Convert VB Code into COBOL Code

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

If this is a native project you should be able to link with library called Winscard.lib.

The API SCardEstablishContext is WinAPI, so you would need to call SCardEstablishContext with call-convention 74, also because it is not all upper characters in the API, use the compiler directive CASE too.

If it is managed application you can CALL it in the same way but instead of linking with Winscard.lib use ILPINVOKE"winscard.dll" (or add a reference to the winscard.dll) and ensure you target the right bit'ness too... ie: through the IDE target x86 or use ILTARGET"x86" or ILTARGET"x64".

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

Are you converting to managed code or unmanaged code COBOL?
Net Express or Visual COBOL?

If you are converting to an unmanaged code COBOL program you can do this as follows:


$SET CASE
01 dwScope     pic x(4) comp-5.
01 pvReserved1 pic x(4) comp-5.
01 pvReserved2 pic x(4) comp-5.
01 phContext   pic x(4) comp-5.
01 retValue    pic x(4) comp-5.
01 procPtr     procedure-pointer.
procedure division.

    set procPtr to entry "Winscard.dll"
    call "SCardEstablishContext"
        using by value dwScope
                       pvReserved1
                       pvReserved2
              by reference phContext
        returning retValue
    end-call
                         


[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

hi, to be honest i dont mind which way the code is done as long as it works.

i am using visual studio 2008 with nx5.1 so if it can be done any .NET way that i'm assuming that would be a better way to handle the code.

can you pls also advise how to convert to COBOL the "ALIAS" command, see lines of VB code below:-

Public Declare Function SCardListReaders Lib "Winscard.dll" Alias "SCardListReadersA"
(ByVal hContext As Integer, _
ByVal mzGroup As String, _
ByVal ReaderList As String, _
ByRef pcchReaders As Integer) As Integer

i have tried the following:-

set procPtr to entry "Winscard.dll"
call "SCardListReadersA"
using by value hContext
mzGroup
ReaderList
by reference pcchReaders
returning retValue
end-call

but it doesnt work and the IDE shows a warning on the retValue of

Warning 1 Number of parameters in CALL (4) different from number in target method (0)

many thanks for your help.

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

actually its almost working except returning the card reader name, so thought i would post the full vb code that need converting in case i'm missing something.

Private Sub frmMain_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

For ctr = 0 To 255
sReaderList = sReaderList vbNullChar
Next

ReaderCount = 255

' 1. Establish context and obtain G_hContext handle
G_retCode = ModWinsCard.SCardEstablishContext(ModWinsCard.SCARD_SCOPE_USER, 0, 0, G_hContext)

If G_retCode <> ModWinsCard.SCARD_S_SUCCESS Then
WriteLog(GetScardErrMsg(G_retCode))
Exit Sub
End If

' 2. List PC/SC card readers installed in the system
G_retCode = ModWinsCard.SCardListReaders(G_hContext, "", sReaderList, ReaderCount)

If G_retCode <> ModWinsCard.SCARD_S_SUCCESS Then
WriteLog(GetScardErrMsg(G_retCode))
Exit Sub
End If

Call LoadListToControl(cbReaderList, sReaderList)
cbReaderList.SelectedIndex = 0

ioRequest.dwProtocol = Protocol
ioRequest.cbPciLength = Len(ioRequest)

WriteLog("Program Ready")
WriteLog("Select reader, insert mcu card and connect.")

End Sub

Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

Public Declare Function SCardListReaders Lib "Winscard.dll" Alias "SCardListReadersA" (ByVal hContext As Integer, _
ByVal mzGroup As String, _
ByVal ReaderList As String, _
ByRef pcchReaders As Integer) As Integer

Im getting values in pcchReaders of 54 which is the length of the string that should be in ReaderList but its null.

Really appreciate your help in sorting this out.

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

The strings should be passed by reference in COBOL and should be NULL terminated.
Try:


call "SCardListReaderA"
   using by value hContext
         by reference mzGroup
                      ReaderList
                      pcchReaders
   returning retValue
end-call


[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

Sorry but that does work.

I have got the following code to work except for returning the Card Readers name in ReaderList it just shows null. However if I use the VB code then it returns the Card Readers name which is a string that is 54 chars long. Which my Cobol program does return in the pcchReaders field i.e. if i hover over this field in the IDE debug it starts as 255 but once performed the function it has a value of 54 in it.

Can some one pls advise what I am doing wrong as Im struggling to convert the VB code into COBOL.

My current code as it stands is:-

method-id. "ListReaders" public static.
local-storage section.
01 mzGroup string value "".
01 ReaderList string value null.
01 pcchReaders binary-long.
01 phContext binary-long.
01 retValue binary-long.
01 procPtr procedure-pointer.
procedure division returning lnk-key as string.
* Public Declare Function SCardListReaders Lib "Winscard.dll" Alias "SCardListReadersA"
* (ByVal hContext As Integer, _
* ByVal mzGroup As String, _
* ByVal ReaderList As String, _
* ByRef pcchReaders As Integer) As Integer


set phContext to -855572480
set pcchReaders to 255

set procPtr to entry "Winscard.dll"
call "SCardListReadersA"
using by value phContext
by value mzGroup
by value ReaderList
by reference pcchReaders
returning retValue
end-call

set lnk-key to retValue
set lnk-key to retValue.
goback.
end method "ListReaders".

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

Just found out if I take the following lines out of the VB code it also returns blank.

For ctr = 0 To 255
sReaderList = sReaderList vbNullChar
Next

ReaderCount = 255

Could some one pls advise what the COBOL code is for this?

Many thanks

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

In your VB code:
For ctr = 0 To 255
sReaderList = sReaderList vbNullChar
Next

ReaderCount = 255

What is sReaderList declared as? What is the purpose of that loop?

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

from VB code:-

Dim sReaderList As String

but i dont know why it does it but i do know if i take out

For ctr = 0 To 255
sReaderList = sReaderList vbNullChar
Next
or

ReaderCount = 255

then i dont get any values if sReaderList how ever if i run the code as above i get :-

"SCM Microsystems Inc. SCR33x USB Smart Card Reader 0"

but although the COBOL code will return a value in ReaderCount im still getting nothing in sReaderList

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

The following code works for me and returns a good result:


      $set ILPINVOKE"winscard.dll"
       id division.                                                   
       program-id.   testreaders.                                     
       special-names.                                                 
          call-convention 66 is winapi.                               
       working-storage section.                                       
       78 SCARD-SCOPE-USER        value 0.                               
       01 phContext    binary-long.                           
       01 mzGroup      pic x(256) value spaces.                       
       01 ReaderList   pic x(256) value all low-values.               
       01 pcchReaders  binary-long.                                   
       01 retValue     binary-long.                                   
       procedure division.                                           
                                                               
          call winapi "SCardEstablishContext"                         
             using by value SCARD-SCOPE-USER                                         
                   by value 0                                         
                   by value 0                                         
                   by reference phContext                             
             returning RetValue                                       
          end-call                                                   
                                                               
          move length of ReaderList to pcchReaders                                     
                                                                       
          call winapi "SCardListReadersA"                             
             using by value phContext                                 
                   by value 0                                         
                   by reference ReaderList                           
                   by reference pcchReaders                           
             returning retValue                                       
          end-call                                                   
                                                               
          stop run.                                                   
         
                                                 
         

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

Yep that works many thanks for all your help in this matter.

Out of interest is there any way of coding this using the .NET way?

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 31 January 2011]

Hi all,

I'm using Visual Code (2008) edition and i need to find out how to convert the following VB code into COBOL code.

I have a DLL on my system called “Winscard.dll” but I can’t get my project to access it.

The code I’m trying to convert is :-
Public Declare Function SCardEstablishContext Lib "Winscard.dll" (ByVal dwScope As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved1 As Integer, _
ByVal pvReserved2 As Integer, _
ByRef phContext As Integer) As Integer

And I’ve tried adding the DLL as a project ref but cant seem to access it.

Any ideas/help much appreciated as I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

Many thanks

Neil.

I am not sure what you are referring to when you say "the .NET way"?
Are you referring to the way it was done in VB?

This is just an example, you could have just as easily placed this code inside of a method as in a procedural program as shown in the example.

I used COBOL PIC X items instead of .NET strings because you are actually doing a Platform Invoke (P/Invoke) under the covers here to call an unmanaged Windows API function from within a managed code assembly.

This means that the strings are passed as pointers to a memory address and not as .NET string objects.
The P/Invoke complexity is handled by the compiler and is hidden from the user so you need not be concerned with items like pinned pointers, etc.

As far as "the .NET way" goes, COBOL provides support for data items defined as either COBOL types or .NET types and automatically converts between the two when possible.

This gives you the best of both worlds!