How do I utilize QDataStream to write binary to file?

[A Former User]

Hello,
right now I'm writing a function to dump a defined memory range of a foreign process into a binary file. I have allocated a new memory area depending on the dump size and successfully copied the dump over there. malloc() has returned a pointer to that memory location. Now I'd like to save all bytes situated at this pointer to file.

QFile dump(dump_path);
    if(!dump.open(QFile::WriteOnly | QFile::Text))
    {
        QMessageBox::warning(this, "Error", "Cannot write to file");
        return;
    }

    unsigned __int64 dump_start = ui->lineEdit_dump_start->text().toULongLong(ok, 16);
    unsigned __int64 dump_end = ui->lineEdit_dump_end->text().toULongLong(ok, 16);
    unsigned __int64 dump_size = dump_end - dump_start;

    unsigned __int8 *byte_array = (unsigned __int8*) malloc(dump_size); // where to copy dump before exporting
    unsigned __int8 *byte_array_backup = byte_array;

    ui->lineEdit_malloc->setText(QString::number((unsigned __int64)byte_array, 16));

    for(int i = 0; i <= dump_size; i++, dump_start++, byte_array++)
    {
        *byte_array = copy_byte(dump_start); //copy_byte() is the function that returns a byte from the foreign process
    }

    dump.setFileName(dump_path);
    dump.open(QIODevice::WriteOnly);
//I'm lost here.. :(

[mrjj]

Hi

QFile file( "test.dat" );
if( !file.open( QIODevice::WriteOnly ) )
return;

QDataStream stream( &file );
// loop
stream << "var" << realvar << what_u_like ;
// loop end
file.close();

[A Former User]

thanks
Mind explaining the following line in detail?
@mrjj said in How do I utilize QDataStream to write binary to file?:

stream << "var" << realvar << what_u_like ;

It writes to a file now but only every 8th byte with 7 clear bytes in between. therefore the file is 8 times as big as defined

//loop
writeBytes << copy_byte(dump_start);
//loop

I have tried copying it byte wise and qword wise. the result was the same

[mrjj]

@SnuggleKat
The
<< is an operator.
it can put known types to a stream;
Its polymorph and can handle all build in types.
Be vareful with pointers. it might write pointer address to stream, not what it points to unless
you deref it with *

so
for (int x=0; x < 1000 ; x++ )
stream << x;

will write 0 to 999 to the stream ( and hence the file)

what does copy_byte return ?
(type wise)

Note: you open it as QFile::Text so it might add newlines

[A Former User]

@mrjj
The pointer is an unsigned __int64 and is converted to LPVOID to work with ReadProcessMemory()

unsigned __int8 MainWindow::copy_byte(unsigned __int64 addr)
{
    val &= 0;
    hProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_VM_READ, 0, pid);
    ReadProcessMemory(hProcess, (LPVOID)addr, &val, 1, 0);
    return val;
}

So as you can see copy_byte() returns an unsigned __int8.

what should I use instead of QFile::Text?
I changed it to Append and retried writing it in __int64 and the file was in BE. By returning a Byte it works!
Is using QFile::Append an appropriate way though?
And the dumping process is really slow.. (about 100KB/s).

EDIT:
changed it to:

QDataStream writeBytes(&dump);

    for(int i = 0; i < dump_size; i++, dump_start++, byte_array++)
    {
        *byte_array = copy_byte(dump_start);
        //writeBytes << copy_byte(dump_start);
    }

    writeBytes.writeRawData((const char*)byte_array_backup, (int)dump_size);

it immediately dumps 32MB but then freezes. Might be an access violation. I wikk do some more testing

[mrjj]

Hi
QFile::Append means file will not be truncated but appended to.
So if you re-open file for each call, it has to move to end of file to append.
if you << a void pointer, i think it will write the value of the pointer and not what it points to.
writeBytes might suit you better since same type.