DLL Access Violation?

I made a dll to just create a window so I don't have to do it everytime and I'm getting an access violation on a bunch of stuff. The first to go was LoadCursor(), now its GetStockObject(). Here's some code:

Code:

bool ArkCore::ArkCreateWindow(HINSTANCE hInstance, char* Title)
{
	hInst = hInstance;

	WNDCLASSEX wcex;

	/////Fill in the Window class structure - Describes how the window will look
	wcex.cbSize = sizeof( WNDCLASSEX ); //size of the structure
	wcex.style = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW; //the class style
	wcex.lpfnWndProc = (WNDPROC)MsgProc; //Window procedure callback
	wcex.cbClsExtra = 0; //Extra class bytes
	wcex.cbWndExtra = 0; //Extra window bytes
	wcex.hInstance = hInstance; //Handle to the app instance
	wcex.hIcon = NULL; // icon

	wcex.hCursor = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW); <--//ACCESS VIOLATION

	wcex.hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)GetStockObject(GRAY_BRUSH); //<----ACCESS VIOLATION

I was told from someone that LoadCursor wasn't pointing to a valid instance handle and that's what caused it, but, I don't want to use a resource, I want the predefined IDC_ARROW. Is there anyway to do this?

that code looks fine to me, are you sure it's not somewhere else? I've used that same code for those two calls before.

Originally Posted by rockytriton

that code looks fine to me, are you sure it's not somewhere else? I've used that same code for those two calls before.

Was that code in a DLL? I've used the same code on my windows apps and it compiled but as soon as I put them in a dll they blew up.

oh forgot it was a DLL, hmm, maybe try calling:

Code:

AFX_MANAGE_STATE(AfxGetStaticModuleState())

at the start of the function

I'm not using Afx, I tried using GetInstanceModule("ArkCore.dll"), GetInstanceModule(NULL) which is supposed to give me the instance of the .exe and both failed. I'm assuming the Afx function does the same thing.

Something really really strange is going on, now its giving me an access violation on hIcon = NULL =\ I'm stuck to believe that I can't create a window from outside of the program. I think I remember something from a while back that actually puts the code in the program. I think it was inline. I'm going to play around with it. If you have any suggestions please post.

Thanks!

sounds like your debugger is messed up, are you testing in debug mode or release mode?

I built in both

The debugger is .NET 2003 btw

I have seen this behavior before when calling a class function before the pointer has been initialized, do you think this may be a problem? How are you instantiating this class and calling the function?

Thank you rocky for your undying support, here is some snippets from the calling code and dll.

test.cpp (calling code)
----------------------------------------

Code:

#include "ArkCore.h"

ArkCore *AC;
int WINAPI WinMain( HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPTSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
{
	if( !AC->ArkCreateWindow(hInstance, "test"))
		return 0;
	if( !AC->InitD3D(true, 640, 800))
		return 0;
	return AC->StartLoop();
}

ArkCore.dll - ArkCore.h
-----------------------------------------

Code:

#ifndef INC_ARKCORE_H
#define INC_ARKCORE_H
#include <d3d9.h>
#include <d3dx9.h>
#include <windows.h>

class __declspec(dllexport) ArkCore
{
protected:
	HWND wndHandle;
	HINSTANCE hInst;
	
	LPDIRECT3D9 d3d;
	LPDIRECT3DDEVICE9 device;

public:
	HWND *GetHWND() { return &wndHandle; }
	HINSTANCE *GetHINST() { return &hInst; }

	bool ArkCreateWindow(HINSTANCE hInstance, char* Title); // Creates the window
	bool InitD3D( bool Windowed, int BackBufferHeight, int BackBufferWidth ); // Initializes DirectX
	int StartLoop(); // Controls the message loop
	void Render();
	void ShutDown();

	static LRESULT CALLBACK MsgProc( HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam )
	{
		//Check any available messages from the queue
		switch(message)
		{
		case WM_CLOSE:
			PostQuitMessage(WM_QUIT);
			break;
		case WM_DESTROY:
			PostQuitMessage(WM_QUIT);
			break;
		default:
			return DefWindowProc(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam);
		}

		return 0;
	}
};
#endif

ArkCore.dll - ArkCore.cpp (ArkCreateWindow)
-----------------------------------------------

Code:

bool ArkCore::ArkCreateWindow(HINSTANCE hInstance, char* Title)
{
	hInst = hInstance;

	WNDCLASSEX wcex;

	/////Fill in the Window class structure - Describes how the window will look
	wcex.cbSize = sizeof( WNDCLASSEX ); //size of the structure
	wcex.style = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW; //the class style
	wcex.lpfnWndProc = (WNDPROC)MsgProc; //Window procedure callback
	wcex.cbClsExtra = 0; //Extra class bytes
	wcex.cbWndExtra = 0; //Extra window bytes
	wcex.hInstance = hInstance; //Handle to the app instance
	wcex.hIcon = NULL; // icon
	wcex.hCursor = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW); //cursor
	wcex.hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)GetStockObject(GRAY_BRUSH); //bgcolor
	wcex.lpszMenuName = NULL; //resource name for the menu
	wcex.lpszClassName = "Arkhana"; //class name being created
	wcex.hIconSm = NULL; //Small icon handle
	RegisterClassEx( &wcex );

	//Create the window
	wndHandle = CreateWindow( "Arkhana", // Class name to use
		Title, // Title bar text
		WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW, //The window style
		0, // The starting x coord
		0, // The starting y coord
		800, // The pixel height
		600, // The pixel width
		NULL, // The parent window, null for desktop
		NULL, // The menu for the app - null for none
		hInstance, // The handle to the app instance
		NULL); // No values passed to the window

	if( !wndHandle )
		return false;

	ShowWindow( wndHandle, SW_SHOW );
	UpdateWindow( wndHandle );
	return true;
}

yes, exactly what I thought, you need to do:

Code:

AC = new ArkCore();

at the beginning of your WinMain function. You need to instantiate the object before calling any non-static methods on it.

OMG ........ing right rocky. It works like a charm now. Thanks for the help bro!

no prob, I've had this type of problem before, you forget to create a new instance and you get all kinds of random weird problems, very hard to debug.

I will definitely remember this error and know how to counter it now. Working with DirectX for so long made me forget all about creating new instances since the API does it for you . This forum is bringing back some old C++ memories too, I think I'll stick around for awhile and help some people out lol..too bad the game programming forum is kind of dead I could be of more use there but oh well. Anyways, Thanks again for the support rocky, your solution has been professional and very helpful. The best of luck to ya mate.