Thread: loading a dll with classes

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    63

    loading a dll with classes

    Hi, ive been programming c++ (up from C) for two days now, and i want to use a class in a dll. Right now im just using the skeleton dll provided by dev-cpp with an add function in there, so i hope i havent stuffed up what i did change.

    Code:
    /* Replace "dll.h" with the name of your header */
    #include "dll.h"
    #include <windows.h>
    
    DllClass::DllClass()
    {
    
    }
    
    int DllClass::add(int a, int b)
    {
       return(a + b);
    }
    
    DllClass::~DllClass ()
    {
    
    }
    
    
    BOOL APIENTRY DllMain (HINSTANCE hInst     /* Library instance handle. */ ,
                           DWORD reason        /* Reason this function is being called. */ ,
                           LPVOID reserved     /* Not used. */ )
    {
        switch (reason)
        {
          case DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH:
            break;
    
          case DLL_PROCESS_DETACH:
            break;
    
          case DLL_THREAD_ATTACH:
            break;
    
          case DLL_THREAD_DETACH:
            break;
        }
    
        /* Returns TRUE on success, FALSE on failure */
        return TRUE;
    }
    and then my executable code

    Code:
    #include <iostream>
    #include <windows.h>
    
    typedef int (*AddFunc)(int,int);
    
    
    using namespace std;
    int main(int argc, char *argv[])
    {
       AddFunc _AddFunc;
       HINSTANCE hInstLibrary = LoadLibrary("dllLoadingTestdll.dll");
    
       if (hInstLibrary == NULL)
       {
          printf("o o");
          FreeLibrary(hInstLibrary);
       }
    
       _AddFunc = (AddFunc)GetProcAddress(hInstLibrary, "DllClass::add");
    
       if ((_AddFunc == NULL))
       {
          printf("O O");
          FreeLibrary(hInstLibrary);
       }
       
       
       //printf("%d\n", _AddFunc(23, 43));
       getchar();
    
       FreeLibrary(hInstLibrary);
    
       return(0);
    }
    which i also copied for the most part off the net, so i hope i didnt stuff this up either.

    anyway, what i want to know is how to get the function address for my add function.
    _AddFunc == NULL is returning true, and its ouputting "O O" so thats where the problem is.

  2. #2
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    Canada
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    This should probably be in the Windows programming forum . . .

    I don't know any Windows programming, but GetProcAddress() seems to return a MYPROC. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms686944.aspx
    dwk

    Seek and ye shall find. quaere et invenies.

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  3. #3
    Hurry Slowly vart's Avatar
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    When compiling class member function - its name is transforemed, so it cannot be requested with your original name...

    try dumpbin /exports or some dll explorer to see the real names...

    More over - class members have as a hidden parameter the pointer to this, so caling them by pointer is a lot more tricky than the regular functions...

    One of the common practices though is to write some C-style wrapper that will be exported from the dll with from the dll
    etern "C" type
    inside the wrapper the poionter will be converted to pointer to DllClass and the correct member function will be called
    All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection,
    except for the problem of too many layers of indirection.
    – David J. Wheeler

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