Read File Bit By Bit

' this is what is usually use
Private Function Char2Hex(ByVal sChar$) As String
   Dim iAscVal

   iAscVal = Asc(sChar)
   Char2Hex = Right("00" & Hex(iAscVal), 2)
End Function

Sub OpenFileDebug(Filename as String, Txt As TextBox)
   Dim iFile As Integer
   Dim sBuf  As String
   Dim iLen  As Integer
   Dim iCtr  As Integer

   On Error Goto ErrTrap
   iFile = FreeFile
   Open Filename For Input As #iFile
   Do While Not Eof(iFile)
      Line Input #iFile, sBuf
      iLen = Len(sBuf)
      For iCtr = 1 To iLen
         Txt.Text = Txt.Text & Char2Hex(Mid(sBuf, iCtr, 1)) & " "
      Next
      Txt.Text = Txt.Text & vbCrlf
   Loop
   Close #iFile
   Exit Sub

ErrTrap:
   MsgBox Err.Description
   
End Sub


---

you can easily convert from Hex to binary easily...  i'll try to search for my Char2Bin conversion function... wait!

hope this helps.

ok, found it!

this is my character to binary conversion function. call this instead of Char2Hex to get the binary output


---

Function Char2Bin(ByVal sChar$) As String
   Dim iAscVal As Integer
   Dim sOut    As String
   Dim iBal    As Integer
   Dim iCtr    As Integer
   Dim aVal()  As Integer
   Dim iDiv    As Integer
   
   iAscVal = Asc(sChar)
   iDiv = 1
   For iCtr = 1 To 8
      If (iAscVal And iDiv) = 0 Then
         sOut = "0" & sOut
      Else
         sOut = "1" & sOut
      End If
      iDiv = iDiv * 2
   Next

   Char2Bin = Left(sOut, 4) & "-" & Right(sOut, 4)
End Function

jchew...  This looks good so far.  I'll try this in code in the next 12 hours.  It is 2AM here so I must sleep soon. I'll try this and post you a comment...
Thanks and
Best Regards,
Mitch......

hi mitch

if the data is ascii then there must be an easy way to read the file and write the file or whatever. it is not common practice to try to look at bits and then convert to ascii..

if you have Microsoft Excel you can try to import it as a text file and Excel will do it for you.

give us an example file to look at here, but if that is not possiple then send a file to me as an attachment to an email...send to leojl@yahoo.com

leo

i've seen such files before. it's normally used when a record has many fields but the fields are optional.  so to minimize the data, at the begining of the record, there's a few bytes of data to state which fields are in the record.  

each bit represents a field, if it's 1, the field is present, if 0, the field is not.

OK, NEWS FLASH....    The first 159 Bytes are the file header info.  The data I want begins at Byte 160 and continues for the next 159 bytes.  Next record begins at Byte 320 and continues for 159 bytes, etc.. to the EOF.
The confusing issue is....  Some of the bytes such as byte 1 in the record is hex 00 or 1A or 39 or 51. Byte 1 is very easy because of the four hex choices mean something significant, so no problem. Next is a 2 byte field that can be from hex 0000 to hex 3FFF, again no problem. Next is a 4 byte field, but here I have to look at which bits are set, bit 0 a 1 indicates yes or a 0 indicates no, bit 1 a 1 indicates yes or a 0 indicates no  etc.  So I suppose on this field I can convert Hex to Bin and examine each bit for the 1 or 0 condition. I am placing the output data into a grid that shows ASCII characters.  I know how to do all that, its all this Hex Bin ASCII reading and converting that I don't fully understand.

It appears that I need to open the file and begin at byte 160 and get 159 Hex characters.  Then depending on the byte position, do hex to ascii and place into my grid, or do hex to bin then examine each bit and depending on condition write "yes" or "no" to my grid. And, of course continue and analyze the bytes and or bits until end of record, then load next record, etc. to EOF.  With you experts helping me I actually think I/WE can do this. <Big Grin>....  Anyone have any new ideas based on this info?
Thanks a lot
Mitch

ichew....  Do you have a HexToBin routine and a HexToASCII routine?  I have been studying this file for 2 days.  It appears that I might be able to do this read and convert if those two routines are available. At least I'm making progress.  I almost understand the file format now that I can view it and work with it.
Thanks, Regards....
Mitch.....

Hi!

Here's a file over the net for you:

Download...
http://www.vb-helper.com/Howto/filepos.zip

Description: Read bytes from a specific part of a file (3K)

That's it!

glass cookie : )

Hello glass cookie.....  The vb-helper site will not let me d/l any files right now.  I'll try later to get the file. Nice to hear from you again....
Best Regards,
Mitch

hi

try vbhelper without he -

leo

Hi!

I suppose the site is down.

I managed to get the link only through some other means (from indirect links from the page).

Since you've shown some interest in the link, here's some description of the example program.

You'll have to enter/specift the start byte position and the stop byte position.  Then, the example would give you the bytes within that range and display it in a label.

That's it!

glass cookie : )

PS. I guess you'll have to wait.

glass cookie....    do you have the filepos.zip file?  It appears that the file server at vb-helper is down....
Later today I am posting code here that I am using.  I would like to award points on this question and move to the next one.
Best Regards
Mitch.....

Here is what I am using now to read the file and display one record in hex.  If anyone has any comments or suggestions, great.....  This question has evolved into an entirely different question, so I will award points in 24 hours and post a new question for the next phase.  Thanks everyone very much for your help.

The following code is simple, but it does seem to work.
The form has 1 Rich Text Box to show the output, 1 text box to input the record number and 1 command button to start the process.
--------------------------------------------------------

Private Sub cmdGetRecord_Click()
   
    Dim RecFromFile As String
    RecFromFile = String(159, " ")
   
    Dim FileNumber As Integer
    FileNumber = FreeFile
   
    If txtFile.Text = "" Then MsgBox "File not found.": Exit Sub
   
    Open txtFile.Text For Binary As FileNumber
    Get FileNumber, (txtGetRecord * 160) + 1, RecFromFile
    Close FileNumber
         
    Dim DisplayThis As String
    Dim HexOut As String
    Dim k As Long
    Dim i As Long
    Dim j As Long
    Dim l As Long
    rtbHex.Text = ""
   
     For k = 1 To Len(RecFromFile) Step 16
       
        For i = k To k + 15
            HexOut = "00"
               If i <= Len(RecFromFile) Then
                  j = Asc(Mid$(RecFromFile, i, 1))
                  HexOut = Hex$(j)
                    If Len(HexOut) < 2 Then
                       HexOut = "0" & HexOut
                    End If
               End If
           
            DisplayThis = DisplayThis & HexOut & " "
        Next
       
        rtbHex.SelText = DisplayThis
        DisplayThis = ""
   
    Next
   
End Sub

Hi!

I actually downloaded a copy of that proggy, but it's at home.  So, you'll have to wait until I get home - about 6 hours from now.  Meanwhile, please state your email address so that I can email you the stuff : )

That's it!

glass cookie : )

FYI, I've gt no idea whether it's exactcly the same as your above code but I'll email you the stuff, just in case it's different : )

hi glass cookie,

I have a sort of vision of the glass cookie girl in my mind. Would I be too bold to ask if you have a picture or would it be better to continue this quite impressive mental thing ?

sincerely
leo

hello mitchsavage,

just got back from my weekend...  here's the hex2lng function.


'
' convert hexadecimal to long integer
' - no overflow checking
Function Hex2Lng(ByVal sHex$) As Long
Const cHEXCHAR = "0123456789ABCDEF"
Dim iPos    As Integer
Dim iLen    As Integer
Dim iCtr    As Integer
Dim lRet    As Long

   iLen = Len(sHex)
   For iCtr = 1 To iLen
      iPos = InStr(1, cHEXCHAR, Mid(sHex, iCtr, 1), vbTextCompare)
      lRet = (lRet * 16) + (iPos - 1)
   Next
   
   Hex2Lng = lRet
End Function

Hi leoji!

If you don't mind, could you elaborate on the "quite impressive mental thing" that you're talking about?  I don't quite get you : )

Thanks!

Oh yes, MitchSavage, the code that I proposed only returns the characters.  Do you still want it?

Alternatively, here's another example (which should be downloadable):

View code...
http://www.planetsourcecode.com/xq/ASP/txtCodeId.2903/lngWId.1/qx/vb/scripts/ShowCode.htm

Description: This module allows you to view a file as a collection of bits rather than as a collection of bytes. It allows you to read/write a single bit at a time or read/write up to 32 bits at once.

AND This one:

Download...
http://www.planetsourcecode.com/upload/ftp/CODE_UPLOAD6494662000.zip
Description: Allows you to open and view small binary files. For each byte in the file, you see the position, ASCII character (if it's printable) and the numeric value and its hexadecimal equivalent. Nothing fancy, but a quick way to see what's under the hood.

Snapshot page: http://www.planetsourcecode.com/xq/ASP/txtCodeId.8680/lngWId.1/qx/vb/scripts/ShowCode.htm

This one looks as if it reads the entire thing for you.  It splits a file into a long string and returns all the values.

AND The last one:

Download...
http://www.planetsourcecode.com/upload/ftp/CODE_UPLOAD1263912132000.zip

Description: Display the contents of any file in Hex/Ascii format. Code is well-documented and demonstrates uses of the Status Bar, Progress Bar & Rich Text Box controls. Updated program on 12/13/2000: Added a C Dll that greatly increased format speed of input file. Check HexView.cpp for a tip on how to debug a dll called from Visual Basic. I included Visual Basic statements in the HexView.cpp file so it serves as a tutorial for someone interested in writing a C Dll.

Snapshot page: http://www.planetsourcecode.com/xq/ASP/txtCodeId.13432/lngWId.1/qx/vb/scripts/ShowCode.htm

That's it!

glass cookie : )

PS. By the way, I'm not a girl.  Does "glass cookie" sound unisex or does it sound as if it's a girl?

Thanks jchew for the Hex2Lng, I'm sure I will use it in the app. Do you have a Lng2Bin? That is the last missing piece in the puzzle.

And yes glass cookie I'm still interested in the code.
My email is mitchsavage@home.com  so fire away.....

My code above does work for extracting some of the data I need.  It is DREADFULLY slow.  I have wrapped a loop around it to get 1000 records, and the string stuff must be really dragging it down.  I'll post another question concerning that when I get it all put together.

Best Regards
Mitch Savage.....

A little about my app.  I have used this app for about 2 years to read records from industrial machines.  They usually output simple ascii text with a delimiter.  These are easy to read, I just extract the data I want between the delimiters and place into a flexgrid column.  The records consist of the date, starttime, stoptime, controlnumber, sourcenumber, outnumber, sequencenumber, etc.  My prog does some math such as the difference between starttime and stoptime and displays the time diff in a new column. The TotalHours are calculated, the runtime hours are calculated, etc.....  This new machine does not output ascii.  It outputs these "binary" files.  I must import the files from the new machine and convert the output to look exactly like the output from all the other machines.  So, I'm trying to import the binary record into my app and extract the same data we have come to expect......   Making progress.......    
Regards to all....
Mitch Savage.....

Thanks jchew for all the great help.  I have come a long way since posting the original question. You have responded with great answers and I do appreciate it.  I am putting together the code I am using now to read the file and starting a new question.
Thanks everyone else for the comments.  
Best Regards,
Mitch Savage....