdatei.dat"
In other words you are appending the file name to the path twice instead of once.
An extensive overview for P/Invoke in C# is given in Platform Invoke Tutorial - MSDN Library.
The problematic bit is you need to pass a fixed char array rather than the standard char*. This is covered in Default Marshalling for Strings.
The gist is, you need to construct a char[300] from your C# string and pass that rather than the string.
For this case, two ways are specified:
pass a StringBuilder instead of a string initialized to the specified length and with your data (I omitted non-essential parameters):
[DllImport("MyDLL.dll", ExactSpelling = true)]
private static extern int Magnetfeld_einschalten(
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)] StringBuilder path_Logfile_RFID);
<...>
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(pathlog,300);
int result = Magnetfeld_einschalten(sb);
In this case, the buffer is modifiable.
define a struct with the required format and manually convert your string to it:
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet=CharSet.Ansi)]
struct Char300 {
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr,SizeConst=300)]String s;
}
[DllImport("MyDLL.dll")]
private static extern int Magnetfeld_einschalten(Char300 path_Logfile_RFID);
<...>
int result = Magnetfeld_einschalten(new Char300{s=pathlog});
You can define an explicit or implicit cast routine to make this more straightforward.
According to UnmanagedType docs, UnmanagedType.ByValTStr is only valid in structures so it appears to be impossible to get the best of both worlds.
The String is in Unicode format, convert it to byte[]
Encoding ec = Encoding.GetEncoding(System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.TextInfo.ANSICodePage);
byte[] bpathlog = ec.GetBytes(pathlog);
and change parameter type to byte[]
[DllImport("MyDLL.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall, EntryPoint = "Magnetfeld_einschalten", CharSet = CharSet.Ansi, ExactSpelling = false)]
private static extern int Magnetfeld_einschalten(byte[] path_Logfile_RFID);
For me it is working
JSh

Send string array in c# to c++ dll

my c# part
[DllImport("asdf.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl, CharSet = CharSet.Ansi)]
unsafe extern public static int CompareDB(string[] filename);
Below is c++ part
extern "C" __declspec(dllexport)int CompareDB(char** name)
{
CString filename="It is already assigned in previous code"
strcpy(name[1], (const char *)fileName);
}
Error is related with attempting to read or write protected memory.
Somebody help me please.

Platform Invoke for Newland barcode scanner

I am attempting to access a Newlands scanner using Platform Invoke from a c# program.
It should be relatively straight forward.
I set up my P/Invoke and and call it.
[DllImport("NLcpfw.dll", EntryPoint = "cpfw_open", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall)]
public static extern IntPtr cpfw_open(string pwStrPort,
string pwStrParam,
int nMode);
public static void CallFromHere(){
IntPtr hDev = cpfw_open("udp", "", CPFW_OM_NORMAL);
//GCHandle handle = GCHandle.Alloc(HNLCPFW, GCHandleType.Pinned);
System.Diagnostics.Debug.Assert(hDev != null);
NewlandInterface.cpfw_close(hDev);
}
Some how it is not picking it up.
I get a BadImageFormatException was unhandled
Make sure it is a valid managed assembly
Make sure you have supplied a correct path for the assembly
The C++ header reads
__declspec(dllimport) HNLCPFW WINAPI cpfw_open(WCHAR *pwStrPort, WCHAR *pwStrParam, int nMode = CPFW_OM_NORMAL);
typedef struct
{
void* hDev;
int nMode;
PNLCPFW_PLUG_API DevAPI;
HINSTANCE hPlugDll;
void *exData;
}NLCPFW,*HNLCPFW;
I'm assuming it is ok just to take a IntPtr in my p\Invoke code.
Any ideas as to why this is happening would be much appreciated.
I have copied all of the dll's in with the exe. In this case these are
NLcpfw.dll, cpfw_udp.dll, cpfw_tcp.dll,cpfw_hidpos.dll etc
Thanks leppie I need to change the platform to X86

Updating images in resource section of an exe (in c#/C)

I have few images embedded in my executable in resource section.
I followed these steps to create my executable:
Generated .resx file for all the images (.jpg) in a directory using some utility. The images are named image1.jpg, image2.jpg and so on.
created .resources file from .resx file using: resgen myResource.resx
Embedded the generated .resource file using /res flag as: csc file.cs /res:myResource.resources
4 I am accessing these images as:
ResourceManager resources = new ResourceManager("myResource", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
Image foo = (System.Drawing.Image)(resources.GetObject("image1"));
This all is working fine as expected. Now I want to change embedded images to some new images. This is what I am currently doing:
class foo
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr BeginUpdateResource(string pFileName, bool bDeleteExistingResources);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern bool UpdateResource(IntPtr hUpdate, string lpType, string lpName, string wLanguage, Byte[] lpData, uint cbData);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern bool EndUpdateResource(IntPtr hUpdate, bool fDiscard);
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
IntPtr handle = BeginUpdateResource(args[0], false);
if (handle.ToInt32() == 0)
throw new Exception("File Not Found: " + fileName + " last err: " + Marshal.GetLastWin32Error());
byte[] imgData = File.ReadAllBytes("SetupImage1.jpg");
int fileSize = imgData.Length;
Console.WriteLine("Updaing resources");
if (UpdateResource(handle, "Image", "image1", "image1", imgData, (uint)fileSize))
{
EndUpdateResource(handle, false);
Console.WriteLine("Update successfully");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Failed to update resource. err: {0}", Marshal.GetLastWin32Error());
}
}
}
The above code is adding a new resource for the specified image (inside IMAGE title with some random number, as seen in Resource hacker), but I want to modify the existing resource data for image1.
I am sure that I am calling UpdateResource with some invalid arguments.
Could any one help pointing that out?
I am using .NET version 2
Thank you,
Vikram
I think you are making a confusion between .NET resources, and Win32 resources. The resources you add embedding with the /res argument to csc.exe are .NET resources that you can successfully read using you ResourceManager snippet code.
Win32 resources are another beast, that is not much "compatible" with the managed .NET world in general, athough you can indeed add them to a .NET exe using the /win32Res argument - note the subtle difference :-)
Now, if you want to modify embedded .NET resources, I don't think there are classes to do it in the framework itself, however you can use the Mono.Cecil library instead. There is an example that demonstrates this here: C# – How to edit resource of an assembly?
And if you want to modify embedded Win32 resources, you code needs some fixes, here is a slightly modified version of it, the most important difference lies in the declaration of UpdateResource:
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr BeginUpdateResource(string pFileName, bool bDeleteExistingResources);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern bool UpdateResource(IntPtr hUpdate, string lpType, string lpName, short wLanguage, byte[] lpData, int cbData);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
static extern bool EndUpdateResource(IntPtr hUpdate, bool fDiscard);
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
IntPtr handle = BeginUpdateResource(args[0], false);
if (handle == IntPtr.Zero)
throw new Win32Exception(Marshal.GetLastWin32Error()); // this will automatically throw an error with the appropriate human readable message
try
{
byte[] imgData = File.ReadAllBytes("SetupImage1.jpg");
if (!UpdateResource(handle, "Image", "image1", (short)CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture.LCID, imgData, imgData.Length))
throw new Win32Exception(Marshal.GetLastWin32Error());
}
finally
{
EndUpdateResource(handle, false);
}
}
This is impossible. You cant modify compiled file that you are running.
I believe you can add new images in run time but can't update a resource that is essentially just held in memory.
If you add a resource in run time, it exists but I don't think it is compiled and therefore I don't think it is accessible to you.
Is there a reason you aren't using content instead?

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