Windows Installer for Christoph's Folding Stats Sig Generator

[JerMe]

Don't forget big daddy Christoph =)

 

[stratcatprowlin]

Yes And big daddy Christoph

 

[TollhouseFrank]

hmm.... has anyone nominated this for sticky? If not...I NOMINATE FOR STICKY

this is a great tool for us folders, and would be great for new members to have a way to be proud of thier efforts, and to show off how well they are doing.

 

[aeiou]

Sticky!!!

 

[stratcatprowlin]

No doubt. STICKY!

 

[Arkaine23]

Its easy for the linux version... anyone who needs help in that area can just ask Chirswtoph, {PMS}Fishy, or me.....

Mine runs on a linux box's crontab every six hours 45 minutes after the hour (so it catches statsman updates flawlessly). Heh if I wanted to I could make it display my duallie's temps/voltages, memory/disk/network/cpu useage, music I'm currently listening to, # of new messages in my mailbox, etc.

Can't it be task scheduled in windows?

 

[TollhouseFrank]

yeah.. it can be. just gotta schedule it to work ever so often (i personally have it set to update every 2 hours)

 

[JerMe]

Its easy for the linux version... anyone who needs help in that area can just ask Chirswtoph, {PMS}Fishy, or me.....

All the files are coded in Perl, so both *ix and Windows users can use this. The "manual installer" is a zip file that contains the Perl elements required for this application. Within the zip file is 1) Christoph's "mksig", 2) Christoph's "sig_gen" that I modified for additional functionality, 3) the GUI that edits the contents, colors, etc. of the modified sig_gen (and soon will be able to produce a sig layout), and a couple other misc items. This "manual installer" should be unzipped to a common directory. The purpose of the Windows Installer (*.exe) was to have a Win32 deployer that left the installation preferences in the hands of the user, with the conspicuous option of uninstallation -essentially, it asks the user where to unzip the Perl scripts, and if they want shortcuts to the scripts. I should clarify the differences between these installation methods (?) in the OP.

I learned Perl as I went creating this editor (gui.pl) and modified sig_gen (sig_gen.pl), so much (all?) of the code can be optimized. My intent on creating this GUI was to answer the suggestion of another user (gustav), that is, to create an easy way for members to change the colors, type of stats, etc. of the modified sig_gen.

The next logical step is to create an intuitive interface that allows for the modification of the layout itself. Once this is done, there won't be a "generic" sig_gen - everyone can create an FAH stats signature that is unique and original, easily with a few clicks and a press of a button, rather than hacking Perl code. I'm waiting on a certain someone for this.

I wish I knew C++, so Windows users wouldn't have to download the ActiveState package. Maybe I could take some time and learn the basics of that language, too.

Heh if I wanted to I could make it display my duallie's temps/voltages, memory/disk/network/cpu useage, music I'm currently listening to, # of new messages in my mailbox, etc.

Would that be accomplished by additional modules, or are those modules part of ActivePerl's repository? Because Windows users have to download ActiveState's ActivePerl, I limited myself to the modules that the ActivePerl installation contains, but if need be, I could include additional modules to install via the Windows Installer (and have the "manual installer" include instructions on where to extract the module). If you have the time, it'd be cool if you posted that information in Christoph's sticky, then everyone who would like to see the code can have a glance and could chip in. I'm trying to stay away from the Win32 module for compatibility reasons with *ix systems, so any method able to display the items you described would have to be Linux/Windows universal, otherwise I'd have to code for each.

Mine runs on a linux box's crontab every six hours 45 minutes after the hour (so it catches statsman updates flawlessly). Can't it be task scheduled in windows?

Yes (but ignore the last shot, duration should be set to 24 hours so that the task can run all day long). The alternative is to use Firedaemon. Personally, I like the Task Scheduler method, because if I'm on the computer I can visually keep tabs on any errors that mksig may pick up - every 2 hours a window pops up, and if I'm on the comp, I can see mksig go through the motion of creating the sig, logging in, submitting sig, and logging out.

In regards to the sticky nominations, I thank those who have mentioned it so far, but really this an extension to Christoph's efforts, with the GUI helping to reach out to the rest of the forums who do not have the knowledge (or effort) to edit the Perl scripts by hand (though having a sticky here at the OC Forums is awesome, isn't it? )

 

[Ven0m]

What do you exactly need for Windows? (that ActiveState)
I know WinAPI and .Net "a bit", so I might help.

 

[JerMe]

What do you exactly need for Windows? (that ActiveState)
I know WinAPI and .Net "a bit", so I might help.

A complete port of the Perl scripts mksig.pl, sig_gen.pl, and gui.pl to Win32 so that the ~13MB ActivePerl download isn't required? But only after the project is "complete" and in "maintenance mode". That's A LOT to ask for as it requires knowledge of both Perl and another Windows language, as well as the ability to understand my terrible code. If it ever gets to that point, do you mind if a send a few PMs your way?

In the meantime, I'd like to have this project be accessible to everyone, regardless of Linux or Windows, and that means keeping it in a Perl environment utilizing modules that are available to both OS platforms.

 

[Ven0m]

So basically this thing would need to be completely rewritten.
If done in WinAPI, it would be pretty complicated and require lots of time, as it's very low-level API. Http extensions are hard to use and basically I'd have to make simple web browser working on socket level , or use IE (no IE window, but simply its functions).
.Net - should be simple, I'm using self-made sig gen, size of program would be around 20kb, around 5-10kb packet, but it requires .Net Framework then. Most of Windows users have it, as it's in Windows Update, but if not - it's around 20 megs.

13 megs of Active Perl is rather no big deal, but indeed, 13 megs addon to a few kb script looks funny.

Now I'm working on alternative solution (.Net project), and if it works, there will be more details.

 

[rpwinters]

I need a little help. I installed activestate and Sig gen. I was moving right along when it asked for size, so I put in 10k. I setup my unitinfo.txt locations and hit save changes and it gives me invalid entry. How do I fix this? I uninstalled sig gen and figured I would try again after I get some input. Thanks.

 

[TollhouseFrank]

when it chooses size, i just chose "M"... that way, it can generate up to any size needed (i had major problems if set to anything under just "M" or even "M" with a number.)

 

[JerMe]

I need a little help. I installed activestate and Sig gen. I was moving right along when it asked for size, so I put in 10k. I setup my unitinfo.txt locations and hit save changes and it gives me invalid entry. How do I fix this? I uninstalled sig gen and figured I would try again after I get some input. Thanks.

The "invalid entry" window popped up probably because one of the fields that was supposed to be blank wasn't, there was an invalid character in one of the fields, or something else to that effect. When you run the program, 2 windows pop up - the Editor Window, and another black window with pure text. When that "Invalid Entry" pop up message appeared, the actual reason for the error was displayed in that 2nd black text window.

Sorry about that, I should get around to displaying the errors in a pop up message, rather than the text window, it was easier to code the errors into the text window than into the GUI.

If you'd like to give it a whirl again, please do. I'll do my best to get it running for you.

So basically this thing would need to be completely rewritten.
If done in WinAPI, it would be pretty complicated and require lots of time, as it's very low-level API. Http extensions are hard to use and basically I'd have to make simple web browser working on socket level , or use IE (no IE window, but simply its functions).
.Net - should be simple, I'm using self-made sig gen, size of program would be around 20kb, around 5-10kb packet, but it requires .Net Framework then. Most of Windows users have it, as it's in Windows Update, but if not - it's around 20 megs.

13 megs of Active Perl is rather no big deal, but indeed, 13 megs addon to a few kb script looks funny.

Now I'm working on alternative solution (.Net project), and if it works, there will be more details.

Yep, all 3 scripts would have to be rewritten completely as a standalone application, so that a separate download (ActivePerl, .Net, etc) isn't required. That'd be a major pain in the arse, so I doubt it'll ever get done (unless I get an itch for learning more languages.)

 

[rpwinters]

The error in the cmd window is "illegeal character in file path", what can I do? Do you think it is referring to the file name "Folding@Home"? That was the folder name when it made when I used the installer. If that is it, can I rename it without messing up the program? Thanks.

 

[JerMe]

The "@" character is a special character for Perl, so I took the safe road and disallowed its use. I don't know about renaming, because once you specify "folding@home" as the folder, then the shortcut links start in that folder. Once you rename it, the shortcuts won't work properly, causing funny things to happen. I would just uninstall and use the default paths if possible.

 

[Ven0m]

There is no way I will do it in strict WinAPI - too much work - that would require hundreds lines of code, or even much more. In Java it would be pretty short, but Java is big too..

 

[JerMe]

Heh I know, I meant that if anyone was going to do it, it'd be me

 

[rpwinters]

As you can see, it works. It was the "@" symbol in the folder name. I shutdown FAH, copied everything from that folder, removed everything associated with it, reinstalled, copied everything back over. Up and going again.

How often does it update? Do I have to do anything to it?

JerMe- Thanks for the installer and the help to get it running.
Christoph- Thanks for the program.

 

[JerMe]

Good deal, thanks for the heads up. I'll try to get that squared away in the next revision so that the next batch of users won't have to go through the trouble you went through.