DLL - pass objects

It is OK to do so. You don`t have much alternatives.

hi emoreau,
if i distribute the dll to another pc, will it also hold the components' properties and methods in it? (i can't test this right now... only have one pc at my disposal)

cheers
Ricky

seems it is solved emoreau,

i undid the selection of the component 'Microsoft Windows Common Controls 6.0' and used this instead:

Dim mNode As Object

and replaced tvwChild by 4 (seems that is its value...)

works so far...
will test more however.

cheers
Ricky

>i undid the selection of the component

You will be using late binding which is many times slower than early binding (where every call is resolved during compile time).

I must admit that I use "As Object" sometimes, but not if performance is important.

hi ameba,

but if i keep the component in my DLL, will it be available if i install my dll on another system (if the user can pass a treeview, it will most likely be on the pc, but links get broken once in a while  :-(  )

cheers
Ricky

Your DLL will not work without installed dependencies, i.e. without the right version of mscomctl32.ocx

If there is newer version installed on PC, or if your exe uses newer version, it should work, if everybody is respecting COM rules.

ok,

i will add the 'Microsoft Windows Common Controls 6.0' to the project-components again then.
(i just thought it was pretty strange to do this with a  DLL)


so in my package and deploy i will need to add the component for installation also on the remote pc. (correct)

and so i can use the proper components' methods and properties (their names...)

cheers
Ricky

>so in my package and deploy i will need to add the component

Are you installing that DLL without any EXE ?

If you pack them together, only one mscomctl32.ocx will be in your package.

If you are installing them separately, you can have mscomctl32.ocx in both packages, if you want to respect COM rules strictly, but one should be enough.

If you do not install some component, because you know you have it on PC already, one thing can happen:
  A app - installs DLL or OCX.
  B app uses OCX, but doesn't install it
  C app uses OCX, but doesn't install it
and now you uninstall A - uninstall program will look into registry to see if any other app uses OCX, it finds count_of_OCX_users = 0, and removes OCX.
  B and C do not work anymore

We normally do not install DLLs used by app.  When we install app (EXE), all references and components will be included together with their dependencies.

i will be installing the exe and dll together, but the dll should be distributable without my app.
So any other developer can use it in its own program.

cheers
Ricky

For developers, to make things simpler, I would use one DLL file only.
With VB, component doesn't have to be installed - adding reference to VB project via References dialog will register DLL.
You can also drag&drop unregistered OCX file onto toolbox in VB IDE - this will register component.

hmm,
i re-added the 'microsoft Windows Common Controls 6.0' , but
seems i can not use this:
Public Function ShowRecsAllTables(DatabaseName As String, Treeview As Treeview)


when i compile it says:
"Compile error:

Private object modules cannot be used in public object modules as parameters or return types for public procedures, as public data members, or as fields of public user defined types"


so i guess i do have to use :
Public Function ShowRecsAllTables(DatabaseName As String, Treeview As Object)


cheers
Ricky

excellent ameba,

thanx,

one of my tables has over 100 000 recs,
makes a difference now,

cheers
Ricky

btw,
u, or anyone else for that matter, any good at recursive functions?
https://www.experts-exchange.com/jsp/qManageQuestion.jsp?ta=visualbasic&qid=20274138

drives me kinda nuts...

Thanks.
To load a tree, I suggest Chris Eastwood's code, which first adds all nodes to root, and later reparents them. .Tag property is used to cache ParentID.


Private Sub FillTree()
    Dim lCount As Long
    Dim rsSections As Recordset
    Dim sParent As String
    Dim sKey As String
    Dim sText As String
    Dim bBookMark As Boolean
    Dim nNode As Node
    On Error GoTo vbErrorHandler
'
' Populate our TreeView Control with the Data from our database
'
    Set rsSections = mDB.OpenRecordset("select * from codeitems order by parentid")
   
    Set tvCodeItems.ImageList = Nothing
    Set tvCodeItems.ImageList = ImageList1

    If rsSections.BOF And rsSections.EOF Then
        tvCodeItems.Nodes.Add , , "ROOT", "Code Library", "VIEWBOOKMARKS"
        BoldTreeNode tvCodeItems.Nodes("ROOT")
        Exit Sub
    End If
       
    TreeRedraw tvCodeItems.hwnd, False
   
    rsSections.MoveFirst
    Set tvCodeItems.ImageList = Nothing
    Set tvCodeItems.ImageList = ImageList1
'
' Populate the TreeView Nodes
'

    With tvCodeItems.Nodes
        .Clear
        .Add , , "ROOT", "Code Library", "VIEWBOOKMARKS"
'
' Make our Root Item BOLD
'
        BoldTreeNode tvCodeItems.Nodes("ROOT")
'
' Now add all nodes into TreeView, but under the root item.
' We reparent the nodes in the next step
'
        Do Until rsSections.EOF
            sParent = rsSections("ParentID").Value
            sKey = rsSections("ID").Value
            sText = rsSections("Description").Value
            Set nNode = .Add("ROOT", tvwChild, "C" & sKey, sText, "FOLDER")
'
' Record parent ID
'
            nNode.Tag = "C" & sParent
            rsSections.MoveNext
        Loop
   
    End With
'
' Here's where we rebuild the structure of the nodes
'
    For Each nNode In tvCodeItems.Nodes
        sParent = nNode.Tag
        If Len(sParent) > 0 Then        ' Don't try and reparent the ROOT !
            If sParent = "C0" Then
                sParent = "ROOT"
            End If
            Set nNode.Parent = tvCodeItems.Nodes(sParent)
        End If
    Next
'
' Now setup the images for each node in the treeview & set each node to
' be sorted if it has children
'
    For Each nNode In tvCodeItems.Nodes
        If nNode.Children = 0 Then
            nNode.Image = "CHILD"
        Else
            nNode.Sorted = True
        End If
    Next
   
    Set rsSections = Nothing
'
' Expand the Root Node
'
    tvCodeItems.Nodes("ROOT").Sorted = True
    tvCodeItems.Nodes("ROOT").Expanded = True
   
    TreeRedraw tvCodeItems.hwnd, True
    Exit Sub

vbErrorHandler:
    TreeRedraw tvCodeItems.hwnd, True
    MsgBox Err.Number & " " & Err.Description & " " & Err.Source
End Sub

Private Sub TreeRedraw(ByVal lHwnd As Long, ByVal bRedraw As Boolean)
    SendMessageLong lHwnd, WM_SETREDRAW, bRedraw, 0
End Sub

could it be there is something missing ameba?

some sub: BoldTreeNode

and 'SendMessageLong' (is this an API?)

cheers
Ricky

Well, yes, that is not working code, but only concept.

Public Declare Function SendMessageLong Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd _
    As Long, ByVal msg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long

BoldTreeNode - Chris Eastwood's code (on Codeguru site) was for VB5.  In VB6, .Bold property of the node is supported, e.g.:
         tvCodeItems.Nodes("ROOT").Bold = True

Recursive function will have more visits to database - if you want to fill the tree completely, that will be slow.

works excellent ameba,

except for :
TreeRedraw tvCodeItems.hwnd, True

that gives me an IPF
but, if i leave it out, it works...

and the pictures could not be found (only folder, none of the others)

i posted a 'points for ameba': https://www.experts-exchange.com/jsp/qManageQuestion.jsp?ta=visualbasic&qid=20274655

cheers
Ricky


u sure know your stuff  :-)

Thanks, and sorry for IPF  ;-)