PipeClient Component

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The PipeClient component is a simple client for connecting and communicating over named pipes.

Syntax

nsoftware.IPWorksIPC.Pipeclient

Remarks

The PipeClient component is used to connect to an existing pipe server. After connecting the transfer of data is handled very similarly to socket communication.

To begin, first set PipeName to the name of the pipe to which the connection will be made. Call Connect or set Connected to True to establish the connection. The Connected event will fire when the connection is complete.

After connecting set DataToSend, or call Send or SendFile to send data. Incoming data is received through the DataIn event.

To disconnect call Disconnect or set Connected to False.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Operation

If the Timeout property is set to 0, the component will behave asynchronously and all operations return immediately, potentially failing with an error if they can't be completed immediately.

If Timeout is set to a positive value, the component will behave synchronously and wait for the operation to complete before returning control.

The component will use DoEvents to enter an efficient wait loop during any potential waiting period, making sure that all system events are processed immediately as they arrive. This ensures that the host application does not "freeze" and remains responsive.

If Timeout expires, and the operation is not yet complete, the component throws an exception.

Please note that by default, all timeouts are inactivity timeouts, i.e. the timeout period is extended by Timeout seconds when any amount of data is successfully sent or received.

The default value for the Timeout property is 60 seconds.

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AcceptData Property (PipeClient Component)

This property enables or disables data reception (the DataIn event).

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool AcceptData { get; set; }

Public Property AcceptData As Boolean

Default Value

True

Remarks

This property enables or disables data reception (the DataIn event). Setting this property to False, temporarily disables data reception (and the DataIn event). Setting this property to True, reenables data reception.

Note: It is recommended to use the PauseData or ProcessData method instead of setting this property.

This property is not available at design time.

BytesSent Property (PipeClient Component)

This property includes the number of bytes actually sent after an assignment to DataToSend .

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public int BytesSent { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property BytesSent As Integer

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property indicates how many bytes were sent after the last assignment to DataToSend. Please check the DataToSend property for more information.

Note: that BytesSent will always return 0 when the component is operating in synchronous mode (i.e., the Timeout property is set to a positive value.)

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Connected Property (PipeClient Component)

Triggers a connection or disconnection.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Connected { get; set; }

Public Property Connected As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property triggers a connection or disconnection. Setting this property to True makes the component attempt to connect to the host identified by the RemoteHost property. If successful, after the connection is achieved, the value of the property changes to True and the Connected event is fired.

Setting this property to False closes the connection. How and when the connection is closed is controlled by the Linger property.

Note: It is recommended to use the Connect or Disconnect method instead of setting this property.

This property triggers a connection or disconnection. Setting this property to True makes the component attempt to connect to the pipe identified by the PipeName property. If successful, after the connection is achieved the value of the property changes to True and the Connected event is fired.

Setting this property to False closes the connection.

This property is not available at design time.

DataToSend Property (PipeClient Component)

A string of data to be sent over the connected pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string DataToSend { set; }
public byte[] DataToSendB { set; }

Public WriteOnly Property DataToSend As String
Public WriteOnly Property DataToSendB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

Assigning a string to this property makes the component send the string to the server. The Send method provides similar functionality.

When Timeout is set to 0 the component will behave asynchronously. If you are sending data to the receiving process faster than it can process it, the outgoing queue might fill up. When this happens, the component fails with exception 10035: "[10035] Operation would block" (WSAEWOULDBLOCK). You can check this error, and then try to send the data again. The BytesSent property shows how many bytes were sent (if any). If 0 bytes were sent, then you can wait for the ReadyToSend event before attempting to send data again. (However, please note that ReadyToSend is not fired when part of the data is successfully sent).

This property is write-only and not available at design time.

EOL Property (PipeClient Component)

This property is used to break the incoming data stream into chunks separated by EOL .

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string EOL { get; set; }
public byte[] EOLB { get; set; }

Public Property EOL As String
Public Property EOLB As Byte()

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property is used to define boundaries in the input stream using the value of the property.

This property is especially useful with ASCII files. Setting it to CRLF ("\r\n") enables the incoming ASCII text stream to split into defined lines. In this case, one event is fired for each line received (as well as in packet boundaries). The CRLF ("\r\n") bytes are discarded.

This property is a binary string. Notably, this means that it can be more than one byte long, and it can contain NULL bytes.

PipeName Property (PipeClient Component)

The name of the pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string PipeName { get; set; }

Public Property PipeName As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the name of the pipe.

This may be the name by itself, for instance "MyPipe", or in the format "\\.\pipe\MyPipe".

RecordLength Property (PipeClient Component)

The length of received data records.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public int RecordLength { get; set; }

Public Property RecordLength As Integer

Default Value

0

Remarks

If set to a positive value, this property defines the length of data records to be received. The component will accumulate data until RecordLength is reached and only then fire the DataIn event with data of length RecordLength. This allows data to be received as records of known length. This value can be changed at any time, including within the DataIn event.

The default value is 0, meaning this property is not used.

This property is not available at design time.

SingleLineMode Property (PipeClient Component)

This property includes a special mode for line-oriented protocols.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool SingleLineMode { get; set; }

Public Property SingleLineMode As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

When this property is set to True, the component treats the incoming data stream as lines separated by carriage return line feed (CRLF), CR, or LF. The EOL property is ignored.

When this property is set to True, AcceptData automatically will be set to False. Please refer to the GetLine method for more information.

This property is not available at design time.

Timeout Property (PipeClient Component)

A timeout for the component.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public int Timeout { get; set; }

Public Property Timeout As Integer

Default Value

60

Remarks

This property defines the timeout when sending data. When SSLEnabled is False a value of 0 means data will be sent asynchronously and a positive value means data is sent synchronously. When SSLEnabled is True all data is sent synchronously regardless of the Timeout value. Please see the notes below for details.

Plaintext

If the Timeout property is set to 0, all operations return immediately, potentially failing with a WOULDBLOCK error if data cannot be sent immediately.

If Timeout is set to a positive value, data is sent in a blocking manner and the component will wait for the operation to complete before returning control. The component will handle any potential WOULDBLOCK errors internally and automatically retry the operation for a maximum of Timeout seconds.

SSL

If the Timeout property is set to 0, all operations will run uninterrupted until successful completion or an error condition is encountered.

If Timeout is set to a positive value, the component will wait for the operation to complete before returning control.

Additional Notes

The component will use DoEvents to enter an efficient wait loop during any potential waiting period, making sure that all system events are processed immediately as they arrive. This ensures that the host application does not "freeze" and remains responsive.

If Timeout expires, and the operation is not yet complete, the component throws an exception.

Please note that by default, all timeouts are inactivity timeouts, i.e. the timeout period is extended by Timeout seconds when any amount of data is successfully sent or received.

The default value for the Timeout property is 60 seconds.

Config Method (PipeClient Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Config(string configurationString);

Async Version
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString);
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Connect Method (PipeClient Component)

Connects to a named pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Connect();

Async Version
public async Task Connect();
public async Task Connect(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Connect()

Async Version
Public Sub Connect() As Task
Public Sub Connect(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method connects to a named pipe specified by PipeName. Calling this method is equivalent to setting the Connected property to True.

Example (Connecting)

PipeClient.PipeName = "MyPipe"; PipeClient.Connect();

Disconnect Method (PipeClient Component)

Disconnects from the named pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Disconnect();

Async Version
public async Task Disconnect();
public async Task Disconnect(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Disconnect()

Async Version
Public Sub Disconnect() As Task
Public Sub Disconnect(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method disconnects from the pipe. Calling this method is equivalent to setting the Connected property to False.

DoEvents Method (PipeClient Component)

Processes events from the internal message queue.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void DoEvents();

Async Version
public async Task DoEvents();
public async Task DoEvents(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub DoEvents()

Async Version
Public Sub DoEvents() As Task
Public Sub DoEvents(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

When DoEvents is called, the component processes any available events. If no events are available, it waits for a preset period of time, and then returns.

GetLine Method (PipeClient Component)

This method gets a line of text from the server.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetLine();

Async Version
public async Task<string> GetLine();
public async Task<string> GetLine(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function GetLine() As String

Async Version
Public Function GetLine() As Task(Of String)
Public Function GetLine(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

This method gets a line of text from the server. This method is an alternative method of receiving data for line-oriented protocols. The component will block if necessary and then will return the received line. AcceptData will be set automatically to True when the method is called, and then will be set to False after a line is received.

Please refer to the SingleLineMode property for more information.

Interrupt Method (PipeClient Component)

This method interrupts the current action.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Interrupt();

Async Version
public async Task Interrupt();
public async Task Interrupt(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Interrupt()

Async Version
Public Sub Interrupt() As Task
Public Sub Interrupt(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method interrupts the current action. If you use SendFile to upload a file, the component will run synchronously until the upload is completed. This method will allow you to stop the file from uploading without disconnecting from the host.

Send Method (PipeClient Component)

Sends data over the connected pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Send(byte[] text);

Async Version
public async Task Send(byte[] text);
public async Task Send(byte[] text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Send(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub Send(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub Send(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sends data to the server. Calling this method is equivalent to setting the DataToSend property to Text.

SendBytes Method (PipeClient Component)

This method sends binary data over the connected pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SendBytes(byte[] data);

Async Version
public async Task SendBytes(byte[] data);
public async Task SendBytes(byte[] data, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SendBytes(ByVal Data As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SendBytes(ByVal Data As String) As Task
Public Sub SendBytes(ByVal Data As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sends the specified binary data to the server. To send text, use the SendText method instead.

When Timeout is set to 0 the component will behave asynchronously. If you are sending data to the receiving process faster than it can process it, the outgoing queue might fill up. When this happens, the component fails with exception 10035: "[10035] Operation would block" (WSAEWOULDBLOCK). You can check this error, and then try to send the data again. The BytesSent property shows how many bytes were sent (if any). If 0 bytes were sent, then you can wait for the ReadyToSend event before attempting to send data again. (However, please note that ReadyToSend is not fired when part of the data is successfully sent).

SendFile Method (PipeClient Component)

Sends the file over the connected pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SendFile(string fileName);

Async Version
public async Task SendFile(string fileName);
public async Task SendFile(string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SendFile(ByVal FileName As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SendFile(ByVal FileName As String) As Task
Public Sub SendFile(ByVal FileName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sends the specified file to the server/process over the connected pipe.

Timeout must be set to a positive value so that the component will operate synchronously.

SendLine Method (PipeClient Component)

This method sends a string followed by a newline.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SendLine(string text);

Async Version
public async Task SendLine(string text);
public async Task SendLine(string text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SendLine(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SendLine(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub SendLine(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sends a string followed by a newline. This method is used to send data with line-oriented protocols. The line is followed by CRLF ("\r\n") .

Please refer to the GetLine method and SingleLineMode property for more information.

SendText Method (PipeClient Component)

This method sends text over the connected pipe.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SendText(string text);

Async Version
public async Task SendText(string text);
public async Task SendText(string text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SendText(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SendText(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub SendText(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sends the specified text to the server. To send binary data, use the SendBytes method instead.

When Timeout is set to 0 the component will behave asynchronously. If you are sending data to the receiving process faster than it can process it, the outgoing queue might fill up. When this happens, the component fails with exception 10035: "[10035] Operation would block" (WSAEWOULDBLOCK). You can check this error, and then try to send the data again. The BytesSent property shows how many bytes were sent (if any). If 0 bytes were sent, then you can wait for the ReadyToSend event before attempting to send data again. (However, please note that ReadyToSend is not fired when part of the data is successfully sent).

SetReceiveStream Method (PipeClient Component)

This method sets the stream to which received data will be written.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SetReceiveStream(System.IO.Stream receiveStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetReceiveStream(System.IO.Stream receiveStream);
public async Task SetReceiveStream(System.IO.Stream receiveStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SetReceiveStream(ByVal ReceiveStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetReceiveStream(ByVal ReceiveStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetReceiveStream(ByVal ReceiveStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sets the stream to which received data will be written. The stream should be open and normally set to position 0. The component will write all incoming data to this stream. The downloaded content will be written starting at the current position in the stream.

SetSendStream Method (PipeClient Component)

This method reads content from the stream and sends it to the server.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SetSendStream(System.IO.Stream sendStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetSendStream(System.IO.Stream sendStream);
public async Task SetSendStream(System.IO.Stream sendStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SetSendStream(ByVal SendStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetSendStream(ByVal SendStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetSendStream(ByVal SendStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method reads content from the stream and sends it to the server. The stream should be open and normally set to position 0. The call will return only after the end of stream has been reached. The component will automatically close this stream if CloseStreamAfterTransfer is set to True (default). The content will be read starting at the current position in the stream.

This method requires Timeout be set to a positive value. This allows the component to ensure that the data are transferred completely without a WOULDBLOCK error. See Timeout for details.

Connected Event (PipeClient Component)

Fired immediately after a connection completes.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnConnectedHandler OnConnected;

public delegate void OnConnectedHandler(object sender, PipeclientConnectedEventArgs e);

public class PipeclientConnectedEventArgs : EventArgs {
}

Public Event OnConnected As OnConnectedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnConnectedHandler(sender As Object, e As PipeclientConnectedEventArgs)

Public Class PipeclientConnectedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
End Class

Remarks

When the connection is successfully established this event will fire.

DataIn Event (PipeClient Component)

This event is fired when data (complete lines) come in.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnDataInHandler OnDataIn;

public delegate void OnDataInHandler(object sender, PipeclientDataInEventArgs e);

public class PipeclientDataInEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
  public byte[] TextB { get; }
  public bool EOL { get; }
}

Public Event OnDataIn As OnDataInHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnDataInHandler(sender As Object, e As PipeclientDataInEventArgs)

Public Class PipeclientDataInEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
  Public ReadOnly Property TextB As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property EOL As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

Trapping the DataIn event is your only chance to get the data coming from the other end of the connection. The incoming data are provided through the Text parameter.

EOL indicates whether or not the EOL string was found at the end of Text. If the EOL string was found, then EOL is True.

If Text is part of a data portion of length larger than MaxLineLength with no EOL strings in it, then EOL is False. Note: This means that one or more DataIn events with EOL set to False can be received during a connection.

If the EOL property is "" (empty string), then EOL can be disregarded (it is always True).

Note: Events are not re-entrant. Performing time-consuming operations within this event will prevent it from firing again in a timely manner and may affect overall performance.

Disconnected Event (PipeClient Component)

Fired when a connection is closed.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnDisconnectedHandler OnDisconnected;

public delegate void OnDisconnectedHandler(object sender, PipeclientDisconnectedEventArgs e);

public class PipeclientDisconnectedEventArgs : EventArgs {
}

Public Event OnDisconnected As OnDisconnectedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnDisconnectedHandler(sender As Object, e As PipeclientDisconnectedEventArgs)

Public Class PipeclientDisconnectedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
End Class

Remarks

When the connection is closed this event will fire.

Error Event (PipeClient Component)

Information about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

public delegate void OnErrorHandler(object sender, PipeclientErrorEventArgs e);

public class PipeclientErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}

Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnErrorHandler(sender As Object, e As PipeclientErrorEventArgs)

Public Class PipeclientErrorEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ErrorCode As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Description As String
End Class

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the component throws an exception.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

ReadyToSend Event (PipeClient Component)

Fired when the component is ready to send data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnReadyToSendHandler OnReadyToSend;

public delegate void OnReadyToSendHandler(object sender, PipeclientReadyToSendEventArgs e);

public class PipeclientReadyToSendEventArgs : EventArgs {
}

Public Event OnReadyToSend As OnReadyToSendHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnReadyToSendHandler(sender As Object, e As PipeclientReadyToSendEventArgs)

Public Class PipeclientReadyToSendEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
End Class

Remarks

The ReadyToSend event indicates that the underlying pipe is ready to accept data again after a failed send. The event is also fired immediately after a connection to the remote host is established.

Config Settings (PipeClient Component)

PipeClient Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (PipeClient Component)

PipeClient Errors