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Load Vb6 DLL Function

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  • newbieQTDevN newbieQTDev

    Hi.
    I need to load a vb6 dll and run a function.
    This is an example where the function return a int but i want return a vb6 string how i do?

    #include <QCoreApplication>
    #include <QLibrary>
    #include <QDebug>
    
    typedef int (*call_func)();
    
    int main(int argc, char *argv[])
    {
        QCoreApplication a(argc, argv);
    
        QLibrary library( "C:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\myDLL.dll" );
        library.load();
        if( !library.isLoaded() )
        {
            qDebug() << "Cannot load library.";
            return 0;
        }
        else qDebug()<<"I have load a library";
        call_func func = (call_func)library.resolve( "myIntFunction" );
        if( func)
        {
            qDebug()<<  func() << endl;
        } else qDebug() << "I not call function"<<endl;
    
        return a.exec();
    }
    
    

    Every help is appreciated. Thanks

    aha_1980A Offline
    aha_1980A Offline
    aha_1980
    Lifetime Qt Champion
    wrote on last edited by
    #4

    @newbieQTDev

    just to add to @mrjj and @kshegunov, the interesting thing to know is the function signature, as typically written in a C header file.

    is there any documentation for that library or did you write it yourself ?

    Qt has to stay free or it will die.

    1 Reply Last reply
    1
    • newbieQTDevN newbieQTDev

      Hi.
      I need to load a vb6 dll and run a function.
      This is an example where the function return a int but i want return a vb6 string how i do?

      #include <QCoreApplication>
      #include <QLibrary>
      #include <QDebug>
      
      typedef int (*call_func)();
      
      int main(int argc, char *argv[])
      {
          QCoreApplication a(argc, argv);
      
          QLibrary library( "C:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\myDLL.dll" );
          library.load();
          if( !library.isLoaded() )
          {
              qDebug() << "Cannot load library.";
              return 0;
          }
          else qDebug()<<"I have load a library";
          call_func func = (call_func)library.resolve( "myIntFunction" );
          if( func)
          {
              qDebug()<<  func() << endl;
          } else qDebug() << "I not call function"<<endl;
      
          return a.exec();
      }
      
      

      Every help is appreciated. Thanks

      kshegunovK Offline
      kshegunovK Offline
      kshegunov
      Moderators
      wrote on last edited by
      #5

      Something which @aha_1980's comment reminded me of ... you could in principle decode the decorated name from the binary. I will explain how if it gets to this, however it's much simpler if you have docs or otherwise information what's the C equivalent of the VB types.

      Read and abide by the Qt Code of Conduct

      1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • newbieQTDevN Offline
        newbieQTDevN Offline
        newbieQTDev
        wrote on last edited by
        #6

        Thanks for all.
        I will try to recover the documentation of the dll. I found some information about the conversion between the vb and c ++ data types.
        The equivalent type should be BSTR.
        Unraveling Strings in Visual C++
        My work scenario is quite strange. I have to call in C ++ (QT) some functions of a dll written for vb6. I am migrating an application from vb6 to C ++ (QT). My vb6 application uses the dll. Then i will include the functionality of the dll in my C ++ application (QT)

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • newbieQTDevN Offline
          newbieQTDevN Offline
          newbieQTDev
          wrote on last edited by
          #7

          As suggested by kshegunov I found the prototype of the function. this is

          STDMETHOD(get_SoftwareCode)(/*[out, retval]*/ BSTR *pVal);
          

          Which is the right method for the call?
          Thanks

          kshegunovK 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • mrjjM Offline
            mrjjM Offline
            mrjj
            Lifetime Qt Champion
            wrote on last edited by mrjj
            #8

            Hi
            Does the documentation mention who has ownership of the pVal?

            Anyway, you can try
            QString string("WHATEVER");
            BSTR bstr = SysAllocString(string.utf16());
            // use...
            SysFreeString(bstr); // unless DLL owns it..

            Notice this is native API and not Qt. So you might need extra includes
            and/or link to libs.

            Note that it seems to be other way. you call the DLL and it put data in the pVal.
            In that case, you might need t know maximum it needs.

            hskoglundH 1 Reply Last reply
            2
            • mrjjM mrjj

              Hi
              Does the documentation mention who has ownership of the pVal?

              Anyway, you can try
              QString string("WHATEVER");
              BSTR bstr = SysAllocString(string.utf16());
              // use...
              SysFreeString(bstr); // unless DLL owns it..

              Notice this is native API and not Qt. So you might need extra includes
              and/or link to libs.

              Note that it seems to be other way. you call the DLL and it put data in the pVal.
              In that case, you might need t know maximum it needs.

              hskoglundH Offline
              hskoglundH Offline
              hskoglund
              wrote on last edited by
              #9

              @mrjj For an [out] COM BSTR, the caller of the function (i.e. Qt, not VB6) assumes responsibility of the memory management for the BSTR MSDN doc

              mrjjM 1 Reply Last reply
              4
              • hskoglundH hskoglund

                @mrjj For an [out] COM BSTR, the caller of the function (i.e. Qt, not VB6) assumes responsibility of the memory management for the BSTR MSDN doc

                mrjjM Offline
                mrjjM Offline
                mrjj
                Lifetime Qt Champion
                wrote on last edited by
                #10

                @hskoglund
                haha cool you answered. i was actually thinking of you as if anyone knew what vb6 likes in 2018
                it might be you :)
                Yes so get_SoftwareCode wants a buffer and the caller must free it.
                Do you know a Qt way of constructing a BSTR besides the SysAllocString ?
                Im afraid the details escapes me after a decade ;)

                hskoglundH 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • mrjjM mrjj

                  @hskoglund
                  haha cool you answered. i was actually thinking of you as if anyone knew what vb6 likes in 2018
                  it might be you :)
                  Yes so get_SoftwareCode wants a buffer and the caller must free it.
                  Do you know a Qt way of constructing a BSTR besides the SysAllocString ?
                  Im afraid the details escapes me after a decade ;)

                  hskoglundH Offline
                  hskoglundH Offline
                  hskoglund
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #11

                  @mrjj Had a look inside Qt's sources, found this function in qt-everywhere-src-5.10.1/qtbase/src/plugins/platforms/windows/accessible/comutils.h:

                  BSTR QStringToBSTR(const QString &str)
                  {
                      return SysAllocStringLen(reinterpret_cast<const OLECHAR *>(str.unicode()), UINT(str.length()));
                  }
                  
                  mrjjM 1 Reply Last reply
                  3
                  • hskoglundH hskoglund

                    @mrjj Had a look inside Qt's sources, found this function in qt-everywhere-src-5.10.1/qtbase/src/plugins/platforms/windows/accessible/comutils.h:

                    BSTR QStringToBSTR(const QString &str)
                    {
                        return SysAllocStringLen(reinterpret_cast<const OLECHAR *>(str.unicode()), UINT(str.length()));
                    }
                    
                    mrjjM Offline
                    mrjjM Offline
                    mrjj
                    Lifetime Qt Champion
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #12

                    @hskoglund
                    Oh, good found. That should make it just work !

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • newbieQTDevN newbieQTDev

                      As suggested by kshegunov I found the prototype of the function. this is

                      STDMETHOD(get_SoftwareCode)(/*[out, retval]*/ BSTR *pVal);
                      

                      Which is the right method for the call?
                      Thanks

                      kshegunovK Offline
                      kshegunovK Offline
                      kshegunov
                      Moderators
                      wrote on last edited by kshegunov
                      #13

                      @newbieQTDev said in Load Vb6 DLL Function:

                      STDMETHOD(get_SoftwareCode)(/*[out, retval]*/ BSTR *pVal);
                      

                      This is a method definition, according to MSDN, which means it applies to an object, so you also need to have the actual object to use it.

                      Read and abide by the Qt Code of Conduct

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • newbieQTDevN Offline
                        newbieQTDevN Offline
                        newbieQTDev
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #14

                        Hi kshegunov.
                        I am sorry.
                        I may not have explained my problem well.
                        I'm trying to use a dll that was written using COM technology. It was written in C but to be used in VB6.
                        The signature of the function I inserted in the post is one of the many methods that the dll provides. After your consideration maybe the code I used is not appropriate to my case?

                        1 Reply Last reply
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