Monitoring text file [RESOLVED]

Hi All

I wonder if someone can help me, my program monitors a text file and always monitors the last line of the text file for a specific line entry. Can anybody tell me how I ignore the last line of my text file and wait for a new entry to appear when my program first starts monitoring the file.

Also can anybody tell me if it is possible to read the file from mutilple sources at the same time.

Thanks for any help

Scouseman

how do you currently monitor the last line of your textfile?
do you read it into memmory, line for line...until you reach the last line?

Hi TokersBall_CDXX

This is the code I currently use to read the last line:

Private Sub Timer3_Timer()
Dim Strarr As String
Open "c:\system1.txt" For Input As #1
Do While Not EOF(1)
Line Input #1, Strarr
Loop
Close #1
signal() = Split(Strarr, ",")
End Sub

Thanks for your time

Scouse

Put the last line into a string and textbox use a conditonal like

if strText = txtText then
do nothing
else
do this
end if

then just compare the new data with the old in the textbox!!

VB Code:

Private Sub Timer3_Timer()
Dim Strarr As String
Dim strLTime As String
Open "c:\paltalk.bbc" For Input As #1
Do While Not EOF(1)
Line Input #1, Strarr
Loop
Close #1
 
If strLTime = Strarr Then
Exit Sub
Else
signal = Split(Strarr, ",")
End If
strLTime = Strarr 'do this for next time to test if there the same
End Sub

That should do what u need i dont know what exaclty your splitting to text it

scouse

First never read the whole file to get to the end. Not efficient.

Position yourself at the end of the file (In Binary mode)
Read a chunk of the file (backwards of course)
Search the buffer backwards for end of line (Second one of course)


Now you are at the last line of the file.

If the file is large, you will be doing a lot of work for nothing by reading each line (like digging a ditch with a spoon). Sure it will get done (sooner or later), but it would be better to use a shovel or something better.

You can read the file from as many sources as you like (use read only mode).

Thanks everyone for your help

Much Appreciated

Scouse

How did you end up solving it ?

The method of usi ng random and binary access is indeed faster but alot more work, if your app is big or time critical then id suggest using filelen function and work on reading the files last xxx many letters or other methiods as suggested!

Hi Cenobitez

I implemented the compare solution but after testing it I realised it would not work. The problem I was having was that there can be two lines in my text file which are identical but I need to know that a new line has appeared in the file.

Thanks anyway for your time and help

Scouse

scouse,

If you are just looking to see if something was added to the file... just check the length of the file. If the file size gets bigger then something was added. Then you check for the last line entry.

Then check the length of the strarr array using

intLen = FileLen(strArr)

then use the same methiod of comparing id nest them like

If intLastLen = intLen then goto skipit
if str1 = str2 then
goto skipit
else
do this
end if

Thanks everyone I have now got it to works

Thanks for your time

Mark

scouse


Good. Please mark your post resolved.

Thanks