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DLL Talk / Is it possible to create a dll in DBP6.6 ?

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TinTin
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Posted: 23rd Aug 2007 00:43
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I was wondering if it were possible to use DBP6.6 to create a dll that, a) can be included with a distributed application created with DBP, or b) can be stuck in the user dll folder to be compiled with the application.

Cyberspace was becoming overcrowded and slummy so I decided to move. These nice chaps gave me a lift.
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IanM
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Posted: 23rd Aug 2007 01:23
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No. DBPro can only create exe's

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http://www.matrix1.demon.co.uk for older plug-ins and example code
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Diggsey
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Posted: 24th Aug 2007 17:33
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Technically you could write a dll with DBP, using write byte lots of times...


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Aaron Miller
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Posted: 28th Aug 2007 09:18
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With OPEN TO WRITE, and CLOSE FILE as well.


Cheers,

-naota

DBP, $80. DBP's plugins, $320. Watching DBP Crash, Priceless.
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TinTin
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Posted: 28th Aug 2007 11:59
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Ah... I see the influx of information has made the solution much clearer... Thanks IanM , your almost a fairy godfather. hehe
Diggsy & Aaron, gues you guys don't happen to know how I'd go about compiling the output to the file now?

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IanM
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Posted: 28th Aug 2007 15:14
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Yes, technically it's possible ... if you are willing to learn the DLL output format - header, code, internal relocation information, static data, external linking information - along with writing an assembler, learning how to extract DBPro compiled info and reorganise it for running in an external DLL.

Oh, just one or two months solid work there for an experienced programmer.

Alternatively, you can use my first answer, and then go and learn how to do it with PB, Delphi or C++ in a week

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CattleRustler
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Posted: 28th Aug 2007 18:40
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Quote: "Alternatively, you can use my first answer, and then go and learn how to do it with PB, Delphi or C++ in a week "


or vb.net and C# as well
(and use ZK's converter on your compiled dll to automatically build string tables, and recompile the dll for use straight away in dbp as a plugin)

My DBP plugins page is now hosted [href]here[/href]
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TinTin
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Posted: 30th Aug 2007 11:30
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Hehe @ IanM, yeah I guess I'll be following your suggestion. It was just a thought since DBP can generate screen savers although, I'm not sure if it properly detects if it's already active.?

@ CattleRustler, I use C++ didn't get into the .net os C# stuff but thanks for the info on ZK's converter, I didn't know that existed and I find it a pain writing these resource files.

Maybe Lee will consider adding the options of what you'd like to compile in the settings panel... [x].Exe [ ].Scr [ ].Dll
It'd be a great advantage...

Thanks again Guys.

Go Create...

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IanM
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Posted: 30th Aug 2007 14:58
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Screensavers are plain .exe files, renamed to .scr

There's a bit of extra stuff you need to do to get it to place nicely with the screensaver setup dialog, but that's pretty much all.

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Lucy
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2007 20:36 Edited at: 3rd Sep 2007 20:39
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Well, yeah, technically it IS possible... A dll is just a renamed exe with multiple entry points. exe files typically only have one entry point, but it should be theoretically possible to hack up a DLL in DBPro, if you code it right, and as Ian M said, have something restructure everything. But I wouldn't recommend it. It'd be like trying to make a marble sculpture with a chainsaw. Very painful, very arduous, and not likely to be very pretty.

DBPro might compile to native, but it's not all one contiguous file. There's a "pck" file that contains the bulk of the code you made, and that code is not a part of the exe. Although who knows, maybe that executable stuff in the pck is actually being used like a dll, with multiple entry points. Who knows? I certainly don't

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IanM
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2007 21:13
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Actually the .pck file itself is easy to break out into separate files

The Winch has full details on the format published on his site, along with utilities to manipulate the file.

It's basically an archive file containing all the attached media and the plug-in DLLs used, in addition to a file called _virtual.dat - it's only this last file that contains code generated by DBPro.

When you build an .exe instead of a .pck, the compiler simply appended the .pck to the .exe stub, and the .exe takes care of unpacking everything into a temp directory for use.

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