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I was in need of an IPC (Interprocess communication) between system, admin and user levels, and ended up writing this UDF to suit my wantings. Hope you find it useful too. Works from WinXP/Server2003 to the now current Win10/Server2016. It communicates between any mix of x32, x64, Admin, User. In the zip file, there is the UDF and an example: FMIPC(v0.2018.04.04).zip Special thanks to @RTFC for the help in the support forum

Pool provides multiple AutoIt processes with an infrastructure for exchanging messages, data, and remote-control instructions, on a single machine or on a local area network. It is modelled partly on HTCondor, but also incorporates user-defined messages (UDM), LANchat, mails, data Container shipping management, and remote power control and remote execution. That last feature means one process can send lines of AutoIt script to another process, and run it there (including batch control and synchronisation). Consider it my take on inter-process communication (IPC). Pool incorporates many contributions (a few are included in the bundle, other tiny snippets are part of the main script), from other forum members without whom this project simply would never even have been conceivable. In particular, I hereby want to acknowledge the excellent work of Zatorg, wraithdu, W0uter, Ward, ValeryVal, spudw2k, trancexx, This-is-Me, Nomad, Nine, Manadar, LazyCat, Lakes, Kip, Kealper, Jos, Greencan, FredAI, evilertoaster, dragan, Chimp, and AdamUL. Some codes merely helped to clarify my novice understanding of various IPC issues, others have been gratefully integrated. Three contributors need special mention: Kip & Zatorg for event-driven TCP, and trancexx for MailSlot; together these form the backbone of everything else. The only reason I still dare to publish this under my own name is because I did add over ten thousand lines of code myself. Nevertheless, Pool may serve as a showcase for how various members' example scripts can be combined into a comprehensive environment. Many, many thanks to everyone involved! Pool is designed to be simple to use. Only a few functions are public, and of those, you really only need to study these four control UDFs: _Pool_Send_Command(): Pool's Command & Control Centre (see list of commands below) _Pool_Send_UserDefinedMsg(): define your own outgoing msgs _Pool_Receive_UserDefinedMsg(): process your own incoming msgs _Pool_Send_ExeQcall(): send one or more AutoIt instructions to target's Exe-Queue (ExeQ) and these ones for data transfers: _Pool_Container_Create(): associate shipping Container with data _Pool_Container_Destroy(): release Container memory and all associated Sharing relations _Pool_Container_CreateShare(): associate destination with Container _Pool_Container_DestroyShare(): dissolve sharing association for destination To get an idea of what _Pool_Send_Command() can do, here's the list of commands: Pool is big. It has got many dozens of fixed and dynamic user-defined settings to create specific applications with (see #Region Globals). Please take the time to read the extensive Remarks section at the top of the main script (Pool.au3), including the warnings and limitations. Furthermore, I've provided two example environments in the subdir Examples in the bundle: CLNtest (messages and remote execution) and CLNmaster + CLNslave (data Container shipping). If you run these on a single machine, you'll need to start PostOffice_Solo; on multiple machines, one should start first with PostOffice_Server, the rest with PostOffice_Client, once the Server is initialised. See the readme.txt in the Examples subdir for additional help. Another example (multi-processing a la Condor) is shipped with release 2.4+ of Eigen4AutoIt. Since this is an Example script, you can find a number of interesting design ideas in Pool: Pool.v0.7.7z Pool bundle, second beta release, version 0.7 IMPORTANT CAVEAT This is an experimental beta release. Some parts of Pool have never been tested, others only in the simplest possible setting (the largest network I ever tested comprised one desktop and three laptops (one with busted radio) on a crappy Wifi router; I've never tested it on a cabled network). The (W)LAN part still has many issues and may not be able to handle more than a few machines. There's no callstack error handler. Event-driven TCP remains glitchy, and some of my MailSlots keep malfunctioning. I also lack access to Windows 8.* test environments. In addition, many issues you may encounter will be due to specific timings/event sequencing (which makes it hard to debug) and/or your specific infrastructure. That means that, most likely, I cannot recreate your Pool bugs (even with your scripts), so I cannot fix them either. Therefore, I will not be offering bug support for users at this point; there's still far too much I need to fix in my own environment to worry about yours, I'm sorry (also, I've been working on this for four months flat, and need a break from it). However, I am of course open to suggestions, remarks, criticism, and kind words (preferably the latter ). Finally, I will be exceptionally busy with work for the foreseeable future, so it may take me more time than in the past to respond to your posts. Have fun playing in the Pool.

Hi there, while I created an example script to generate and execute a function during runtime, I stumbled across a neat way to share data between running autoit scripts. This is done using the amazing magic of AutoItObject_Internal . (You'll need at least Version 3.0.0 of AutoItObject_Internal) Using this UDF, you can create a shared data storage, basically an empty "AutoitObject_Internal-"Object which you can then use to write / read data Inline. no set/get methods, just #include "AutoItSharedData.au3" $oShare = _AutoIt_SharedData_CreateOrAttach("MyCustomID") $oShare.some_data = 'foo' and you're done. any other script accessing this data will have to do: #include "AutoItSharedData.au3" $oShare = _AutoIt_SharedData_CreateOrAttach("MyCustomID") ConsoleWrite($oShare.some_data & @LF) Basically it's Larsj's Implementing IRunningObjectTable Interface, but you dont have a Dictionary, but an IDIspatch Object instead. There are already a bunch of IPC options available - and this is another one. AutoItSharedData.au3 Example Script 1 Example Script 2 Output: To test: run Example Script 1, Then run example Script 2.. or the other way around. Example Script 3 Example_sharedata3.au3 Example_sharedata3_Controlsend.au3 Example_sharedata3_Tooltip.au3 To test: run Example_sharedata3.au3. Output: Example SharedData4: Output: /Edit: Please note that there's a limitation with the Running object table : The Script accessing a variable first, will be the "server" for this variable. This means, access to that variable from other scripts should only be possible, as long the "server" script is running! Use appropriate Object Error handlers in case you don't want the surviving "clients" to crash. Feedback and/or improvements appreciated changelog version 2.0 Removed need for AutoItObject, as AutoItObject_Internal now comes with ROT support Added UDF Header Fixed typo on "#include AutoItObjectInternal.au3" -> "#include AutoItObject_Internal.au3" Added ObjGet() after registering the object fails (in case 2 programs tried to register the same ID simultaneously) Updated Examples & zip archive. Cheers, AutoItSharedData.zip

so in https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/193254-solved-ipc-between-system-and-user/ I asked around about IPCs and got all the answers I was looking for. Now the question is: what IPC is most "resilient" on an overwhelmed PC, meaning, the CPU is at 100%, memory is top out and, as is always, need to rely on the IPC. ..and all this happened because I open over 100 GUIs at once 😜 ..but it happens sporadically on low CPU or memory demand anyways. ..should I sleep() some time before running another instance ? I did not know if to make the question in technical, chat, ..or here. So it's here. Since you will ask what I've tried, I've used the IPC from the Fork UDFish ( WM_COPYDATA that can do Admin/user mix ) and the FMIPC file mapping, that work under the same conditions. So, how do you handle IPC if it fails ?

Hi, I would like to send an array from a script to a another. This array has 1000 rows and 4 columns with this kind of data : 1st row = 528 ; 31 ; HOSTNAME|1|02:45:47|abcdefgh|username|5 ; old 2nd row = ... What IPC should I use ?

IPC_IO.AU3 I am in the need for a simple synchronous Client/Server communication. I found several examples and references to various kinds of Inter-Process Communications such as TCP, Named Pipes, Mail Slots, Shared Memory, Memory Mapped Files, and simple Files. I wanted to see what the best solutions would be. I began developing a library and slowly began adding each of the IPC methods and ended up with a library with a very simple synchronous “ASCII” API where the application can choose which method to use at startup. For the Server side, a Server app must initialize communication by calling: Func InitConnection($cType = $cDefaultType, $ResourceName = "", $bBlock = $cDefaultBlocking, $fSleepFunc = "", $iBufSize = $DEFAULT_BUFSIZE) The optional arguments allow the app to specify the connection type (such as: $cNamedPipe, $cFile, $cTCP, $cSharedMem, $cMailSlot), a value for the resource name (such as the file, named pipe name, TCP port number, etc.), the communication buffer size, and a callback function for when the “read” is waiting for data. A “File Descriptor” is returned and must be used in the future API calls. The Server side must then call: Func StartConnection($iFD) This call waits for a Client to connect. The Server then calls: Func ReadData($iFD, ByRef $sData) To read a Request from the Client and then calls: Func WriteData($iFD, ByRef $sData) To send the reply back to the Client. When communication with the Client is done, the Server app will call: Func StopConnection($iFD) When the Server app is done with the communications it will call: Func EndConnection($iFD) For the Client side, a Client app must open the communication by calling: Func OpenConnection($cType = $cDefaultType, $ResourceName = "", $bBlock = $cDefaultBlocking, $fSleepFunc = "", $iBufSize = $DEFAULT_BUFSIZE) The optional arguments allow the app to specify the connection type (such as: $cNamedPipe, $cFile, $cTCP, $cSharedMem, $cMailSlot), a value for the resource name (such as the file, named pipe name, TCP port number, etc.), the communication buffer size, and a callback function for when the “read” is waiting for data. A “File Descriptor” is returned and must be used in the future API calls. The Client side then send a request to the Server app by calling: Func WriteData($iFD, ByRef $sData) To read a Response from the Server by calling: Func ReadData($iFD, ByRef $sData) To end the connection to the Server by calling: Func CloseConnection($iFD) Within the IPC_IO.AU3 library, each IPC method is ether: · “stream” based where data is read/written by calling _WinAPI_ReadFile/TCPRecv or _WinAPI_WriteFile/ TCPSend · “direct” based for Shared memory where the Client reads the data directly from the Server App’s memory and the Server directly reads the Client App’s memory In processing a request, the “ReadData” process starts by checking if data is ready to be read by calling the routine: “ReadStart”, then it reads in the size of the request by calling “ReadSize”, it then reads in the Ascii Request by calling “ReadBuffer”, then the sequence is completed by calling “ReadEnd”. The Write Process follows the same sequence with “WriteData” calling “WriteStart”, “WriteSize”, “WriteBuffer”, “WriteEnd”. Results My testing showed that the performance of sending and receiving of a 10k file took: · "Shared Memory" was the fastest, at 0.007468 Sec · “Named Pipes” at 0.015954 · “Mail Slots” at 0.016427 · “File Based” at 0.270287 · “TCP” at 0.994884 IPC_IO.au3 Client.au3 Server.au3

There is this topic on Examples about IPC. My question is: What is the best IPC to work with between a script running as SYSTEM level, User level, and Administrator level to interact with each other ? Thanks

Hi, Background: i have a number of instances of the same application that I want to automate in parallel. Unfortunately, I cannot completely automate these instances in the background. So, from time to time these instances need to have the focus so that I can interact with the controls via “send” directly. Each of the application instances is controlled by a au3 complied script. Each script (called with a parameter) manages the automation of the respective application-instance. Each of the (complied) script (instances) is called by a (central) front end with a gui. The front end controls if the “focus” is available to do the “send” and “mouseclick” modifications. The central front end either allows a child to have the focus or prevents it to get the focus (in which case the child will wait and checks again). The code for the front end is included. Apologies for the lengthy explanation. #RequireAdmin #include <ButtonConstants.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <WindowsConstants.au3> #include <EditConstants.au3> #include <GUIEdit.au3> #include <ScrollBarConstants.au3> #include <Array.au3> Global Const $APF_ALLOWMULTILINE = 1 Global Const $APF_RIGHTALIGN = 6 Global Const $APF_RIGHTALIGNCOL = 2 Global Const $APF_RIGHTALIGNDATA = 4 Global Const $APF_PRINTROWNUM = 8 Global Const $APF_DEFAULT = $APF_PRINTROWNUM Global $PID[9], $FocusAvailable = True, $previousEditMsg Global $PID_waiting[0][2], $logfile $logfile = "D:\MultiInstance\Logfiles\FrontEnd.txt" If FileExists($logfile) Then FileDelete($logfile) #Region ### START Koda GUI section ### Form= $hGui_1 = GUICreate("Instanzenmanager", 493, 1226, 1807, 93) $grpInst1 = GUICtrlCreateGroup(" 1 ", 8, 8, 233, 121) $btnPause01 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Pause", 16, 64, 50, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $tbnStop01 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Stop", 16, 96, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnMin01 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Minimize", 72, 64, 66, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnWdh01 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Restore", 144, 64, 90, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnStart01 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Start", 16, 32, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) GUICtrlSetBkColor(-1, 0x00FF00) GUICtrlCreateGroup("", -99, -99, 1, 1) $grpInst3 = GUICtrlCreateGroup(" 3 ", 8, 136, 233, 121) $btnPause03 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Pause", 16, 192, 50, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $tbnStop03 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Stop", 16, 224, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnMin03 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Minimize", 72, 192, 66, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnWdh03 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Restore", 144, 192, 90, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnStart03 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Start", 16, 160, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) GUICtrlSetBkColor(-1, 0x00FF00) GUICtrlCreateGroup("", -99, -99, 1, 1) $grpInst2 = GUICtrlCreateGroup(" 2 ", 248, 8, 233, 121) $btnPause02 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Pause", 256, 64, 50, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $tbnStop02 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Stop", 256, 96, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnMin02 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Minimize", 312, 64, 66, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnWdh02 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Restore", 384, 64, 90, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnStart02 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Start", 256, 32, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) GUICtrlSetBkColor(-1, 0x00FF00) GUICtrlCreateGroup("", -99, -99, 1, 1) $grpInst4 = GUICtrlCreateGroup(" 4 ", 248, 136, 233, 121) $btnPause04 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Pause", 256, 192, 50, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $tbnStop04 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Stop", 256, 224, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnMin04 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Minimize", 312, 192, 66, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnWdh04 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Restore", 384, 192, 90, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnStart04 = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Start", 256, 160, 218, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) GUICtrlSetBkColor(-1, 0x00FF00) $Edit1 = GUICtrlCreateEdit("", 8, 720, 473, 497) $btnPauseAll = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Pause all", 8, 656, 474, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) $btnStopAll = GUICtrlCreateCheckbox("Stop all", 7, 688, 474, 25, BitOR($GUI_SS_DEFAULT_CHECKBOX, $BS_PUSHLIKE)) GUISetState(@SW_SHOW) #EndRegion ### END Koda GUI section ### While 1 CheckGuiMsg() FileWrite($logfile, @HOUR & ":" & @MIN & ":" & @SEC & "> " & "CheckGuiMsg" & @CRLF) CheckClientMessages() FileWrite($logfile, @HOUR & ":" & @MIN & ":" & @SEC & "> " & "CheckClientMessages" & @CRLF) WEnd Func CheckGuiMsg() $nMsg = GUIGetMsg() Switch $nMsg Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE Exit Case $btnStart01 AddTextToEdit("Starting Instance 1") $PID[0] = Run("D:\XVM05\Entwicklung_FilterTest_Multi_ToFileV001.exe 1", @ScriptDir, Default, 3) Case $btnStart02 AddTextToEdit("Starting Instance 2") $PID[1] = Run("D:\XVM05\Entwicklung_FilterTest_Multi_ToFileV001.exe 2", @ScriptDir, Default, 3) Case $btnStart03 AddTextToEdit("Starting Instance 3") $PID[2] = Run("D:\XVM05\Entwicklung_FilterTest_Multi_ToFileV001.exe 3", @ScriptDir, Default, 3) Case $btnStart04 AddTextToEdit("Starting Instance 4") $PID[3] = Run("D:\XVM05\Entwicklung_FilterTest_Multi_ToFileV001.exe 4", @ScriptDir, Default, 3) Case $btnPause01 AddTextToEdit("Send Pause to Instance 1") StdinWrite($PID[0], "Pause") Case $btnPause02 StdinWrite($PID[1], "Pause") Case $btnPause03 StdinWrite($PID[2], "Pause") Case $btnPause04 StdinWrite($PID[3], "Pause") Case $tbnStop01 StdinWrite($PID[0], "Stop") Case $tbnStop02 StdinWrite($PID[1], "Stop") Case $tbnStop03 StdinWrite($PID[2], "Stop") Case $tbnStop04 StdinWrite($PID[3], "Stop") Case $btnPauseAll AddTextToEdit(@CRLF & "************Pause All not yet implemented**************" & @CRLF) Case $btnStopAll AddTextToEdit(@CRLF & "************Stop All not yet implemented***************" & @CRLF) EndSwitch EndFunc ;==>CheckGuiMsg Func CheckClientMessages() For $i = 0 To 3 FileWrite($logfile, @HOUR & ":" & @MIN & ":" & @SEC & "> " & $i & @CRLF) Local $a = TimerInit() $p = $PID[$i] $streamRead = StdoutRead($p) If $streamRead <> "" Then Switch $streamRead Case StringInStr($streamRead, "Focus Needed") > 0 If $FocusAvailable Then $FocusAvailable = False StdinWrite($p, "Focus Granted") Else EndIf Case StringInStr($streamRead, "Release Focus") > 0 StdinWrite($p, "Release Focus Received") $FocusAvailable = True Case Else EndSwitch EndIf FileWrite($logfile, @HOUR & ":" & @MIN & ":" & @SEC & "> " & $i & " " & round(TimerDiff($a),2) & @CRLF) Next EndFunc ;==>CheckClientMessages Func AddTextToEdit($text) If $previousEditMsg <> $text Then $previousEditMsg = $text GUICtrlSetData($Edit1, GUICtrlRead($Edit1) & @YEAR & "." & @MON & "." & @MDAY & " - " & @HOUR & ":" & @MIN & ":" & @SEC & "> " & $text & @CRLF) _GUICtrlEdit_Scroll($Edit1, $SB_SCROLLCARET) EndIf EndFunc ;==>AddTextToEdit My issue now is that the mechanism with with StdoutRead and StdinWrite is not efficient at all. The more instances I start the slower it gets. This is not just a bit slower (like a fraction of a second), but to the degree that the front end is not responding at all any longer (with 3 instances handling). So my questions are: 1. Is there a flaw in my implementation with StdoutRead and StdinWrite? (note that all works fine with 1 and also (slower) with 2 instances running) but actually breaks down with 3 instances running. 2. Can I optimize the currently used implementation so that I can control 30+ instances? 3. What other implementation do you see suitable for this approach? a. I have already tried it with communication through files but observed that this is not sufficiently reliable with multiple instances. b. Is Named Pipes a more performant approach (I am a bit scared of the effort to learn and implement this) c. Any other method? Many thanks in advance -dubi

Hi, I'm blocked on a strange issue concerning the use of '_WinAPI_ReadProcessMemory' to retrieve one 'String' between 2 cooperating applications based on the IPC method using a private 'Windows Message' handler (thanks to '_WinAPI_RegisterWindowMessage'). Let's me explain what happens: 1) - From a small GUI 'ipc-sender' application, the user can type any string (like 'abcde') and click a 'Send Data' button to exchange this info with another small 'ipc-receiver' application. the coding is done in such way ( '_DumpStruct()' method) that a trace of the data sent is dumped in an edit viewer inside the GUI: see the 'ipc-sender' script source below --> #Region ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI **** #AutoIt3Wrapper_Outfile=ipc_sender.exe #EndRegion ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI **** #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <SendMessage.au3> #include <MsgBoxConstants.au3> #include <WinAPI.au3> #include <WinAPISys.au3> #include <ProcessConstants.au3> #include <FontConstants.au3> #include <GuiEdit.au3> #include <ScrollBarsConstants.au3> #include <Array.au3> ; Author : Grosminet Global Const $WM_IPC_PRIVATE_Grosminet = _WinAPI_RegisterWindowMessage('ipc_sender_to_receiver') Global Const $sAPP_me = "ipc_sender" Global Const $sAPP_other = "ipc_receiver" Global $guiw = 1000, $guih = 300, $guix = (@desktopwidth - $guiw - 50), $guiy = $guih + 150, $sp = 10, $x = $sp, $y = $sp, $w, $hbut = 28, $h Global $hParentGUI, $hSendBut, $hlocalPID, $hSendEdit, $hRecEdit Global $debug = true, $info, $PIDAppMe, $hOtherProcess ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo $hParentGui = GUICreate($sAPP_me, $guiw, $guih, $guix, $guiy) $w = ($guiw - 3*$sp) / 4 $h = ($guih - 3* $sp) / 2 $hSendBut = GUICtrlCreateButton("Send data", $x, $y, $w, $hbut) $y += $hbut + $sp $hlocalPID = GUIctrlCreateLabel("PID=", $x, $y, $w, $h) $x += $w + $sp $y = $sp $hSendEdit = GUIctrlCreateEdit("abcde", $x, $y, 3* $w, $h) $x = $sp $y += $h + $sp $hRecEdit = GUIctrlCreateEdit("", $x, $y, 4* $w, $h) GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 9, $FW_NORMAL, Default, "Courier New") ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo GUISetState(@SW_SHOW, $hParentGui) GUICtrlSetData($hlocalPID, "PID= " & @AutoItPID) ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ; Get the RECEIVER application 'process handle' ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Opt("WinTitleMatchMode", 1) $hOtherProcess = WinGetHandle($sAPP_other) if @error then MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, "ERROR", "Unable to retrieve handle of " & $sAPP_other & ", error= " & @error) exit endif $info = " Receiver application --> " & $sAPP_other & " - Handle= " & $hOtherProcess & @crlf _ShowInfo($info) ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo While 1 Switch GUIGetMsg() Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE _myExit() Case $hSendBut _SendDATA_to_X() EndSwitch WEnd ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _SendDATA_to_X() Local $sValue_To_Send = GUICtrlRead($hSendEdit) Local $iStringSize = StringLen($sValue_To_Send) + 1 local $TagInfoStruct = "struct;wchar buf[" & $iStringSize & "];endstruct" Local $tValue_To_Send = DllStructCreate($TagInfoStruct) DllStructSetData($tValue_To_Send, "buf", $sValue_To_Send) ; Local $pValue_To_Send = DllStructGetPtr($tValue_To_Send) Local $iSizeStruct = DllStructGetSize($tValue_To_Send) $info = '_SendDATA_to_X(): Pointer to text= ' & $pValue_To_Send & " - Size of text= " & $iStringSize & " - Size of structure= " & $iSizeStruct & @CRLF _ShowInfo($info) $info = _DumpStruct($pValue_To_Send, $iSizeStruct) _ShowInfo($info) ; local $ret = _WinAPI_PostMessage($hOtherProcess, $WM_IPC_PRIVATE_Grosminet, $pValue_To_Send, $iSizeStruct) If not $ret Then MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, "ERROR", "_SendDATA_to_X(): " & $sAPP_me & " --> _WinAPI_PostMessage error= " & _WinAPI_GetLastError()) else Local $sData_Sent = StringLeft(DllStructGetData($tValue_To_Send, "buf"), $iStringSize) $info = '................: --> Data sent = ' & $sData_Sent & @CRLF _ShowInfo($info) endif $pValue_To_Send = 0 $tValue_To_Send = 0 EndFunc ;==>_SendDATA_to_X ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _ShowInfo($msg) if $debug then ConsoleWrite($msg) GUICtrlSetData($hRecEdit, GUICtrlRead($hRecEdit) & $msg) Local $iEnd = StringLen(GUICtrlRead($hRecEdit)) _GUICtrlEdit_SetSel($hRecEdit, $iEnd, $iEnd) _GUICtrlEdit_Scroll($hRecEdit, $SB_SCROLLCARET) Endfunc ; _ShowInfo ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _myExit() GUIDelete() exit Endfunc ; _myExit ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _DumpStruct($p_STRUCT, $iSizeStruct) ; $iSizeStruct = the size of the struct in bytes (DllStructGetSize) Local $TagStructDump = "struct;align;byte[" & $iSizeStruct & "];endstruct" Local $t_Struct = DllStructCreate($TagStructDump, $p_STRUCT) Local $i Local $structInfo = "" _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, "Structure size: " & $iSizeStruct & " byte(s):" & @crlf) for $i = 0 to $iSizeStruct - 1 _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, hex(DllStructGetData($t_Struct, 1, $i), 2) & " ") if (Mod($i+1, 8) = 0) then _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, @CRLF) Endif Next _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, @CRLF) return $structInfo EndFunc ; _DumpStruct ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _ConsoleWriteInfo(ByRef $msg, $txt) $msg &= $txt EndFunc ; _ConsoleWriteInfo 2) - From a small GUI 'ipc-receiver' application, the user can check the values of data received thanks to the same '_DumpStruct()' method: --> see the 'ipc-receiver' script : #Region ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI **** #AutoIt3Wrapper_Outfile=ipc_receiver.exe #EndRegion ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI **** #include <Array.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <SendMessage.au3> #include <MsgBoxConstants.au3> #include <WinAPI.au3> #include <WinAPISys.au3> #include <ProcessConstants.au3> #include <FontConstants.au3> #include <GuiEdit.au3> #include <ScrollBarsConstants.au3> #include <WinAPIDiag.au3> ; Author : Grosminet Global Const $WM_IPC_PRIVATE_Grosminet = _WinAPI_RegisterWindowMessage('ipc_sender_to_receiver') Global Const $sAPP_me = "ipc_receiver" Global Const $sAPP_other = "ipc_sender" Global Const $sSenderEXE = @scriptdir & "\" & $sAPP_other & ".exe" Global $guiw = 1000, $guih = 300, $guix = (@desktopwidth - $guiw - 50), $guiy = 100, $sp = 10, $x = $sp, $y = $sp, $w, $hbut = 28, $h Global $hParentGUI, $hlocalPID, $hRecEdit Global $debug = true, $info, $hProcessOther, $PIDAppMe, $PIDAppOther, $iRead, $aret ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo $hParentGui = GUICreate($sAPP_me, $guiw, $guih, $guix, $guiy) $w = ($guiw - 2*$sp) $hlocalPID = GUIctrlCreateLabel("PID=", $x, $y, $w, $hbut) $y += $hbut + $sp $h = ($guih - $y - $sp) $hRecEdit = GUIctrlCreateEdit("", $x, $y, $w, $h) GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 9, $FW_NORMAL, Default, "Courier New") ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo GUIRegisterMsg($WM_IPC_PRIVATE_Grosminet, 'WM_FROM_APP') GUISetState(@SW_SHOW, $hParentGui) GUICtrlSetData($hlocalPID, "PID= " & @AutoItPID) ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ; Get the SENDER application 'pid' ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo $PIDAppOther = ShellExecute($sSenderEXE) if $PIDAppOther = -1 then MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, "ERROR", "Unable to start " & $sAPP_other & " --> error= " & @error) exit Endif sleep(500) $info = "Ready to receive ! Please send a text ..." & @CRLF _ShowInfo($info) ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ; Get the SENDER application 'process handle' ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo $hProcessOther = _WinAPI_OpenProcess($PROCESS_VM_READ, False, $PIDAppOther) if @error Then $info = "_WinAPI_OpenProcess() error: " & @error & @crlf _ShowInfo($info) exit endif ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo While 1 Switch GUIGetMsg() Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE _myExit() EndSwitch WEnd ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func WM_FROM_APP($hWnd, $iMsg, $wParam, $lParam) $info = "..... METHOD 1: _WinAPI_CreateBuffer ....." & @crlf _ShowInfo($info) _Method_1($wParam, $lParam) ; $info = "..... METHOD 2: DllStructCreate .........." & @crlf _ShowInfo($info) _Method_2($wParam, $lParam) EndFunc ;==>WM_FROM_APP ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _Method_1($wParam, $lParam) Local $iStrucSize_SENT = Int($lParam) Local $pBuffer = _WinAPI_CreateBuffer($iStrucSize_SENT) $aret = _WinAPI_ReadProcessMemory($hProcessOther, $wParam, $pBuffer, $iStrucSize_SENT, $iRead) ; $info = _DumpStruct($pBuffer, $iStrucSize_SENT) _ShowInfo($info) _ShowInfo(_WinAPI_GetString($pBuffer) & @crlf & "--------------------------------" & @crlf) _WinAPI_FreeMemory($pBuffer) EndFunc ; _Method_1 ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _Method_2($wParam, $lParam) Local $iStrucSize_SENT = Int($lParam) local $TagInfoStruct = "struct;align;byte buf[" & $iStrucSize_SENT & "];endstruct" Local $tbuffer = DllStructCreate($TagInfoStruct) Local $iSizeStruct = DllStructGetSize($tbuffer) Local $pBuffer = DllStructGetPtr($tbuffer) $aret = _WinAPI_ReadProcessMemory($hProcessOther, $wParam, $pBuffer, $iStrucSize_SENT, $iRead) ; $info = _DumpStruct($pBuffer, $iStrucSize_SENT) _ShowInfo($info) _ShowInfo(_WinAPI_GetString($pBuffer) & @crlf & "--------------------------------" & @crlf) $pBuffer = 0 EndFunc ; _Method_2 ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _ShowInfo($msg) if $debug then ConsoleWrite($msg) GUICtrlSetData($hRecEdit, GUICtrlRead($hRecEdit) & $msg) Local $iEnd = StringLen(GUICtrlRead($hRecEdit)) _GUICtrlEdit_SetSel($hRecEdit, $iEnd, $iEnd) _GUICtrlEdit_Scroll($hRecEdit, $SB_SCROLLCARET) Endfunc ; _ShowInfo ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _myExit() _WinAPI_CloseHandle($hProcessOther) ProcessClose($PIDAppOther) GUIDelete() exit Endfunc ; _myExit ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _DumpStruct($p_STRUCT, $iSizeStruct) ; $iSizeStruct = the size of the struct in bytes (DllStructGetSize) Local $TagStructDump = "struct;align;byte[" & $iSizeStruct & "];endstruct" Local $t_Struct = DllStructCreate($TagStructDump, $p_STRUCT) Local $i Local $structInfo = "" _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, "Structure size: " & $iSizeStruct & " byte(s):" & @crlf) for $i = 0 to $iSizeStruct - 1 _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, hex(DllStructGetData($t_Struct, 1, $i), 2) & " ") if (Mod($i+1, 8) = 0) then _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, @CRLF) Endif Next _ConsoleWriteInfo($structInfo, @CRLF) return $structInfo EndFunc ; _DumpStruct ; ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Func _ConsoleWriteInfo(ByRef $msg, $txt) $msg &= $txt EndFunc ; _ConsoleWriteInfo The ISSUE : systematically, the 3 first bytes received are 'corrupted' !!! ??? NOTE: You must repeat several times sending the same string to check that bytes sent" and "bytes received" are equal EXCEPT the 3 first ones ! I'm quite sure that my code is somewhere wrong ! BUT I'm not able to discover myself WHERE ! I have tried to use 2 methods to read and save the external memory bytes (using the '_WinAPI_CreateBuffer' function, and the 'DllStructCreate' function) --> BOTH give me back the same issue. --> So I suspect that my understanding of the '_WinAPI_ReadProcessMemory' function is maybe wrong and I do not correctly call this API. ??? Is it correct if I say, [according the MSDN 's ReadProcessMemory explanation or the #include <WinAPI.au3> library code of this function] : - the base address of memory to be read is the pointer received from my private WM handler --> i.e. $wParam (regarding my script receiver code) - the buffer pointer where to save bytes read (starting from $wParam) is the pointer created using '_WinAPI_CreateBuffer' or 'DllStructCreate + DllStructGetPtr' functions - the number of bytes to be read is the information provided by the $lParam variable (regarding my script receiver code) - AND of course, the external memory base-address will only be readable if the 'ipc-sender' application handler is correctly declared ($hProcessOther = _WinAPI_OpenProcess($PROCESS_VM_READ, False, $PIDAppOther)). There is probably other methods to share strings between cooperating applications, and surely more simple and elegant ones, BUT I'm focusing on these scripts where in fact the types of data to share are not limited to the 'String' type, but could concern any kind of structure. Any advice or help to explain me what happens would be welcome. Great Thanks in advance for your time passed to help me... Alain. These are my environment characteristics: AutoIT : 3.3.14.2 OS: Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 / 7601 ipc_receiver.au3 ipc_sender.au3

I looked at ScriptControl. I wonder if using this, can I do IPC solution in AutoIt. I also wonder whether some extent, ScirptControl can be compared to the use of LUA. Below is what I have read so far. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365574(v=vs.85).aspx http://support.microsoft.com/kb/184739/EN-US http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa227413(v=vs.60).aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=1949 '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> btw. Please, share with other interesting links that according to you is worth reading on the subject (links not directly related to the AutoIt).

The following is a script from Eukalyptus that plays an audio file and displays an FFT Visualization. Let's call it the "Child". My goal is to be able to close it AND to send volume-level change commands from a Parent program (script farther below). I'm trying to use WM_CopyData for IPC but it's not working for me. Part of my problem is I'm unsure about what's needed to initialize WM_CopyData in the Parent program -- if this is even necessary. I realize I could use the MailSlot UDF for this but would like to give WM_CopyData a go first, based on Guinness's recommendation. Once I get WM_CopyData working I might even try to use it to close the Child program. Other issues I'm unsure about are: 1. can I send decimal values via WM_CopyData_Send() ? (BASS_SetVolume() needs values between 0 and 1) 2. at the receiving end in the Child am I using the proper variable type and format for BASS_SetVolume()? "Child" (must be compiled and named "FFT-Viz-WM_CopyData" so Parent can run it) #AutoIt3Wrapper_UseX64=n #include "Bass.au3" #include "BassExt.au3" #include <GDIPlus.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <WindowsConstants.au3> #include 'WM_COPYDATA.au3' Opt("MustDeclareVars", 1) _WM_COPYDATA_SetID('MyUniqueID') ; set ID for WM_CopyData Global $sFile = FileOpenDialog("Open...", "..\audiofiles", "playable formats (*.MP3;*.MP2;*.MP1;*.OGG;*.WAV;*.AIFF;*.AIF)") If @error Or Not FileExists($sFile) Then Exit Global $iWidth = 522 Global $iHeight = 170 Global $hGui = GUICreate("FFT", $iWidth, $iHeight, -1, -1, BitOR($WS_SYSMENU, $WS_POPUP)) GUISetOnEvent($GUI_EVENT_CLOSE, "_EXIT") _GDIPlus_Startup() Global $hGraphics = _GDIPlus_GraphicsCreateFromHWND($hGui) Global $hBmp_Buffer = _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateFromScan0($iWidth, $iHeight) Global $hGfx_Buffer = _GDIPlus_ImageGetGraphicsContext($hBmp_Buffer) _GDIPlus_GraphicsSetSmoothingMode($hGfx_Buffer, 2) Global $hBrush = _CreateFFTBrush(5, 5, $iWidth - 10, $iHeight - 10) GUIRegisterMsg($WM_PAINT, "WM_PAINT") GUISetState() _BASS_Startup() _BASS_EXT_Startup() _BASS_Init(0, -1, 44100, 0, "") Global $hStream = _BASS_StreamCreateFile(False, $sFile, 0, 0, $BASS_SAMPLE_FLOAT) Global $aFFT = _BASS_EXT_CreateFFT(128, 5, 5, $iWidth - 10, $iHeight - 10, 1, True) _BASS_ChannelPlay($hStream, True) Local $iControlID = _WM_COPYDATA_Start($hGui) ; Start the communication process. Global $iTimer = TimerInit() While _BASS_ChannelIsActive($hStream) If TimerDiff($iTimer) > 20 Then Switch GuiGetMsg() Case -3 ; allows Parent program to use WinClose to close this program. ExitLoop Case $iControlID ; if the Parent program sends a volume change value via WM_CopyData Local $volumelevel = _WM_COPYDATA_GetData() _BASS_SetVolume($volumelevel) Beep(1000, 100) ; for testing purposes to see if this Case ever gets triggered EndSwitch $iTimer = TimerInit() _GDIPlus_GraphicsClear($hGfx_Buffer, 0xFF110022) _BASS_EXT_ChannelGetFFT($hStream, $aFFT, 2) If Not @error Then DllCall($ghGDIPDll, "int", "GdipFillPolygon", "handle", $hGfx_Buffer, "handle", $hBrush, "ptr", $aFFT[0], "int", $aFFT[1], "int", "FillModeAlternate") _GDIPlus_GraphicsDrawImage($hGraphics, $hBmp_Buffer, 0, 0) EndIf WEnd _Exit() Func _CreateFFTBrush($iX, $iY, $iWidth, $iHeight) Local $hBitmap = _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateFromScan0($iWidth, $iHeight) Local $hContext = _GDIPlus_ImageGetGraphicsContext($hBitmap) Local $hBrush_FFT = _GDIPlus_LineBrushCreate(0, 0, 0, $iHeight, 0, 0, 3) Local $aColors[5][2] = [[4]] $aColors[1][0] = 0xFFFF0000 $aColors[1][1] = 0 $aColors[2][0] = 0xFFFFAA00 $aColors[2][1] = 0.25 $aColors[3][0] = 0xFF00AAFF $aColors[3][1] = 0.5 $aColors[4][0] = 0xFF00AAFF $aColors[4][1] = 1 _GDIPlus_LineBrushSetPresetBlend($hBrush_FFT, $aColors) Local $hBrush_LED = _GDIPlus_LineBrushCreate(0, 0, 0, 4, 0xAA000000, 0x00000000, 0) _GDIPlus_GraphicsFillRect($hContext, 0, 0, $iWidth, $iHeight, $hBrush_FFT) _GDIPlus_GraphicsFillRect($hContext, 0, 0, $iWidth, $iHeight, $hBrush_LED) _GDIPlus_BrushDispose($hBrush_LED) _GDIPlus_BrushDispose($hBrush_FFT) _GDIPlus_GraphicsDispose($hContext) Local $hBrush = _GDIPlus_TextureCreate($hBitmap) _GDIPlus_BitmapDispose($hBitmap) DllCall($ghGDIPDll, "uint", "GdipTranslateTextureTransform", "hwnd", $hBrush, "float", $iX, "float", $iY, "int", 0) Return $hBrush EndFunc ;==>_CreateFFTBrush Func WM_PAINT($hWnd, $uMsgm, $wParam, $lParam) _GDIPlus_GraphicsDrawImage($hGraphics, $hBmp_Buffer, 0, 0) Return $GUI_RUNDEFMSG EndFunc ;==>WM_PAINT ; #FUNCTION# ==================================================================================================================== ; Author ........: Authenticity ; Modified.......: UEZ ; =============================================================================================================================== Func _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateFromScan0($iWidth, $iHeight, $iPixelFormat = $GDIP_PXF32ARGB, $iStride = 0, $pScan0 = 0) Local $aResult = DllCall($ghGDIPDll, "uint", "GdipCreateBitmapFromScan0", "int", $iWidth, "int", $iHeight, "int", $iStride, "int", $iPixelFormat, "ptr", $pScan0, "handle*", 0) If @error Then Return SetError(@error, @extended, 0) If $aResult[0] Then Return SetError(10, $aResult[0], 0) Return $aResult[6] EndFunc ;==>_GDIPlus_BitmapCreateFromScan0 ; #FUNCTION# ==================================================================================================================== ; Author ........: Authenticity ; Modified.......: UEZ ; =============================================================================================================================== Func _GDIPlus_LineBrushCreate($nX1, $nY1, $nX2, $nY2, $iARGBClr1, $iARGBClr2, $iWrapMode = 0) Local $tPointF1, $tPointF2, $aResult $tPointF1 = DllStructCreate("float;float") $tPointF2 = DllStructCreate("float;float") DllStructSetData($tPointF1, 1, $nX1) DllStructSetData($tPointF1, 2, $nY1) DllStructSetData($tPointF2, 1, $nX2) DllStructSetData($tPointF2, 2, $nY2) $aResult = DllCall($ghGDIPDll, "int", "GdipCreateLineBrush", "struct*", $tPointF1, "struct*", $tPointF2, "uint", $iARGBClr1, "uint", $iARGBClr2, "int", $iWrapMode, "handle*", 0) If @error Then Return SetError(@error, @extended, 0) If $aResult[0] Then Return SetError(10, $aResult[0], 0) Return $aResult[6] EndFunc ;==>_GDIPlus_LineBrushCreate ; #FUNCTION# ==================================================================================================================== ; Author ........: Authenticity ; Modified.......: UEZ ; =============================================================================================================================== Func _GDIPlus_LineBrushSetPresetBlend($hLineGradientBrush, $aInterpolations) Local $iI, $iCount, $tColors, $tPositions, $aResult $iCount = $aInterpolations[0][0] $tColors = DllStructCreate("uint[" & $iCount & "]") $tPositions = DllStructCreate("float[" & $iCount & "]") For $iI = 1 To $iCount DllStructSetData($tColors, 1, $aInterpolations[$iI][0], $iI) DllStructSetData($tPositions, 1, $aInterpolations[$iI][1], $iI) Next $aResult = DllCall($ghGDIPDll, "int", "GdipSetLinePresetBlend", "handle", $hLineGradientBrush, "struct*", $tColors, "struct*", $tPositions, "int", $iCount) If @error Then Return SetError(@error, @extended, False) If $aResult[0] Then Return SetError(10, $aResult[0], False) Return True EndFunc ;==>_GDIPlus_LineBrushSetPresetBlend ; #FUNCTION# ==================================================================================================================== ; Author ........: Authenticity ; Modified.......: UEZ ; =============================================================================================================================== Func _GDIPlus_TextureCreate($hImage, $iWrapMode = 0) Local $aResult = DllCall($ghGDIPDll, "int", "GdipCreateTexture", "handle", $hImage, "int", $iWrapMode, "handle*", 0) If @error Then Return SetError(@error, @extended, 0) If $aResult[0] Then Return SetError(10, $aResult[0], 0) Return $aResult[3] EndFunc ;==>_GDIPlus_TextureCreate Func _Exit() _BASS_StreamFree($hStream) _BASS_Free() _WM_COPYDATA_Shutdown() _GDIPlus_BrushDispose($hBrush) _GDIPlus_GraphicsDispose($hGfx_Buffer) _GDIPlus_BitmapDispose($hBmp_Buffer) _GDIPlus_GraphicsDispose($hGraphics) _GDIPlus_Shutdown() Exit EndFunc ;==>_Exit And here's the Parent program, which you can run from SciTE. #include "ExtMsgBox.au3" #Include <WinAPIEx.au3> #include 'WM_COPYDATA.au3' ;_WM_COPYDATA_SetID('MyUniqueIDC') ; NOT SURE IF I NEED THIS ;Local $iControlID = _WM_COPYDATA_Start(Default) ; Start the communication process. NOT SURE IF I NEED THIS $wPID = run ("FFT-Viz-WM_CopyData.exe") sleep(2000) _ExtMsgBox(0,0,"","press enter to reduce volume",0,1,1) _WM_COPYDATA_Send(.2) ;can WM_CopyData send values like this or must they be strings? _ExtMsgBox(0,0,"","press enter to raise volume",0,1,1) _WM_COPYDATA_Send(1) _ExtMsgBox(0,0,"","press enter to exit",0,1,1) $aData = _WinAPI_EnumProcessWindows ($wPID) ConsoleWrite($aData[1][0] & @LF) Sleep(2000) $result = WinClose($aData[1][0]) ConsoleWrite ("winclose issued! Result = " & $result & @LF) sleep (2000) ;_WM_COPYDATA_Shutdown() ;NOT SURE IF I NEED THIS Exit