Sending data form a vb program too a mysql DB

[James]

Hello, as this falls under both VB and PHP I have posted this into two
newsgroups (this is the first time I've done this so if it is mucked up
then I'm sorry).

Anyway I want to make some simple games with in VB 6.0 and then I want
the highscores to go to the server (which uses PHP and MySQL). And if
its possible I would also like the highscores to be viewable on the
program AND on my site.

PHP Part:
I think I need to set MySQL up so it can be accesssed from outside of
the server, but I'm not sure.

Thanks, James.

[Dag Sunde]

James wrote:

Hello, as this falls under both VB and PHP I have posted this into two
newsgroups (this is the first time I've done this so if it is mucked
up then I'm sorry).

Anyway I want to make some simple games with in VB 6.0 and then I want
the highscores to go to the server (which uses PHP and MySQL). And if
its possible I would also like the highscores to be viewable on the
program AND on my site.

PHP Part:
I think I need to set MySQL up so it can be accesssed from outside of
the server, but I'm not sure.

Are you saying that your VB apps are installed on the users machines,
but that you want the high-scores to be saved on the mySQL database
residing on your web-server?

If so, write a php-script that takes i.e. username and highscore as
params, and make that phpscript do the db-writing on the server.

From vb, use the XmlHttp object or one of its siblings to POST
the data to this php-script on the server.

To view the high-scores, use the same principle. (Do it from php, and
when your vb client needs it, Use HTTP).

--
Dag.

[Steve Gerrard]

"Dag Sunde" <[e-mail] mwrote in message
news:45******** *************** @news.wineasy.s e...

>
From vb, use the XmlHttp object or one of its siblings to POST
the data to this php-script on the server.

To view the high-scores, use the same principle. (Do it from php, and
when your vb client needs it, Use HTTP).

Dag, how much data is reasonable to move back and forth using the XmlHttp object
in VB6? Is it pretty much limited to a few parameters like name, rank, and
serial number, or can you move a list of stuff? It sounds just right for OP's
needs, but I'm curious about other situations. I suppose I could try moving more
data with a series of calls or something?

[Dag Sunde]

Steve Gerrard wrote:

"Dag Sunde" <[e-mail] mwrote in message
news:45******** *************** @news.wineasy.s e...

>>
From vb, use the XmlHttp object or one of its siblings to POST
the data to this php-script on the server.

To view the high-scores, use the same principle. (Do it from php, and
when your vb client needs it, Use HTTP).

Dag, how much data is reasonable to move back and forth using the
XmlHttp object in VB6? Is it pretty much limited to a few parameters
like name, rank, and serial number, or can you move a list of stuff?
It sounds just right for OP's needs, but I'm curious about other
situations. I suppose I could try moving more data with a series of
calls or something?

If you use the "GET", it is limited to the max-length of the URL...

In Internet Explorer, this is 2,083 bytes, so I guess it is something
similar in the XMLHttp-object too.

If you use "POST" on the other hand, it is up to the server.
In IIS, the maximum number of bytes for one form variable is
approx. 102,399 bytes. To overcome this, you just send
several fields (variables) with the same name. IIS (ASP)
will then see them as an array you can loop thru.

I frequently send (POST) 500K via the xmlhttp object to an
ASP script running on IIS 5.0...

So if my POST'ed data look like this:
//PseudoJavascrip t
sData = "xmlData=" + escape("102399B ytesOfData")
sData = sData + "&xmlData=" + escape("another 102399BytesOfDa ta")

xmlReq.open("PO ST", "Receiver.a sp", true);
xmlReq.onreadys tatechange = xmlSendBidCallb ack;
xmlReq.setReque stHeader( "Content-Type",
"applicatio n/x-www-form-urlencoded");
xmlReq.send( sData );

My Receiver.asp will assemble it like this:

//VBS fragment..
Dim xmlData
Dim i
for i = 1 to Request.Form("X mlData").Count
xmlData = xmlData & Request.Form("X mlData")(i)
next

--
Dag.

[James54321]

Um, wouldnt doing it like that give a major vulnerability so users can
cheat by going to http://mysite.com/highscores.php?score=23&name=me or
is that not how you meant :S.

Thanks, James.

[Dag Sunde]

Dag Sunde wrote:

Steve Gerrard wrote:

>"Dag Sunde" <[e-mail] mwrote in message
news:45******* *************** *@news.wineasy. se...

>>>
From vb, use the XmlHttp object or one of its siblings to POST
the data to this php-script on the server.

To view the high-scores, use the same principle. (Do it from php,
and when your vb client needs it, Use HTTP).

Dag, how much data is reasonable to move back and forth using the
XmlHttp object in VB6? Is it pretty much limited to a few parameters
like name, rank, and serial number, or can you move a list of stuff?
It sounds just right for OP's needs, but I'm curious about other
situations. I suppose I could try moving more data with a series of
calls or something?

If you use the "GET", it is limited to the max-length of the URL...

In Internet Explorer, this is 2,083 bytes, so I guess it is something
similar in the XMLHttp-object too.

If you use "POST" on the other hand, it is up to the server.
In IIS, the maximum number of bytes for one form variable is
approx. 102,399 bytes. To overcome this, you just send
several fields (variables) with the same name. IIS (ASP)
will then see them as an array you can loop thru.

I frequently send (POST) 500K via the xmlhttp object to an
ASP script running on IIS 5.0...

So if my POST'ed data look like this:
//PseudoJavascrip t
sData = "xmlData=" + escape("102399B ytesOfData")
sData = sData + "&xmlData=" + escape("another 102399BytesOfDa ta")

xmlReq.open("PO ST", "Receiver.a sp", true);
xmlReq.onreadys tatechange = xmlSendBidCallb ack;
xmlReq.setReque stHeader( "Content-Type",
"applicatio n/x-www-form-urlencoded");
xmlReq.send( sData );

My Receiver.asp will assemble it like this:

//VBS fragment..
Dim xmlData
Dim i
for i = 1 to Request.Form("X mlData").Count
xmlData = xmlData & Request.Form("X mlData")(i)
next

Forgot!

The response from these calls has no limit in its response...
(Except for timeout issues...)

So if you send a short request like "getHiscores.as p?limit=all",
and that results in a .responseText being 900K lonk, that
is not a problem, and no special consideration needs to be made.

--
Dag.

[Dag Sunde]

James54321 wrote:

Um, wouldnt doing it like that give a major vulnerability so users can
cheat by going to http://mysite.com/highscores.php?score=23&name=me or
is that not how you meant :S.

That can be avoided by letting the VB-App log in to the web-app first,
using the same principle and with a buildt-in MD5 or SHA1 encrypted
password first. Let the login return a sessionID, and then use that
id as a parameter in all subsequent calls.

--
Dag.

[James54321]

Dag Sunde wrote:

James54321 wrote:

Um, wouldnt doing it like that give a major vulnerability so users can
cheat by going to http://mysite.com/highscores.php?score=23&name=me or
is that not how you meant :S.

That can be avoided by letting the VB-App log in to the web-app first,
using the same principle and with a buildt-in MD5 or SHA1 encrypted
password first. Let the login return a sessionID, and then use that
id as a parameter in all subsequent calls.

--
Dag.

Won't doing that mean that I have to use the browser in VB or IE or
something like that meaning that the user will see whats going on?

[Dag Sunde]

James54321 wrote:

Dag Sunde wrote:

>James54321 wrote:

>>Um, wouldnt doing it like that give a major vulnerability so users
can cheat by going to
http://mysite.com/highscores.php?score=23&name=me or is that not
how you meant :S.

That can be avoided by letting the VB-App log in to the web-app
first, using the same principle and with a buildt-in MD5 or SHA1
encrypted password first. Let the login return a sessionID, and then
use that id as a parameter in all subsequent calls.

--
Dag.

Won't doing that mean that I have to use the browser in VB or IE or
something like that meaning that the user will see whats going on?

Nope...
:-)

Add "Microsoft XML, v3.0" (or higher) to references in a vb project.

Put a textbox and a command buttom on the form,
and set the textbox multiline property to true
and make it about an inch high.

Paste this code:

Option Explicit

Private xmlHttp As MSXML2.xmlHttp

Private Sub Command1_Click( )

Set xmlHttp = New MSXML2.xmlHttp
xmlHttp.Open "POST", "http://dagsunde.com/pages/Reverse.asp", False
xmlHttp.SetRequ estHeader "Content-Type",
"applicatio n/x-www-form-urlencoded"
xmlHttp.Send "testString =" & Text1.Text

If xmlHttp.readySt ate = 4 Then
If xmlHttp.Status = "200" Then
Text1.Text = xmlHttp.respons eXML.xml
Else
MsgBox "Something went wrong...", vbCritical, "ResponseXM L
error"
End If
End If

End Sub
And run...
(My server will respond, and if you don't use a http-sniffer
or some other tool, you will not see whats going over the line).

--
Dag.

[Steve Gerrard]

"Dag Sunde" <[e-mail] mwrote in message
news:45******** *************** @news.wineasy.s e...

Dag Sunde wrote:

>Steve Gerrard wrote:

>>Dag, how much data is reasonable to move back and forth using the
XmlHttp object in VB6?

If you use the "GET", it is limited to the max-length of the URL...

If you use "POST" on the other hand, it is up to the server.
In IIS, the maximum number of bytes for one form variable is
approx. 102,399 bytes. To overcome this, you just send
several fields (variables) with the same name. IIS (ASP)
will then see them as an array you can loop thru.

I frequently send (POST) 500K via the xmlhttp object to an
ASP script running on IIS 5.0...

So if my POST'ed data look like this:
//PseudoJavascrip t
sData = "xmlData=" + escape("102399B ytesOfData")
sData = sData + "&xmlData=" + escape("another 102399BytesOfDa ta")

The response from these calls has no limit in its response...
(Except for timeout issues...)

So if you send a short request like "getHiscores.as p?limit=all",
and that results in a .responseText being 900K lonk, that
is not a problem, and no special consideration needs to be made.

Ooh, I like it, 100K seems like decent amount to be able to post, and it looks
like sending multiple blocks is not much more work. I have been ducking away
from doing some of this, but the time is rapidly approaching. Thanks for the
answers and the examples and the "oh it is really no trouble at all" breezy
attitude. I'm sure there will be a little swearing along the way, but I feel
much more confident about making it work.

From the example in your other post:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
<rev_string>.uo yknahT</rev_string>
</root>