How to chose an API call?

[Roger]

Hi All,

Can anyone suggest a compact list of the basic API calls containing a usable synopsis of what they do.

I have a project which is console based but which I need to change to using the full GDI. However none of the window classes I have looked at come anywhere near to doing this.  All I want to be able to do, at this stage, is to take keyboard input, echo it to the screen so I can see what I type and then send it to the core of my program which will process it and send output to the screen as and when necessary.

With the console I just need to read StdIn and write to StdOut.

With the full GDI I can't find a window which enable me to do this. In order to have CR - LF and backspaces handled I seem to need some form of edit control only these don't let me get at the characters to process them. To do this I can trap and process WM_CHAR only now the CRs LFs and backspaces are not done. Also it is by no means clear to me which windows generate the WM_CHAR message.

Output is even worse. According to some well known tutorials I need to put all the code that creates output into the WM_PAINT handler. However this code takes input which is also echoed to the output.... This begins to look dangerously like a recursive Kline Bottle!

Regards Roger

[zooba]

Graphical interfaces generally require a different form of planning to consoles. They are different because they are used for different things and in different ways. Trying to force a console program into a GUI is not likely to go well.

If you use existing controls there is no need to handle most messages, generally WM_COMMAND is sufficient. Have a look at the MASM32 examples and Iczelion's tutorials to get into this - it is not a straightforward transition from console to GUI.

Having said that, what you may be after is similar to a lot of IRC clients (or other chat programs). Having a look at some of these may help you get an understanding of how your own program will work in a non-console environment.

Cheers,

Zooba :U

[Roger]

Zooba,

Thank you for your reply.

I have looked at MASM32's examples and studied Iczilion. However Iczilion's tutorials stop when it gets interesting, they don't show how to grow snippets into programs. For example take his tutorial 6 on keyboard input; He shows how to read a character onto the screen - just one character because the next one overwrites it. What he doesn't tell us is which windows/controls/styles to select to show whole words or even complete lines of text. Yes I can work out how to handle the formating characters, build a page and make it scroll but this is work the GUI is supposed to do for me.

I tried finding an IRC Client or similar but I could only find code for console apps which did not help.

My problem is not making the program fit the GUI, it is in finding the API calls which will do what I want without having to spend to much time reinventing wheels. Thus my original question:-

Can anyone suggest a compact list of the basic API calls containing a usable synopsis of what they do?

Regards Roger.

Of course if anyone knows a really good wheelwright....

[hutch--]

Roger,

You will come close to an IRC interface by creating a Window and using an edit control in its client area. The trick with the edit control is to have one large multiline one for display and a single line one under it for text entry. The data typed into the lower single line edit control is then appended to the end of the text in the main display edit control above it.

[Tight_Coder_Ex]

Hi Roger:

I would venture to say anything involving windows precludes the word synopsis.  There are just too many variables and combinations to even begin.  Sub or Super classing text boxes is one way of catching WM_CHAR and you can even have your child windows pass events to parent window first so you could catch and ESC character no matter how many controls you have in the parent. Then for application defined windows such as the main window, if WM_PAINT is designed properly you can lose data when another window covers yours or get severe screen flicker.

If you are able to share your code or at least snippets of it I can probably help you out with specific details, then others can learn by these examples, or maybe even sugges better ways, especially as it's related to taking a console app and converting to GUI.

Peter

[zooba]

Iczilion's tutorials stop when it gets interesting, they don't show how to grow snippets into programs. ... What he doesn't tell us is which windows/controls/styles to select to show whole words or even complete lines of text.

That's because they're tutorials, and this is where the MASM32 examples come in. Iczilion tutorials 9, 18, 19 and 24 (and probably more, but I've only had a quick look) involve creating various controls that you may find useful. There are MASM32 examples showing which messages are involved with these, and you can always experiment with styles.

I tried finding an IRC Client or similar but I could only find code for console apps which did not help.

Code is less important than knowing what controls you want. The examples showing lots of controls are for you to learn the names of them, so you can identify an edit box, a tree view, a combo box and a button (and the rest  :wink ). Each of these are provided by the operating system, and creating and using them is demonstrated in the examples. I suggested an IRC client because it's the sort of fake-console interface you were talking about.

If you want a "quick-reference" guide (of sorts), the list of Windows Controls at MSDN is probably your best bet. How helpful it will be I don't know, but good luck.

Cheers,

Zooba :U

[PBrennick]

Roger,
If you do not want to show us your sources at least attach the executable so we can get an idea of what you want. If you are looking for a console like environment that allows you to run code as well as type text, I have a program called WinConsole that might help you. It is the standalone proof of concept that I used to add this ability to my editor. I have alwways kept it, just in case I needed something like that again. Parts of that program came courtesy of Zcoder.

But, right now, you have typed a lot of words and we aree basically clueless as to what you want unless it is a chat engine you want to create.

-- Paul

[Roger]

Hi

The trick with the edit control is to have one large multiline one for display and a single line one under it for text entry. The data typed into the lower single line edit control is then appended to the end of the text in the main display edit control above it.

I like the look of this and I must try it out next.

I have attached some code.

'Serial1' is adapted from an old console mode program I use to connect to an embedded microprocessor. When it is working I want to add a Forth engine to share some of the work the microprocessor has to do.
Linked as a console program it seems to work still but the display to the window is haywire. As a Gui without a console I do not get enough info to tell if it is working. 

Regards Roger

BTW I would have posted it earlier but the m/c I am developing it on does not have internet access and transferring it over took longer than expected.



[attachment deleted by admin]

[Tight_Coder_Ex]

As a Gui without a console I do not get enough info to tell if it is working.

You can't mix console methods with GUI, so wherever you're using "print", replace with MesssageBox.

Code Select Expand


        .const

Caption  db  'INITIALIZATION FAILURE', 0
Text      db 'Serial Failed', 0

        .code
invoke   MessageBox, hWnd, ADDR Text, ADDR Caption, MB_ICONINFORMATION


See documentation on this API for more detail

[jj2007]

You can't mix console methods with GUI, so wherever you're using "print", replace with MesssageBox.

Code Select Expand

include \masm32\include\masm32rt.inc

.code
AppName db "Masm32:", 0

start: print "You can mix console output and message boxes"
MsgBox 0, "Hello World", addr AppName, MB_OK
exit

end start


[Roger]

Hi,

invoke MessageBox, hWnd, ADDR Text, ADDR Caption, MB_ICONINFORMATION

Thank you, This does help!

However I am still unable to find the information I need and the more I read the more contradictions I seem to discover.

Take the code below:-

I have commented out the WM_PAINT and WM_CHAR sections (but not the invoke MessageBox Lines). Now I expected that this would stop any text reaching the window but it didn't, the keyboard text appears.  Remove (comment out) the WM_SIZE section and now the keyboard text goes but the window can still be moved.
Alternatively put the WM_PAINT and WM_CHAR sections in (without the invoke MessageBox lines) and leave the WM_SIZE section out and the string text appears. However either the WM_SECTION or one of the MessageBox lines is needed for keyboard text to be written.

It would seem to me that responding to WM_SIZE messages is having effects other than resizing the window yet is not needed to re-size the window as that is done by DefWindowProc.
I notice that DrawText does not recognise CR-LFs whereas ShowText does, yet I can't find reference to this difference in the platform SDK.

The trick with the edit control is to have one large multiline one for display and a single line one under it for text entry. The data typed into the lower single line edit control is then appended to the end of the text in the main display edit control above it.

I have tried this but I can't get the two controls in the same window to work differently - at least not in the way I expect.


Confused Regards Roger

Code Select Expand


.386
.model flat,stdcall
option casemap:none
include \masm32\include\windows.inc
include \masm32\include\user32.inc
include \masm32\include\kernel32.inc
include \masm32\include\gdi32.inc
includelib \masm32\lib\user32.lib
includelib \masm32\lib\kernel32.lib
includelib \masm32\lib\gdi32.lib
WinMain PROTO :DWORD,:DWORD,:DWORD,:DWORD
; -------------------------------------------------------------------------
.data
ClassName        db "WindClass",0
AppName         db "Text Window",0
EditClass       db "EDIT",0
TestStg1        db " 1 Test string 1 ",0Ah,0Dh, "Next Line",0
TestStg2        db " 2 Test string 2 ",0
TestStg3        db " 3 Test string 3 ",0
MesgStg1        db " WM_PAINT ",0
MesgStg2        db " WM_CHAR ",0
MesgStg3        db " WM_SIZE ",0
Caption         db  'Message', 0
char        WPARAM 41h                                ; the character the program receives from keyboard
pointer         DD    0                                        ; pointer to move char about
; -------------------------------------------------------------------------
.data?
hInstance       HINSTANCE ?
hwndEdit        dd ?
CommandLine LPSTR ?
hwnd            DD    ?
; -------------------------------------------------------------------------
.code
start:
        invoke GetModuleHandle, NULL
        mov    hInstance,eax
        invoke WinMain, hInstance,NULL,NULL, SW_SHOWDEFAULT
        invoke ExitProcess,eax
; -------------------------------------------------------------------------
WinMain proc hInst:HINSTANCE,hPrevInst:HINSTANCE,CmdLine:LPSTR,CmdShow:DWORD
        LOCAL wc:WNDCLASSEX
        LOCAL msg:MSG
;       LOCAL hwnd:HWND
        mov   wc.cbSize,SIZEOF WNDCLASSEX
        mov   wc.style, CS_HREDRAW or CS_VREDRAW
        mov   wc.lpfnWndProc, OFFSET WndProc
        mov   wc.cbClsExtra,NULL
        mov   wc.cbWndExtra,NULL
        push  hInst
        pop   wc.hInstance
        mov   wc.hbrBackground,COLOR_WINDOW+1
        mov   wc.lpszMenuName,NULL
        mov   wc.lpszClassName,OFFSET ClassName
        invoke LoadIcon,NULL,IDI_APPLICATION
        mov   wc.hIcon,eax
        mov   wc.hIconSm,0
        invoke LoadCursor,NULL,IDC_ARROW
        mov   wc.hCursor,eax
        invoke RegisterClassEx, addr wc
        invoke CreateWindowEx,WS_EX_CLIENTEDGE,ADDR ClassName,ADDR AppName,\
           WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW+WS_VISIBLE,\
           300,300, 600,400, NULL,NULL,hInst,NULL
        mov hwnd,eax
x1:     invoke GetMessage, ADDR msg,NULL,0,0
        or eax,eax
        jz x2
        invoke TranslateMessage, ADDR msg
        invoke DispatchMessage, ADDR msg
        jmp x1
x2:     mov eax,msg.wParam
        ret
WinMain endp
; -------------------------------------------------------------------------
WndProc proc hWnd:HWND, uMsg:UINT, wParam:WPARAM, lParam:LPARAM
        LOCAL hdc:HDC
        LOCAL ps:PAINTSTRUCT
        LOCAL rect:RECT
        .IF uMsg==WM_DESTROY
                invoke PostQuitMessage,NULL
        .ELSEIF uMsg==WM_CREATE
                invoke CreateWindowEx,NULL,addr EditClass,NULL,\
                   WS_CHILD+WS_VISIBLE+ES_MULTILINE+ES_AUTOHSCROLL+ES_AUTOVSCROLL,\
                   0,0,0,0,hWnd,NULL,hInstance,NULL
                mov hwndEdit,eax
                push eax
                call SetFocus

;        .ELSEIF uMsg==WM_SIZE                         ; seems to paint window
;                mov edx,lParam
;                mov ecx,edx
;                shr ecx,16
;                and edx,0ffffh
;                invoke MoveWindow,hwndEdit,0,0,edx,ecx,TRUE
invoke   MessageBox, NULL, ADDR MesgStg3, ADDR Caption, MB_ICONINFORMATION 
;                call SetFocus

;        .ELSEIF uMsg==WM_PAINT
;                invoke BeginPaint,hWnd, ADDR ps
;                mov    hdc,eax
;                invoke GetClientRect,hWnd, ADDR rect
;                invoke DrawText, hdc,ADDR TestStg1,SIZEOF TestStg1, ADDR rect, DT_EDITCONTROL+DT_WORDBREAK
;           inc [rect.top]
;                invoke DrawText, hdc,ADDR TestStg2,10, ADDR rect, DT_EDITCONTROL+DT_WORDBREAK
;                mov eax,[pointer]                      ; Move the position of the character
;                inc eax
;                mov [pointer],eax   
;                imul eax,8
;                invoke TextOut,hdc,eax,48,ADDR char,1
invoke   MessageBox, NULL, ADDR MesgStg1, ADDR Caption, MB_ICONINFORMATION
;                invoke SetBkColor,hdc,0ffFFh
;                invoke TextOut,hdc,300,0,ADDR TestStg1,SIZEOF TestStg1
;                invoke EndPaint,hWnd, ADDR ps

;        .ELSEIF uMsg==WM_CHAR
;                push wParam
;                pop  char
;                invoke [SendMessage], [hwndEdit], EM_REPLACESEL, 0, offset char
;
invoke   MessageBox, NULL, ADDR MesgStg2, ADDR Caption, MB_ICONINFORMATION
;                invoke InvalidateRect, hWnd,NULL,TRUE

        .ELSE
                invoke DefWindowProc,hWnd,uMsg,wParam,lParam
                ret
        .ENDIF
        xor eax,eax
        ret
WndProc endp
; -------------------------------------------------------------------------
end start


[jj2007]

Me confused, too. What do these message boxes in the middle of nowhere? Delete the commented lines to see what you really have coded. There is one clear bug:

        .ELSEIF uMsg==WM_SIZE                         ; seems to paint window
                mov edx,lParam
                mov ecx,edx
                shr ecx,16
                and edx,0ffffh
                invoke MoveWindow,hwndEdit,0,0,edx,ecx,TRUE
      ; invoke   MessageBox, NULL, ADDR MesgStg3, ADDR Caption, MB_ICONINFORMATION
                call SetFocus

No parameters supplied! This would not have happened if you use
invoke SetFocus, hwndEdit
When commenting out SetFocus, I get a window that has an edit field that behaves entirely as expected. And still I have no idea what you want to achieve...

[Roger]

What do these message boxes in the middle of nowhere? Delete the commented lines to see what you really have coded.

I put them there to try to see when the particular WM_?? messages where occurring.
EDIT
I was under the impression that WM_CHAR was the method of obtaining keyboard text and WM_PAINT was the method of displaying it. I found that some code I had was not sending these messages so I extracted just the bit you see to try and find out what was happening.

The message boxes best left commented out most of the time.

There is one clear bug:
                      call SetFocus
No parameters supplied!

I corrected that. I could see no improvement!

  When commenting out SetFocus, I get a window that has an edit field that behaves entirely as expected.

Try it with everything in and then with the WM_SIZE code commented out. Which of these did you expect to happen or did you expect the WM_SIZE code to actually make that difference?

And still I have no idea what you want to achieve...

What I want to achieve is understanding what is happening when I use API calls. In the interim I would like a window which handles Keyboard and other text in a similar way to the console.

Regards Roger

[jj2007]

Try it with everything in and then with the WM_SIZE code commented out. Which of these did you expect to happen or did you expect the WM_SIZE code to actually make that difference?

Your WM_SIZE handler does not paint the edit box - it sizes it. Without it, your box remains at the 0,0,0,0 that you assigned in the CreateWindowEx call...

[Roger]

Try it with everything in and then with the WM_SIZE code commented out. Which of these did you expect to happen or did you expect the WM_SIZE code to actually make that difference?

Your WM_SIZE handler does not paint the edit box - it sizes it. Without it, your box remains at the 0,0,0,0 that you assigned in the CreateWindowEx call...

When I run it with the WM_SIZE handler in I get only the keyboard text and none of the string text.

When I run it with the WM_SIZE handler commented out I get only the string text and no keyboard text.
If I then minimize the window and the restore it I get single characters from the keyboard
If I alter the size of the window (with my mouse) it still gets re-sized and the single keyboard character rapidly exits stage left.  (Presumably this is done by DefWindowProc sending repeated WM_PAINT messages and my WM_PAINT handler incrementing the pointer.)
If I minimize and restore the window after I have re-sized it, then I don't get single keyboard characters.

My WM_SIZE handler may not paint the edit box  but it does a lot more than sizing it.

Regards Roger