NANY 2023: ENTER NOW!

The NANY 2023 event is now closed.

If you are a coder, any new program (or addon) that you have released in the previous year, which is freeware/donationware for home users is eligible.

And if you are not a coder, you can still participate by helping coders with ideas and testing.

To join in the adventure, visit: The NANY 2023 forum section.


NANY contests:

Latest Forum Posts

You are viewing a specific blog item. Click here to return to the main blog page.

NANY 2015 Release: ROTTools


Application NameROTTools
Short DescriptionDiagnostic Tools for interfacing with the ROT for developers
Supported OSesWindows 7 (Should work in Vista/8 also, but untested)
Web Pageplaceholder
Setup FilePortable
DescriptionThe Running Object Table (ROT) is a way for applications on different threads to communicate with each other- applications can register objects in the table, to be accessed by moniker from other threads and applications.  It's a technique in decline (personally I'd use a WCF application or something like that now), but dealing with other implementations and legacy applications, I have to deal with it every now and again.  This time when I had to deal with it, I realized that the SDK package from MS had done away with the ROT viewer.  And the only one that I could find was an old one that I'd downloaded years ago, written in Delphi.  I'm not even sure that I could find it again!

But accessing the ROT, while sort of arcane, isn't very hard.  So I made my own ROT viewer tool.  I'm also planning to put more in it possibly, as I need it or as requested.  Right now, its basic- I'll refine it for the release, but if you click the refresh button, it should display all objects accessible in the ROT.  The other function is a bit less polished- if you enter something in the textbox at the top, and press the 'i' button, it will try to access that object in the ROT and display the information retrieved.  It will display it in red if there is a problem accessing the object, as there sometimes is.  Right now the only requisites for error are (a) not found by moniker (b) the moniker passed in could not be parsed, or (c) the interface on the IUnknown retrieved cannot be queried.
FeaturesImplemented
  • Shows objects in the ROT
  • Allows the user to query by moniker, and shows in red if the object could not be fully queried

Planned
  • Allow the user to specify whether the window should always be on top or not
  • Specify an opacity of the window
  • ...?
ScreenshotsROTTools1.png
InstallationWith .NET 4.0 installed, unzip application to location and run.
NotesRequires .NET 4.0.
This is a development tool for a dying technology, so there might not be anything registered in your ROT, and that's OK.  Just wanted to have an accessible tool for those of us who need it. :)

Click here to read more, download, and discuss



Share on Facebook