Binary Access On Self

[Matt Grace]

I'm a working on a project, pretty much a setup type kit, in which I attach data to the end of the executeable file, and when the executeable is launched, it extracts the data/files, etc. I've tested this on another .tmp file I've created and it works, but when I try to open the exe itself for binary access, I can not seem to do anything with it, I can not even return the LOF of the exe, 0 is returned. Any ideas guys?

Thanks in advance,
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Matt

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[Don Dickinson]

I have 3 or 4 programs that open themselves up and read data from the end of the file. Note that you will not be able to write the exe you're running. When you open, make sure to specify "shared" e.g.

Open "myself.exe" for binary shared as #1

--Don

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www.basicguru.com/dickinson

[Wayne Diamond]

This tells you the first two bytes and the length of your exe when it runs

#COMPILE EXE "readexe.exe"
#INCLUDE "win32api.inc"
 
FUNCTION ExeName() AS STRING
ON ERROR RESUME NEXT
  LOCAL hModule AS LONG
  LOCAL buffer  AS ASCIIZ * 256
  hModule = GetModuleHandle(BYVAL 0&)
  GetModuleFileName hModule, Buffer, 256
  FUNCTION = Buffer
END FUNCTION
 
FUNCTION PBMAIN() AS LONG
 Dim MZID AS STRING * 2
 OPEN ExeName FOR BINARY ACCESS READ LOCK SHARED AS #1
  GET #1, 1, MZID
  MSGBOX "LOF=" & STR$(LOF(1)) & CHR$(13) & CHR$(10) & "MZID=" & MZID
 CLOSE #1
END FUNCTION

Best regards,
Wayne



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[Sven Blumenstein]

Wayne,
thanks for this code example! I didn't know about the "share" parameter... new ideas coming up
Does someone know, how I can set a pointer at the end of a file to append to a file in binary mode? Something with SEEK or LOC, I think...
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e-mail: [email protected]



[This message has been edited by Sven Blumenstein (edited December 22, 2000).]

[Sven Blumenstein]

Matt,

I've found a solution for your problem. Source avaible in the Source Code Forum!

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e-mail: [email protected]

[Fred Oxenby]

Why not write your "setup-program" to simply ask the user
for a folder to install into:
Then "MOVE" your files to this folder
Use PE-bundle to pack your software into your 'setup-program'
and specify "extract to current folder"
and you will have a proffessional looking install-program.
Make your "setup-program" fancy with WIN-LIFT and animation and stuff
Progress-bar etc, and every-one will be impressed...
When user start your setup, PEBundle will have extracted all
files to your setup-folder, just kill them when setup is finished if user
choose to abort installation.
http://www.collakesoftware.com/

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Fred
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>
http://www.oxenby.se



[This message has been edited by Fred Oxenby (edited December 22, 2000).]

[Sven Blumenstein]

Fred--
also an good and logical idea to work with a programm like PEBundle. But PEBundle or similar Programms are mostly Shareware.
And, in my point of view, it's much more nice, if you make such a routine by yourself

I'm just improving my Source to add an *unlimited* number of files into on SelfExtractor.

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e-mail: [email protected]

[This message has been edited by Sven Blumenstein (edited December 22, 2000).]

[Matt Grace]

Thanks everyone,

The kit is basically complete aside from compression (implimenting LZ-77 compression algorithms from source code section soon, thanks in advance to the authors). If you're interested in the source to this executeable let me know. All information bound to the end is layered on top of an XML based template. EXE_FILEBYTES%<FILECOUNT>#</FILECOUNT><FILE1 name=name$ action=#>ARCHIVE_FILEBYTES%</FILE1><FILE2...

In response to the PEBUNDLE suggestion, thanks, but I think writing my own routine, in this case, was called for. I wanted to design the wizard that creates the executeable and in order to do so it was required I be able to append and package the files myself, in my own format.

Anywho, thanks to everyone. Merry X-mas.

-----------
Matty Claus

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[Sven Blumenstein]

>If you're interested in the source to this executeable let me know

Yes, I'm interested. Please send the source to [email protected]

Have you already looked at my SelfExtractor in the SourceCode Forum?

regards,
Sven

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e-mail: [email protected]

[This message has been edited by Sven Blumenstein (edited December 25, 2000).]

[Semen Matusovski]

Matt --
> implimenting LZ-77 compression algorithms from source code section

What do you mean ? Don Dickinson's code ?
Or something new (I saw enough fast VB code on planetsource ?) ?



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E-MAIL: [email protected]