How to create the "continuous timer" in modeless dialog?

[Cliff Nichols]

THREAD = Friend

Walking away from Friend, and not letting them know when their back is turned and helping you = "Just how many nights can a human live without sleep anyways????"

THREADS are great....just be careful if too many, or if you leave one running...it could drive you nuts trying to find where and why a program will not end.

[Wayne Diamond]

Alix, glad to hear that fixed the problem

You should take some time to read the help files information on the THREAD statement as it will help empower you.

[Alexander Holzer]

Hello, Wayne Diamond!
Super! I used THREAD, how you wrote, everything functions!
Now runs my timer without problem.
Many thanks!

FUNCTION MyThread (BYVAL x AS LONG) AS LONG
CALL MakeMsgDialog(...)
 DO
   DIALOG DOEVENTS 330
 LOOP
END FUNCTION

[Alexander Holzer]

It's NOT the fact there is a COM object. The WM_TIMER messages are backed up until the function you call (not shown) on WM_COMMAND is completed and returns control to your main dialog procedure.

Unfortunately it so. Without COM-reference work of the program (not this example ) does not influence the timer. I do not observe any "interruptions" of time.

[Michael Mattias]

but during COM reference (create Object, call.., let.., get..) - freezes and then jumps on correct value of time. In it that and a problem

It's NOT the fact there is a COM object. The WM_TIMER messages are backed up until the function you call (not shown) on WM_COMMAND is completed and returns control to your main dialog procedure.

What you are seeing is absolutely the expected behavior the way you coded the program. If that is a "problem" then you have to change the way you coded the program.

Those are some nice demos if I do say so myself. Study them.

MCM

[Alexander Holzer]

  CASE %IDC_BTN_DLG3
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED THEN
                        ' com objects reference...through FUNCTION...
                        ' that makes problem !!!

It's not that there is a COM object reference here which is causing your timer code to not execute; it could be anything.
...

The timer goes, but during COM reference (create Object, call.., let.., get..) - freezes and then jumps on correct value of time. In it that and a problem!

But this problem is not shown with standard COM from Мicrosoft App, but only with other programs with COM (writen with C#).

[Michael Mattias]

  CASE %IDC_BTN_DLG3
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED THEN
                        ' com objects reference...through FUNCTION...
                        ' that makes problem !!!

It's not that there is a COM object reference here which is causing your timer code to not execute; it could be anything.

Whenever any thread of execution - including the main thread - is processing a message, it will not process another message until it has completed processing of the current message.

In your case, it has to complete the processing of WM_COMMAND in the 'main' dialog before it can start processing WM_TIMER in the second dialog.

[Alexander Holzer]

Hello, Michael Mattias,
thanks, but I have not understood.

@Wayne Diamond & Michael Mattias
How properly to apply THREAD?
Can show on my example?
Many thanks.

#COMPILE EXE
#DIM ALL

#INCLUDE "WIN32API.INC"

%IDC_BTN_DLG1 = 1000
%IDC_BTN_DLG2 = 1001
%IDC_BTN_DLG3 = 1002
%IDC_TIMER    = 1003
%IDC_TIME     = 1004

GLOBAL hMsgDialog  AS DWORD

DECLARE FUNCTION MakeMsgDialog() AS LONG
DECLARE CALLBACK FUNCTION ProcMsgDialog() AS LONG
DECLARE CALLBACK FUNCTION ProcDlg() AS LONG

'==============================================================================
FUNCTION WINMAIN (BYVAL  hInstance   AS DWORD, _
                  BYVAL  hPrevInst   AS DWORD, _
                  BYVAL  lpszCmdLine AS ASCIIZ PTR, _
                  BYVAL  nCmdShow    AS LONG ) AS LONG


LOCAL hDlg   AS DWORD

DIALOG NEW 0, "TEST", , , 70, 75, %WS_CAPTION OR %WS_SYSMENU OR %DS_SETFOREGROUND, TO hDlg
CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BTN_DLG1, "Start", 12, 10, 50, 14
CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BTN_DLG2, "End",   12, 30, 50, 14
CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BTN_DLG3, "COM",   12, 50, 50, 14
DIALOG SHOW MODAL hDlg, CALL ProcDlg()

END FUNCTION

'==============================================================================
CALLBACK FUNCTION ProcDlg() AS LONG

    SELECT CASE AS LONG CBMSG
        CASE %WM_INITDIALOG

        CASE %WM_COMMAND
            SELECT CASE AS LONG CBCTL
                CASE %IDC_BTN_DLG1
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED THEN
                        MakeMsgDialog
                    END IF

                CASE %IDC_BTN_DLG2
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED THEN DIALOG END hMsgDialog, 0

                CASE %IDC_BTN_DLG3
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED THEN
                        ' com objects reference...through FUNCTION...
                        ' that makes problem !!!

                    END IF


            END SELECT

    END SELECT

END FUNCTION


'==============================================================================
CALLBACK FUNCTION ProcMsgDialog() AS LONG

LOCAL sText  AS STRING

    SELECT CASE AS LONG CBMSG
        CASE %WM_INITDIALOG
            SetTimer CBHNDL, %IDC_TIMER, 250, BYVAL %NULL

       CASE %WM_TIMER
            sText =  TIME$
            CONTROL SET TEXT CBHNDL, %IDC_TIME, sText

       CASE %WM_DESTROY
            KillTimer  CBHNDL, %IDC_TIMER

    END SELECT

END FUNCTION

'==============================================================================
FUNCTION MakeMsgDialog() AS LONG

    DIALOG NEW 0, "MsgDialog", 0, 0, 60, 30, _
        %WS_POPUP OR %WS_BORDER OR %WS_CLIPSIBLINGS OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %DS_MODALFRAME, %WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW, TO hMsgDialog

    CONTROL ADD LABEL, hMsgDialog, %IDC_TIME,"", 10, 10, 40, 10, %SS_SUNKEN
    DIALOG SHOW MODELESS hMsgDialog, CALL ProcMsgDialog()
    DIALOG DOEVENTS 200

END FUNCTION

[Michael Mattias]

>thanks, but I do not understand in THREAD

Perhaps some demos would help?

GUI + Worker Thread + Abort Demo 11-24-07

Waitable Timer Object Demo June 2005

[Alexander Holzer]

Hello, Wayne Diamond,
thanks, but I do not understand in THREAD
Now I shall prepare an example...

[Paul Dixon]

Alexander,
set up your timer as shown in this PBCC program and it should continue to run, i.e. the function TEST will get called.

Paul.

$DEBUG ERROR ON
REM use a TIMER TO 0.001s

$INCLUDE "WIN32API.INC"
DECLARE FUNCTION test( BYVAL uID AS LONG, BYVAL uMsg AS LONG, _
                         BYVAL dwUser AS LONG, BYVAL dw1 AS LONG, BYVAL dw2 AS LONG) AS LONG

GLOBAL COUNT AS LONG

FUNCTION WINMAIN (BYVAL hInstance     AS LONG, _
                  BYVAL hPrevInstance AS LONG, _
                  BYVAL lpCmdLine           AS ASCIIZ PTR, _
                  BYVAL iCmdShow      AS LONG) AS LONG

'start the timer
'1=milliseconds between triggers, 0=maximum timer resolution, test=the routine to call
TimerHandle& = timeSetEvent ( BYVAL 10, BYVAL 0, CODEPTR(test), BYVAL 0&, BYVAL %TIME_PERIODIC)

PRINT "press a key to end."
DO
   LOCATE 10,10
   PRINT "Time=";FORMAT$(count&/1000,"#######.###");"secs."
   SLEEP 1
   LOOP UNTIL INSTAT

   timeKillEvent TimerHandle&

END FUNCTION

FUNCTION test ( BYVAL uID AS LONG, BYVAL uMsg AS LONG, _
                        BYVAL dwUser AS LONG, BYVAL dw1 AS LONG, BYVAL dw2 AS LONG) AS LONG
'this is the routine that is run everytime the timer triggers

      INCR COUNT
END FUNCTION

[Wayne Diamond]

Sorry but I don't quite understand your problem, but it seems that using another THREAD may solve it?

FUNCTION MyThread (BYVAL x AS LONG) AS LONG
 DO
   '// Put all your important code here
   SLEEP 1000
 LOOP
END FUNCTION
 
FUNCTION PBMAIN () AS LONG 
 LOCAL hThread AS DWORD
 THREAD CREATE MyThread(BYVAL 0) TO hThread
END FUNCTION

[Alexander Holzer]

Hello,

my Problem:
Timer freezes during the moment of the reference program to COM-objects. And then goes/jumps further...
How to create the "continuous timer", without freezing/show interruptions?
It probably to make?

Many thanks