Reading x64 registry keys from a x86 computer remotely - C# Discussion Boards

Re: A Question About Class Properties

Roger Wright5-Dec-09 2:59

Roger Wright

5-Dec-09 2:59

Sweet!

"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

Re: A Question About Class Properties

PIEBALDconsult5-Dec-09 4:17

PIEBALDconsult

5-Dec-09 4:17

Roger Wright wrote:
how does this construct "know" to associate the public MyProperty with the private myProperty

It doesn't; with an Automatic Property you don't create the field, the compiler does. If you do have to create the field for some reason (as with a Control on a Form) you wouldn't use an Automatic Property.

Re: A Question About Class Properties

Richard Blythe4-Dec-09 18:08

Richard Blythe

4-Dec-09 18:08

Roger Wright wrote:
...created all the form data members as private

Are you refering to controls? Textbox, Combobox, etc.

It is important for these to private by default, because it would open up a hugh security hole.

As far as the value of a property itself, it can be very useful when you are wanting to validate the input. Say for instance you had a class named Car. The max speed that the car could go was 120 mph.
Using "set", you could make sure that no speed was set above the maximum allowable speed.

public class Car
{
private const byte MAX_SPEED = 120;

public byte Speed
{
get { return _Speed; }
set
{
if (value > MAX_SPEED)
throw new ArgumentException("Speed cannot exceed: " + MAX_SPEED.ToString());
else
_Speed = value
}
}

}

Does this help? By the way a property is compiled into two methods. get_Speed() and set_Speed(). Properties are just C# short hand for these two methods.

Cheers!
Richard

If my answer has helped you, one of my articles may also be a help. Also remember that your best friend's name is google.

Re: A Question About Class Properties

Roger Wright4-Dec-09 18:24

Roger Wright

4-Dec-09 18:24

Thank you, Richard! Big Grin | :-D

I'm old, and all the clarification available helps me learn. And yes, the child form is populated by controls for data entry. The parent form is primarily a menu for the functions available to the user. I plan to use the child forms for gathering data, the main form for consolidating that information, and dispatching it to a database utility class containing methods for maintaining the database.

Richard Blythe wrote:
By the way a property is compiled into two methods. get_Speed() and set_Speed().

That's new information, not included in any book I've read. It aids my understanding to know what's going on behind the scenes. Thanks, again! Smile | :)

"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

Re: A Question About Class Properties

Richard Blythe4-Dec-09 18:39

Richard Blythe

4-Dec-09 18:39

Ah, so old dogs can learn new tricks! Laugh | :laugh:

One fundamental rule to professional programming is separating your UI code from your business logic.

For example, if you was writing those child forms for me, I wouldn't want to access a field by the control. I would want to access a meaningful field name. For example:

EmployeeForm.EmployeeName

looks much better than:

EmployeeForm.NameTextBox.Text

This is where a good property would work great:

public string EmployeeName
{
get { return NameTextBox.Text; }
set
{
if (value == "")
throw new ArgumentException("Employee name cannot be empty!")
else
NameTextBox.Text = value;
}
}

I wish you the best. Just remember me when you become a millionare! Wink | ;)

If my answer has helped you, one of my articles may also be a help. Also remember that your best friend's name is google.

Re: A Question About Class Properties

Roger Wright4-Dec-09 18:58

Roger Wright

4-Dec-09 18:58

Nice to know I did something right. My controls are named as txtSerial, but my properties follow as Serial. It does make it more readable, and in this case, Serial corresponds to a database field name directly. I'm trying to get the UI and business logic working the way I want them to before I even touch the database functions; I have a feeling that this is where the nightmares begin. Mycroft sent me some samples of how he would implement it, and I plan to study that this weekend before I attempt to tackle it myself.

Richard Blythe wrote:
so old dogs can learn new tricks!

Yes, but we're slow, and tend to bite. Thanks for your patience... Smile | :)

"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

Re: A Question About Class Properties

Luc Pattyn5-Dec-09 3:06

Luc Pattyn

5-Dec-09 3:06

Roger Wright wrote:
Question About Class Properties

Dito all for structs.

Smile | :)

Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles]

I only read code that is properly indented, and rendered in a non-proportional font; hint: use PRE tags in forum messages

Reading x64 registry keys from a x86 computer remotely

Jacob Dixon4-Dec-09 14:53

Jacob Dixon

4-Dec-09 14:53

I am having a little bit of a problem. I am trying to get installed software from computers. The problem is when running it from a x86 machine it defaults to the wow6432node on the x64 server. What I really need is to read both the regular AND the wow6432node for all software installed on the machine.

Here is what I am doing:

string registryKey = @"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";

try
{
    Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key = Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey.OpenRemoteBaseKey(Microsoft.Win32.RegistryHive.LocalMachine,
        dnsName.ToString());

    Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey subKey = key.OpenSubKey(registryKey);
    foreach (string foundValues in subKey.GetSubKeyNames())
    {
        Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey val = subKey.OpenSubKey(foundValues);

        if (!(val.GetValue("DisplayName") == null))
        {
            ListViewItem item = new ListViewItem();
            item.Text = val.GetValue("DisplayName").ToString();

            if (val.GetValue("InstallLocation") != null)
                item.SubItems.Add(val.GetValue("InstallLocation").ToString());

            Invoke((Action)(() => { lstApplications.Items.Add(item); }));
        }
    }
}
catch (Exception) { }
finally
{
    Invoke((Action)(() => { picProgressApps.Visible = false; }));
}

Re: Reading x64 registry keys from a x86 computer remotely

Dave Kreskowiak4-Dec-09 17:05

Dave Kreskowiak

4-Dec-09 17:05

You're trying to read the 64-bit registry from a 32-bit machine?? You have to do it from a 64-bit app running on a 64-bit machine for that to work.

If you want to know what's installed on a machine in a more generic way, use WMI instead. Google for "Win32_Product" and "Win32_QuickFixEngineering" to get installed software and HotFixes.

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject[^]

Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP
Visual Developer - Visual Basic
2006, 2007, 2008
But no longer in 2009...

Re: Reading x64 registry keys from a x86 computer remotely

Jacob Dixon4-Dec-09 18:13

Jacob Dixon

4-Dec-09 18:13

Thanks! I was actually reading about WMI after I posted my first discussion. I took a look at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394378(VS.85).aspx[^] and it has everything I need! I was able to read only from the wow6432node with the previous code but with WMI it lets me read all installed software

Does the WMI do basically the same in checking uninstallers or is it checking installed applications some other way? I guess I'm wondering why WMI can do it but remote registry can't

Re: Reading x64 registry keys from a x86 computer remotely

Dave Kreskowiak5-Dec-09 3:41

Dave Kreskowiak

5-Dec-09 3:41

The WMI query executes on the remote machine, in it's native envrironment, not on your machine. The results are packed into standardized, platform independant objects (WMI classes) and returned to the caller. That's why it works and reading the registry directly doesn't.

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject[^]

Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP
Visual Developer - Visual Basic
2006, 2007, 2008
But no longer in 2009...

Re: Reading x64 registry keys from a x86 computer remotely

Jacob Dixon5-Dec-09 4:04

Jacob Dixon

5-Dec-09 4:04

Ohh I see. Thank you for explaining that to me.
Have a good day!

Activating a child form

electriac4-Dec-09 13:20

electriac

4-Dec-09 13:20

I am writing a program that is going to be operated with an IR controller. In the program Form1 creates a new form Form2.

Form2 dlg = new Form2(fname);
if (dlg.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{

}

Unfortunatly the new form will not receive input unless I click on it with the mouse to make it active. I have tried various commands but in order to make the new form receive the IR commands I must click on the form with the mouse. How can I activate the form programatically.

public Form2(string temp)
{
InitializeComponent();
//this.Focus(); // Tried these
//this.Activate();
//this.BringToFront();
}

Re: Activating a child form

Luc Pattyn4-Dec-09 13:27

Luc Pattyn

4-Dec-09 13:27

Hi George,

electriac wrote:
the new form will not receive input unless I click on it

I don't think this is correct. What probably happened is the Control with the lowest TabIndex isn't the one you want it to be. Try playing around with TabIndex (and check TabStop is still at its default value of true).

If all that does not help, experiment with Focus, Activate, BringToFront inside the Shown handler, the constructor is too soon for these.

Regards,

Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles]

I only read code that is properly indented, and rendered in a non-proportional font; hint: use PRE tags in forum messages

Re: Activating a child form

electriac4-Dec-09 15:06

electriac

4-Dec-09 15:06

Tried delaying commands with a timer. NG. Unless I click on the form the IR commands are written to my source code. So the compiler is the active form.

Re: Activating a child form

Luc Pattyn4-Dec-09 15:45

Luc Pattyn

4-Dec-09 15:45

electriac wrote:
the compiler is the active form

Each WinForm application has an active window; what you are saying is somehow your IDE (Visual Studio?) is active instead of your app itself. That is abnormal; what do you do to make your app run? what language is it in? it is a WinForm app isn't it? what happens when you run your app by double-clicking its exe (in bin/debug/ or in bin/release/ subfolders)?

BTW: within the app, i.e. assuming your app has focus, it is the Shown event you want, not a timer!

Smile | :)

Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles]

I only read code that is properly indented, and rendered in a non-proportional font; hint: use PRE tags in forum messages

Re: Activating a child form

electriac5-Dec-09 0:11

electriac

5-Dec-09 0:11

I am compiling and executing with CTRL F5 it is a standard windows form in C#. I will have to look into executing outside the compiler.

TNX Luc

Re: Activating a child form

Roger Wright4-Dec-09 17:29

Roger Wright

4-Dec-09 17:29

I don't know how useful this may be, as I'm a total newbie to C#, but I'm working tonight on the exact same situation - a form creating a form - and mine's working perfectly. The only difference I see is that, rather than passing a value in the new statement, I'm initializing that value in a separate statement immediately after, ie:

Form2 dlg = new Form2();
dlg.temp = fname;
if(dlg.ShowDialog()==DialogResult.OK)
{ ...

This assumes that Form2 defines a public member temp, of course. I have no idea why it would make a difference, but it just might.

"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

Re: Activating a child form

Shameel4-Dec-09 23:08

Shameel

4-Dec-09 23:08

electriac wrote:
Unfortunatly the new form will not receive input

What do you mean by this ? Do you have a textbox in your form that doesn't receive what you type on the keyboard as soon as the form is opened? You may have to set its TabIndex property to 0 and TabStop to true.

Re: Activating a child form

electriac5-Dec-09 0:07

electriac

5-Dec-09 0:07

There is no TabIndex or TabStop as the form is receiving input from an IR controller as a keydown event.

Re: Activating a child form

Shameel5-Dec-09 1:20

Shameel

5-Dec-09 1:20

I don't know if I fully understand your question. But in windows applications, only the active control with the keyboard focus can receive keyboard events. You need to set focus to the textbox (or whatever your control is) before you can send keystrokes to the control.

Re: Activating a child form

electriac5-Dec-09 2:17

electriac

5-Dec-09 2:17

Update:

I have done some more experimenting and find the following. When the program is executed outside the compiler the child Form2 is created but the focus remains on Form1. When compiled with CTRL F5 the focus goes to the compiler.

Here is where Form2 is created: Form2=playMKV

Application.RemoveMessageFilter(this);
if (temp.EndsWith(".mkv")) // its a Matroska file
{
playMKV dlg = new playMKV(fname);
//if (dlg.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK) // not necessary as there will always be a result 1 or 0;
dlg.ShowDialog();
if (dlg.Number == 1)
{
string temp2 = "\x22" + fname + "\x22";
System.Diagnostics.Process proc =
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("mplayerc.exe", temp2 + " /fullscreen /play /close ");
proc.WaitForExit();
}
this.WindowState = System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Maximized;
Application.AddMessageFilter(this);
return;
}

I have tried delaying the this.Focus in Form2 as Luc suggested and it seems to make no difference.

private void timer1_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
timer1.Enabled = false;
this.Focus();
this.Activate();
this.BringToFront();
}

This Form2 closes on any keydown event there being two options:

1.the "Enter" key is hit or "Enter" is pressed on the IRcontroller in which case the key event is == 13 returning 1 to Form1

or

2.on any other key the Form2 is closed returning 0;

Form2 keydownevent

if (keyEvent.KeyValue == 13)
{
num = 1;
}

else
{
num = 0;
}
this.Close();

The program works without problem as long as I click on Form2 with the mouse.

Re: Activating a child form

electriac5-Dec-09 2:50

electriac

5-Dec-09 2:50

Shameel

TNX for your input as it allowed me to solve the problem. I added an event handler to the listBox on Form2 and the focus was gained by the form.

TNX again. Smile | :)

Re: Activating a child form

Shameel5-Dec-09 3:54

Shameel

5-Dec-09 3:54

Is there a reason you use Application.RemoveMessageFilter(this)?

Re: Activating a child form

electriac5-Dec-09 3:58

electriac

5-Dec-09 3:58

Yes. The message filter seems to stop the Form2 from receiving the IR commands. Although I have not test without it since implementing the newest changes.

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.