How can I run my scripts from my own IDE in VB.NET

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Hi all,
I am developing an IDE for autoit in vb.net. Now i am practicing how to run my scripts from my new IDE. I have successully ran some one or two line scripts. But when i run scripts using any kind of loops, i can't print the result in output console. The code in the script is to write a specific text into the console in every 5 seconds. When i click the run button, the script is running, but nothing is displaying in output console. This is my vb.net code

VB

Private Sub BTN_Run_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BTN_Run.Click

        Dim AutoitCmd As String = "C:\Program Files\AutoIt3\Autoit3.exe "
        Dim path As String = Application.StartupPath
        Dim tempName As String = "\Untitled.au3"
        Dim Filename As String = path & tempName

        Dim procID As Integer
        Dim Proc As New Process
        Proc.StartInfo.FileName = AutoitCmd
        Proc.StartInfo.Arguments = """" & Filename & """"
        Proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = True
        Proc.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = False
        Proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = True
        Proc.Start()
        
        procID = Proc.Id
        Dim outrd As StreamReader = Proc.StandardOutput
        Dim out As String = outrd.ReadToEnd

        cc1.WriteOutput("==> " & out, Color.GreenYellow)
        Proc.WaitForExit()
        If Proc.HasExited = True Then
            Proc.Close()
        Else
            cc1.WriteOutput("==> Running" & Filename, Color.GreenYellow)
        End If
    End Sub

What I have tried:

What i have tried
1. Made a gui with ScintillaNet control.
2. Choose appropriate lexer in that control so that my code editor recognizes autoit code.
3. I have tried with Procress.Start method in vb.net. see the code i have included in my post.

Posted 6-Jun-16 5:39am

Vinod Kc

Updated 6-Jun-16 6:13am

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Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov · Answer 1 · 2016-06-06T06:13:00

Solution 1

You need to use CodeDOM.

Now, what you would do with it? If you want to execute some of its code from your host application, you would need to define some interface known to both host application and the application to be built, so you have to reference some assembly with appropriate API, which should better be the definition of some interfaces which I usually call "plug-in interface". Then you can use the assembly build via .NET reflection.

But let's make one step at a time. First you need to learn CodeDOM. This topic is pretty simple. You can start here: Using the CodeDOM[^].

Now, about using the assembly you build from the user's code via reflection: please see my past answers:
Dynamically Load User Controls[^],
C# Reflection InvokeMember on existing instance[^],
code generating using CodeDom[^] (again, on CodeDOM).

But now, we are coming to the more difficult problem. The problem is: if a user can write code and compile the assembly and then load it in the process's memory, it can be done again and again. And it will create a memory leak. In .NET, there are no a way to unload a loaded assembly (the reasons are pretty obvious, safety, but it's not so easy to explain it; please see my past answers referenced below). The only way to unload some code is to create an extra application domain and later unload it with all its assemblies. But it means that your compiled assembly (plug-in) should be in this separate application domain and communicate with your host via IPC (application domains work in isolated address spaces).

This is all solvable, but you have to learn all related techniques. Please see the rest of my past answers on the topic, all referenced in this one: Access a custom object that resides in plug in dll[^].

I do have a sample application doing all that, but it is not yet published.

—SA

Posted 6-Jun-16 6:13am

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov

Comments

Vinod Kc 6-Jun-16 13:39pm

@Sergey Alexandrovich,
Autoit has it's own interpreter to run the script. I think i don't need the CodeDom. Please forgive me if it is wrong. I just want to run the interpreter with proper command line switches. And i have succeeded but when it's come to script which contains loops, i can't get the output. That's the problem.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 6-Jun-16 17:10pm

No problem. I just want to say that code in a .NET language is not script, but forgot to mention it.
If this is your own script processor, and you really need it, do it you way, but note that you can use any .NET language as well, compile it, see the compilation errors and fix them and so on.

If this is your own interpreter, you should know better how to run it. Interpreter is interpreted, it should not be a separate application which you just run with the command line. You have to embed it in the application, pretty much like JavaScript is embedded in browser. In other words, you need to provide interpreter's interface to the host application. It's all you need to design. From your question, it's not even clear how your interpreter can possibly work; so far, it sounds like a compiler or stand-along command-line interpreter, or something...

—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 1:01am

@SA,
Thanks for the reply. I don't know anything about the technical details of that interpreter. All i know is, i can run any scripts without loops and i can display its output to the user. But if try to run scripts which contain loops,it is running but i can't display output. So i think i did something wrong in the process.Start.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 1:07am

Sorry, I don't understand. You say that you already have your own interpreter. How can you possibly be unaware of its technical detail? Maybe you simply don't have anything suitable?
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 1:15am

I mean i don't kow if it is a stand alone or something like that.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 2:35am

I still don't understand. Did you develop that interpreter? In what sense it is an interpreter? What it does?
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 1:06am

Hi @SA,
After some experiments, i succeeded in displaying output in console. But it is only after i stopped the script from outside visual studio. I think i need threading to achieve my goal.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 1:07am

Why threading? How long is the execution?
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 1:14am

if a user trying to run an infinite loop, i can't tell the execution time.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 2:28am

Oh, yes, sure. Come to think about, it should be executed in a separate thread. Look, a separate process is not a suitable option, as I said before. You need to do a lot to notify UI as the process goes, you need an option to kill it, and a lot more (killing of a process is simpler than a thread though...).
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 1:17am

@SA,
Say, this is user's script and assume that he is trying to run this in my IDE.
"
ConsoleWrite("Loop is starting now...." & @CRLF)
For $i = 0 To 10
ConsoleWrite("Vinod this text is from your console" & @CRLF)
Sleep(5000)
Next
"
The result will be printed in output control, only after we kill the process.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 2:35am

Here is the whole point. Say, you have ConsoleWrite. This is should be the API of the host application. The UI thread should be notified immediately, and so on. I've done this a lot, but you... you have a long path... You need decent plug-in kind of architecture. A script should get an API to the host application and should expose its API to the host. Then, threading need to use invocation mechanism to the UI thread. I mean, this is pretty hard to explain in one Quick Answer. This is the whole architecture. Everything is doable and not even very complicated, but it's just a whole set of aspects to take care about. And I still don't understand in what sense you "have your own" interpreter.
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 2:50am

Hi @SA,
I can explain. Autoit is a scripting language. It's syntax looks like Basic. The developers of autoit included SciTE IDE to write the code and debug and compile it as an exe. But SciTE lacks most advanced features like automatic "EndIf" completions which we can see in visual studio. So i have planned to make my own IDE. The language i choose is VB.Net. I think i have made my point clear.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 2:59am

No, not at all, sorry. What about the interpreter? Do you have any or not?
And, after all, why not using VB.BET instead of that scripting language? It's up to you though, but it looks like you have nothing at the moment. Do I miss anything?
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 4:35am

Ok. The interpreter is an exe file located in my "C:\Program Files\AutoIt3\".
And every autoit user has this exe file in his pc.
VB.Net depends dot net frame work but this language will work in any windows pc. That's why i like this language.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 9:40am

How come? If the user already runs .NET application (your tag to the question is "VB.NET"), how .NET Framework may be unavailable? And what makes you thinking that AutoIt3 is available and is in "C:\Program Files\AutoIt3".

No matter, you can just claim AutoIt v.3 as a prerequisite and use it. You have to read AutoIt documentation and do it all their way...

—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 11:33am

@SA,
I have tagged vb.net because, i need to know how to do this purticular task in vb.net. I am making this IDE for autoit users. So they must installed autoit first.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 11:45am

My note was only to address your argument about dependency on .NET Framework. The argument is wrong, because if someone runs your .NET application, .MET is there :-)

If course people can install AutoIt3 if it is requires and they want to use your product; this is what I mean by "prerequisite".

—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 12:02pm

@SA,
Anyway, let me try this with multi threading. I will inform you the result. If this is not easy in vb.net, i need to build this in autoit.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 12:23pm

Of course multithreading is a must, but it seems that you have deeper problems. As I say, you have to have the host application's API and the means to send notify on output as the execution goes. It's all solvable, but integration with the interpreter can be a problem. I don't think the possibility of spawning a separate process is suitable at all.
—SA

Vinod Kc 7-Jun-16 12:53pm

If it is developed in AutoIt, then some native functions are there for to run the code. Anyhow, let me experiment.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 12:56pm

Right...
—SA

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 7-Jun-16 2:59am

No, not at all, sorry. What about the interpreter? Do you have any or not?
And, after all, why not using VB.BET instead of that scripting language? It's up to you though, but it looks like you have nothing at the moment. Do I miss anything?
—SA