Building A True Error Handler - vb.net

I am trying to build an error handler for my desktop application. The code Is in the class ZipCM.ErrorManager listed below.
What I am finding is that the outputted file is not giving me the correct info for the StackTrace.
Here is how I am trying to use it:
Try
'... Some stuff here!
Catch ex As Exception
Dim objErr As New ZipCM.ErrorManager
objErr.Except = ex
objErr.Stack = New System.Diagnostics.StackTrace(True)
objErr.Location = "Form: SelectSite (btn_SelectSite_Click)"
objErr.ParseError()
objErr = Nothing
End Try
Here is the class:
Imports System.IO
Namespace ZipCM
Public Class ErrorManager
Public Except As Exception
Public Location As String
Public Stack As System.Diagnostics.StackTrace
Public Sub ParseError()
Dim objFile As New StreamWriter(Common.BasePath & "error_" & FormatDateTime(DateTime.Today, DateFormat.ShortDate).ToString().Replace("\", "").Replace("/", "") & ".log", True)
With objFile
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("An Error Occured At: " & DateTime.Now)
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("LOCATION:")
.WriteLine(Location)
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("FILENAME:")
.WriteLine(Stack.GetFrame(0).GetFileName())
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("LINE NUMBER:")
.WriteLine(Stack.GetFrame(0).GetFileLineNumber())
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("SOURCE:")
.WriteLine(Except.Source)
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("MESSAGE:")
.WriteLine(Except.Message)
.WriteLine("-------------------------------------------------")
.WriteLine("DATA:")
.WriteLine(Except.Data.ToString())
End With
objFile.Close()
objFile = Nothing
End Sub
End Class
End Namespace
What is happenning is the .GetFileLineNumber() is getting the line number from objErr.Stack = New System.Diagnostics.StackTrace(True) inside my Try..Catch block. In fact, it's the exact line number that is on.
Any thoughts of what is going on here, and how I can catch the real line number the error is occuring on?

Edit: Changed the code to account for the Exception.StackTrace being a string rather than a real StackTrace
You're creating a new StackTrace, so then it will be for the line you're declaring it on, if you want the line number of the original exception, use the stack trace in Exception.StackTrace.
I think you're being a little confused, I can't see why you create the new StackTrace at all?
Edit: Added more bits to the answer here since easier to see the syntax than in a comment
Currently you have the line
objErr.Stack = New System.Diagnostics.StackTrace(True)
Which means that you're creating a whole new stacktrace, starting when you're creating it.
Instead change that line to:
objErr.Stack = New System.Diagnostics.StackTrace(ex, True)
Which will have the stacktrace from when the error actually happened.
Edit: Added complete sample:
Private Sub a1()
Try
a2()
Catch ex As Exception
Dim st As New StackTrace(True)
Debug.WriteLine(String.Format("ST after exception, will give line number for where st was created. Line No: {0}", st.GetFrame(0).GetFileLineNumber()))
st = New StackTrace(ex, True)
Debug.WriteLine(String.Format("ST after exception using exception info, will give line number for where exception was created. Line No: {0}", st.GetFrame(0).GetFileLineNumber()))
End Try
End Sub
Private Sub a2()
Dim st As New StackTrace(True)
Debug.WriteLine(String.Format("ST before exception, will give line number for where st was created. Line No: {0}", st.GetFrame(0).GetFileLineNumber()))
Dim b As Integer = 0
Dim a As Integer = 1 / b
End Sub

SOLVED: You should change the wrong instruction, of the original code:
.WriteLine(Stack.GetFrame(0).GetFileLineNumber())
with this new one:
.WriteLine(Stack.GetFrame(Stack.FrameCount - 1).GetFileLineNumber)
and you will see, it will return the exact Line_Number of code
where the run time error occurs!!

You do not need to include a Stack property for your ErrorManager, because you have access to the stack trace through the exception.
From experience, I would create a Shared Sub Write(ex As Exception, location As String) method on the ErrorManager, and call in your Catch statement as:
ZipCM.ErrorManager.Write(ex, "Form: SelectSite (btn_SelectSite_Click)")
This change results in cleaner code, reduces the need to write lots of code in each Catch statement, and allows you to change the implementation of Write without having to revisit/rework/refactor each Catch statement.
For instance, you can change the Write method to also call Debug.WriteLine(ex) so you can see which exceptions you are handling during debugging without having to open the file. Moreover, you may want to include WriteNotify method that displays a message box of the exception then calls the Write method to log the exception.

Related

BluetoothLEDevice.FromIdAsync Returns Uncastable __ComObject

Before we even start: In researching this problem I've looked at dozens of posts here and elsewhere, and realize that VB is the worst for Bluetooth programming. However, this is for a client who has a massive legacy VB system and I have no choice.
According to MS documentation, the BluetoothLEDevice.FromIdAsync is supposed to return a BluetoothLEDevice object but on my system it returns a generic System.__ComObject that I can't cast to a BluetoothLEDevice. I have tried Cast and DirectCast but neither work. The sample C++ code I've looked at doesn't require any type of casting; the variable is declared and set using the BluetoothLEDevice.FromIdAsync function without any dramas.
Here is my test code.
Private Sub ConnectToDevice(di As DeviceInformation)
'
' di.id = "BluetoothLE#BluetoothLE48:5f:99:3c:fd:36-84:2e:14:26:9e:7b"
'
Debug.Print("Connecting To " & di.Name & " at " & Now.ToShortTimeString)
Dim genericObject As Object
Dim myDevice As BluetoothLEDevice
Try
genericObject = BluetoothLEDevice.FromIdAsync(di.Id)
Catch ex As Exception
Debug.Print(ex.Message)
End Try
If Not IsNothing(genericObject) Then Debug.Print("Using 'Object' yeilds " & genericObject.ToString)
Try
myDevice = BluetoothLEDevice.FromIdAsync(di.Id)
Catch ex As Exception
Debug.Print(ex.Message)
End Try
End Sub
And here is the output:
Connecting To TM-2021090161 at 2:08 PM
Using 'Object' yeilds System.__ComObject
Exception thrown: 'System.InvalidCastException' in testBTLE.exe
Unable to cast object of type 'System.__ComObject' to type 'Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.BluetoothLEDevice'.
And a screen shot of the returned genericObject:
The FromIdAsync needs to be run async which I couldn't do because I got an error stating it didn't have an awaiter. It turns out that I needed to NuGet the System.Runtime.Windowsruntime dll. I added the Await and it's working now.
Thanks to Andrew for pointing me in the right direction.

Log Writer not creating new line for each entry

I get the feeling this is something really simple, but I've tried I don't know how many permutations of vbNewLine, Environment.NewLine, sMessage & vbNewLine (or Environment.Newline) I've tried, or how many pages on this site, or through Google I've looked at but nothing has worked.
I even tried getting help from a VB.Net discord channel I'm a part of and they suggested to do the same things that I've done and the procedure is still writing each new log entry at the end of the previous one in a continuous string. My writer is below. Am I missing something simple?
Edit: The code that worked is below in case anyone else comes along with the same issue. If you want to see the original code it's in the edit log.
Option Explicit On
Imports System.IO
Public Class WriteroLog
Public Shared Sub LogPrint(sMessage As String)
Dim AppPath As String = My.Application.Info.DirectoryPath
If File.Exists($"{AppPath}\Log.txt") = True Then
Try
Using objWriter As StreamWriter = File.AppendText($"{AppPath}\Log.Txt")
objWriter.WriteLine($"{Format(Now, "dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss")} – {sMessage}")
objWriter.Close()
End Using
Catch ex As Exception
MsgBox(ex)
Return
End Try
Else
Try
Using objWriter As StreamWriter = File.CreateText($"{AppPath}\Log.Txt")
objWriter.WriteLine($"{Format(Now, "dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss")} – {sMessage}")
objWriter.Close()
End Using
Catch ex As Exception
MsgBox(ex)
Return
End Try
End If
End Sub
End Class
The File.AppendText() method creates a new StreamWriter that is then used to append Text to the specified File.
Note, reading the Docs about this method, that you don't need to verify whether the File already exists: if it doesn't, the File is automatically created.
As a side note, when creating a Path, it's a good thing to use the Path.Combine method: it can prevent errors in the path definition and handles platform-specific formats.
Your code could be simplified as follows:
Public Shared Sub LogPrint(sMessage As String)
Dim filePath As String = Path.Combine(Application.StartupPath, "Log.Txt")
Try
Using writer As StreamWriter = File.AppendText(filePath)
writer.WriteLine($"{Date.Now.ToString("dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss")} – {sMessage}")
End Using
Catch ex As IOException
MsgBox(ex)
End Try
End Sub
The File.CreateText does not assign result to "objWrite", should be:
objWriter = File.CreateText($"{AppPath}\Log.Txt")
Not really sure if this is the root of your problem, but it is an issue.
In essences, your logic is re-opening or creating the stream "objWriter" for every call to this method. I would recommend you initialize "objWriter" to Nothing and only define if it is Nothing.
Set to Nothing as below.
Shared objWriter As IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
Then add check for Nothing in logic.

Unhandled Exception in Background Worker

Hi there I am carrying out some integration testing in an application I am developing. The specific element that is causing an issue is a call to a background worker which interrogates an Oracle database. When an error is encountered in the query I want the exception detail to percolate up the call stack to the application level and at that point provide an appropriate user compatible message. In the example test there is a syntax error in the underlying SQL which results in an OraEx Exception:
Oracle.DataAccess.Client.OracleException ORA-00907: missing right parenthesis
Unfortunately the code generates the following exception:
System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException was unhandled
Message: An unhandled exception of type
'System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException' occurred in mscorlib.dll
Additional information: Exception has been thrown by the target of an
invocation.
in the DoWork sub of the backgroundworker, despite my belief that I am handling the exception correctly. Its pretty obvious that I am missing something fundamental here, can someone suggest a solution please.
Thanks in Advance
Paul J.
Here is the code that makes the call to the background worker:
Private Sub EventSearch(ByVal mySQL As String)
Const procName As String = "EventSearch"
Try
_eventMngr = New ScadaEventManager(_CurrentDB, _userName, _myPwd)
_eventMngr.SQL = mySQL
'Set the flag and stop query tool status accordingly
_Stopped = False
uxStopQueryTool.Enabled = True
'activate the timer object to ensure that the execute query menu
'and tool remain disabled until all background processing is complete
uxBackWorkTimer.Enabled = True
_logger.SendLog(Me.Name & "." & procName & " - Scanning for data.", NLog.LogLevel.Trace)
ReviseStatus(2, "Scanning for data. Please wait...", Color.Black, True, True)
'Force the thread to sleep for half a second so the user can see the scanning state taking place
Threading.Thread.Sleep(500)
'Launch the background worker to retrieve the required data from the database
uxBWScan.RunWorkerAsync(_eventMngr)
Catch ex As Exception
MsgBox(ex.Message, MsgBoxStyle.Exclamation, My.Application.Info.ProductName)
_logger.SendLog(ex.Message & ". Thrown in module " & Me.Name.ToString & "." & procName, NLog.LogLevel.Error, ex)
Call ResetStatus()
Finally
End Try
End Sub
And here is the code executed by the background worker:
Private Sub uxBWScan_DoWork(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.DoWorkEventArgs) Handles uxBWScan.DoWork
Const procName As String = "uxBWScan_DoWork"
Try
e.Argument.CountRecords(_queryTypeID)
e.Result = e.Argument.RecordCount
Catch NullEx As NullReferenceException
_logger.SendLog(NullEx.Message & ". Thrown in module " & Me.Name.ToString & "." & procName, NLog.LogLevel.Error, NullEx)
Throw
Catch OraEx As OracleException
_logger.SendLog(OraEx.Message & ". Thrown in module " & Me.Name.ToString & "." & procName, NLog.LogLevel.Error, OraEx)
Throw
Finally
End Try
End Sub
And here is the low level code that generates the error:
Public Sub CountRecords(ByVal queryType As Integer)
_myDataset = New DataSet
Try
_myDataset = _myScadaEventDB.CountRecords(_sqlText)
If _myDataset.Tables(0).Rows.Count > 0 Then
If queryType = Enums.QueryType.General Or queryType = Enums.QueryType.KeyPerformanceIndicators Or queryType = Enums.QueryType.TelecontroAnalysis Then
_recordCount = _myDataset.Tables(0).Rows(0).Item("RecordCount")
Else
'The query is grouped therefore count the number of records in the table
_recordCount = _myDataset.Tables(0).Rows.Count
End If
Else
_recordCount = 0
End If
Catch ex As Exception
Throw
Finally
End Try
End Sub
Ok, problem solved. Removed the try catch block from DoWork and moved my exception handling into 'RunWorkerCompleted' using e.error. Some reading of the documentation (RTFM...), highlighted the fact that using Try/Catch in the worker thread interferes with the native functionality of the BackgroundWorker. Thanks again everyone for your input.
Paul,

File.Copy not working - no error

Please take a look at this code. For some reason that I can't figure out, the File.Delete() line isn't getting fired and I'm not getting an error.
' hard-coded for testing
Dim path As String = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Test\Program\Program.exe"
Dim appDir As String = My.Application.Info.DirectoryPath
Dim iniPath As String = appDir & "\config.ini"
Dim outputPath As String = appDir & "\output.ini"
Dim textLine As String = ""
Dim reader = File.OpenText(iniPath)
Dim writer = New StreamWriter(outputPath)
' Read the lines in the ini file until the pathToExecutable line is found and write the path to that line
While (InlineAssignHelper(textLine, reader.ReadLine())) IsNot Nothing
If textLine.StartsWith("pathToExecutable=") Then
writer.WriteLine("pathToExecutable=" & path)
Else
writer.WriteLine(textLine)
End If
End While
reader.Dispose()
reader.Close()
writer.Dispose()
writer.Close()
File.Copy(outputPath, iniPath, True)
File.Delete(outputPath) ' THIS ISN'T GETTING FIRED
Return path
You stated that you are not getting an error, but if you don't implement exception handling, you're most probably getting errors and throwing them away (pun intended).
Use a try/catch around any of your System.IO.File operations, and even more, you can implement specific handles and catch specific exceptions.
Try
File.Copy(outputPath, iniPath, True)
File.Delete(outputPath) ' THIS ISN'T GETTING FIRED
Catch ioException As IOException
'The specified file is in use.
MessageBox.Show(ioException.Message)
Catch ex As Exception
'Some other error apart for file in use.
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
End Try
Ericosg's suggestion about using a try/catch lead me to the issue: I had the file open in a streamreader earlier in my code, but never closed it there.

VB.NET Checking if a File is Open before proceeding with a Read/Write?

Is there a method to verify that a file is open? The only thing I can think of is the Try/Catch to see if i can catch the file-open exception but I figured that a method be available to return true/false if file is open.
Currently using System.IO and the following code under class named Wallet.
Private holdPath As String = "defaultLog.txt"
Private _file As New FileStream(holdPath, FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.ReadWrite)
Private file As New StreamWriter(_file)
Public Function Check(ByVal CheckNumber As Integer, ByVal CheckAmount As Decimal) As Decimal
Try
file.WriteLine("testing")
file.Close()
Catch e As IOException
'Note sure if this is the proper way.
End Try
Return 0D
End Function
Any pointers will be appreciated! Thank you!!
Private Sub IsFileOpen(ByVal file As FileInfo)
Dim stream As FileStream = Nothing
Try
stream = file.Open(FileMode.Open, FileAccess.ReadWrite, FileShare.None)
stream.Close()
Catch ex As Exception
If TypeOf ex Is IOException AndAlso IsFileLocked(ex) Then
' do something here, either close the file if you have a handle, show a msgbox, retry or as a last resort terminate the process - which could cause corruption and lose data
End If
End Try
End Sub
Private Shared Function IsFileLocked(exception As Exception) As Boolean
Dim errorCode As Integer = Marshal.GetHRForException(exception) And ((1 << 16) - 1)
Return errorCode = 32 OrElse errorCode = 33
End Function
Call it like this:
Call IsFileOpen(new FileInfo(filePath))
There is really no point using a 'is file in use check' function since you will still need to have try catch to handle the case that the file fails to open. The file open can fail for many more reasons than it just being already open.
Also using a function to do a check is no guarantee of success. The 'is file in use check' might return false only for the file open to fail with a file already open error, because in time between the check and trying to open the file it was opened by someone else.
It looks like the two suggestions from this MSDN forum posting both involve trying to open the file.
The first one is similar to what you are doing now, and the second involves using a Windows API function (CreateFile) and checking for a invalid handle signifying the file is in use. In both cases they are relying on an error condition to determine if the file is open or not. In short, in my opinion the method you are using is correct since there is not a System.IO.File.IsOpen property.