Par2: Background process 1999-07-27 -- Jim Gambon >>I need an app to sit in the background, minimized or in the sys tray, which >>watches for certain ASCII files to appear, then do something. I'll need to >>watch for at least three different files, and run three different processes >>depending on which file(s) appear. >I have written exactly this app recently and here's some help to get you started: > >1) Standard Windows Template. The Window has a Timer on it of 100 >(once every second). > >2) Set up a QUEUE of filenames you want to wait for. You can load the >QUEUE with data via the GETINI/PUTINI stuff from an INI file, or from >a datafile that you have allowed the user to edit. > >3) The "countdown" to check for file existance can be done several >ways depending on your need for exactness, but you might be able to >just Increment a counter every EVENT:Timer event (once a second). > >4) On EVENT:Timer, If Countdown > = 60, then loop through the file >list QUEUE. For every file in the QUEUE use the EXISTS() command to >see if the file exists. (The tricky part is finding out if the file is >still being written to. I set up a DOS file and tried >OPEN(thefile,18) to get exclusive access to it. If there was an error >I skipped the file.) > >5) If the file exists, Using PowerRun from Berthume Software >(http://members.aol.com/GBerthume/index.htm) run the process you need. > >6) Set the CountDown back to zero to wait some more. > >7) For the aesthetics I used Vince's Tray API stuff to put the program >in the tray (can only work in 32-bits). > >The trick is to use Timer events so that the ACCEPT loop will YIELD to >other processes. > >I hope this helps lead you to a solution. If your solution is to buy a >working copy of the program please let me know Printed November 23, 2024, 3:38 am This article has been viewed/printed 35215 times. |