How can I prevent Chromium from writing to the console? - delphi

I'm making a very simple Delphi console application ({$APPTYPE CONSOLE}) with a single TChromiumWindow on the main form. The purpose of the application is to retrieve a webpage, process the HTML and output some JSON to the console. This can not be done using plain HTTP requests due to the nature of the webpage, which requires running some javascript as well.
Everything works as expected, except for one problem. The chromium components output some error messages to the console as well, which makes my JSON invalid! For example, I always get the following two error messages on startup:
[0529/133941.811:ERROR:gpu_process_transport_factory.cc(990)] Lost UI shared context.
[0529/133941.832:ERROR:url_request_context_getter_impl.cc(130)] Cannot use V8 Proxy resolver in single process mode.
Of course the best solution would be to not get any error messages in the first place, but for several reasons (which mostly have to do with company legacy code) I can't for example disable single process mode.
So the next best thing would be to keep these error messages from being printed to the console. I've tried setting
GlobalCEFApp.LogSeverity := LOGSEVERITY_DISABLE;
but that didn't help. Specifying a logfile using GlobalCEFApp.LogFile doesn't help either.
So how can I prevent the Chromium components from writing to the console at all?

The TChromium component provides an OnConsoleMessage event with signature :
TOnConsoleMessage = procedure(Sender: TObject; const browser: ICefBrowser;
const message, source: ustring; line: Integer;
out Result: Boolean) of object;
If you handle this event and set the Result variable to true the message output to the console is suppressed.

Set LogSeverity to LogSeverity.Fatal or n other desired.
var settings = new CefSettings()
{
//By default CefSharp will use an in-memory cache, you need to specify a Cache Folder to persist data
CachePath = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "CefSharp\\Cache"),
//Set log severity to showup only fatal errors.
LogSeverity = LogSeverity.Fatal,
};
//Autoshutdown when closing
CefSharpSettings.ShutdownOnExit = true;
//Perform dependency check to make sure all relevant resources are in our output directory.
Cef.Initialize(settings, performDependencyCheck: true, browserProcessHandler: null);

Related

Firefox native messaging through webextension

Created a webextension for firefox (currently using Nightly 52), that uses native messaging to launch a java program on Linux (Ubuntu 14, 32x).
The webextension loads, reads the .json file and reads the path which points to a script that starts the java program. The JSON and the path are correct as when I use:
var native = browser.runtime.connectNative("passwordmanager");
console.log("native.name" + native.name); //outputs passwordmanager.
native.onDisconnect.addListener(function(m) { console.log("Disconnected"); });
The above code prints the name of the native port and also prints "Disconnected". So I m guessing the native app is terminating for some reason.
The application is only skeleton right now, that just does sysout and reads sysin and works correctly if Launch it directly through the shell script.
While debugging the webextension, I am not able to step into the call to connectNative, as it just steps-over that call instead of doing step-in. So kind of out of options whats' going wrong.
Please let me know if anyone is able to create a native messaging app based on FF webextension and any pointers on what I might be doing wrong.
Thanks
This solution here shows you how to detect onConnect and onFail. It should help you out to figure out your real problem.
So I don't think you can do proper error handling with connectNative from the JS side alone. You can do somewhat error handling if you get the exe side involved, but you can't get a string for "error reason" when an error occurs. The error is only logged to console.
First make sure to set your deeloper prefs, so messages show in your browser console. You can use this addon - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/devprefs/ - or read that addon description it gives you the MDN page with the prefs to set.
Then this is how you can do some sort of error handling (without error reason) (pseudo-code - i might need a .bind in the callbcks):
function connectNative(aAppName, onConnect, onFail) {
var listener = function(payload) {
if (!connected) {
connected = true;
port.onDisconnect.removeListener(failedConnect);
onConnect();
} else {
// process messages
}
}
var failedConnect = function() {
onFail('failed for unattainable reason - however see browser console as it got logged there');
}
var connected = false;
var port = chrome.runtime.connectNative(aAppName);
port.onMessage.addListener(listener);
port.onDisconnect.addListener(failedConnect);
return port;
}
Now in your exe, as soon as it starts up, make it write to stdout something. That will trigger the onConnect.

Why is COMMON_APPDATA returned as a null string on Windows XP

One of my users at a large university (with, I imagine, the aggressive security settings that university IT departments general have on their computers) is getting an empty string returned by Windows XP for CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA or CSIDL_PERSONAL. (I'm not sure which of these is returning the empty string, because I haven't yet examined his computer to see how he's installed the software, but I'm pretty sure it's the COMMON_APPDATA...)
Has anyone encountered this or have suggestions on how to deal with this?
Here's the Delphi code I'm using to retrieve the value:
Function GetSpecialFolder( FolderID: Integer):String;
var
PIDL: PItemIDList;
Path: array[0..MAX_PATH] of Char;
begin
SHGetSpecialFolderLocation(Application.Handle, FolderID, PIDL);
SHGetPathFromIDList(PIDL, Path);
Result := Path;
end; { GetSpecialFolder }
ShowMessage(GetSpecialFolder(CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA)); <--- This is an empty string
Edit:
Figuring out this API made me feel like I was chasing my tail - I went in circles trying to find the right call. This method and others similar to it are said to be deprecated by Microsoft (as well as by a earlier poster to this question (#TLama?) who subsequently deleted the post.) But, it seems like most of us, including me, regularly and safely ignore that status.
In my searches, I found a good answer here on SO from some time ago, including sample code for the non-deprecated way of doing this: what causes this error 'Unable to write to application file.ini'.
If you want to find out why an API call is failing you need to check the return values. That's what is missing in this code.
You need to treat each function on its own merits. Read the documentation on MSDN. In the case of SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, the return value is an HRESULT. For SHGetPathFromIDList you get back a BOOL. If that is FALSE then the call failed.
The likely culprit here is SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, the code that receives the CSIDL, but you must check for errors whenever you call Windows API functions.
Taking a look at the documentation for CSIDL we see this:
CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA
Version 5.0. The file system directory that contains application data for all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data. This folder is used for application data that
is not user specific. For example, an application can store a
spell-check dictionary, a database of clip art, or a log file in the
CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA folder. This information will not roam and is
available to anyone using the computer.
If the machine has a shell version lower than 5.0, then this CSIDL value is not supported. That's the only documented failure mode for this CSIDL value. I don't think that applies to your situation, so you'll just have to see what the HRESULT status code has to say.

Overbyte ICS HTTPS POST

I'm wanting to create a CloudFlare client in the Firemonkey framework. For those who don't know, CloudFlare serves as a CDN of sorts for anyone with a website. They have an API available, and as with many web API's, they are using JSON with a token-based system. It requires both the account email address and the account token to access the API. It runs on HTTPS, and as you can imagine, attempting to access the API via HTTP/non-SSL simply produces null results.
The application i wish to create would serve as an all-in-one management tool, intending to eliminate the need for me to use a web browser to manage my CloudFlare settings. I'm having the most basic of issues; SSL POST. See, i can submit an API request via a web browser and get a list of results (e.g. https://www.cloudflare.com/api_json.html?a=stats&z=DOMAIN&u=EMAIL&tkn=TOKEN - Personal details removed for obvious reasons), but i'm unsure how i would go about getting these same results (or any results from the API for that matter) in Firemonkey.
I've got Overbyte ICS with SSL installed, as well as the basic bundled Indy components, but i'm struggling to get started with this. I need to post a list of parameters to https://www.cloudflare.com/api_json.html via HTTPS/SSL, but i've very little idea on where to start. I've seen a few various example around SO, mostly using ICS, but i've been unable to find any specific to posting with multiple parameters, how i should format it, etc.
One example i tried was using ICS TSSLHttpCli, writing my parameters as a single string (i.e. a=stats&z=DOMAIN&u=EMAIL&tkn=TOKEN), writing that to the SendStream of TSSLHttpCli, seeking to 0,0, setting the URL (i.e. https://www.cloudflare.com/api_json.html?), and then calling the Post method. However, this gives me Connection aborted on request. This is the code i've tried (though i've replaced personal details with generic values);
var
Data : AnsiString;
RcvStrm, SndStrm : TMemoryStream;
begin
SndStrm := TMemoryStream.Create;
RcvStrm := TMemoryStream.Create;
Data := '?a=stats&z=MYDOMAIN&u=MYEMAIL&tkn=MYTOKEN';
SslHttpCli.SendStream := SndStrm;
SslHttpCli.SendStream.Write(Data[1],Length(Data));
SslHttpCli.SendStream.Seek(0,0);
Memo1.Lines.LoadFromStream(SndStrm);
ShowMessage('Waiting!');
SslHttpCli.RcvdStream := RcvStrm;
SslHttpCli.URL := 'https://www.cloudflare.com/api_json.html';
SslHttpCli.Post;
Memo1.Lines.Clear;
Memo1.Lines.LoadFromStream(RcvStrm);
Memo1.Lines.Add('.....');
RcvStrm.Free;
SndStrm.Free;
ShowMessage('Complete!');
end;
The ShowMessage procedures are simply there to provide a visual break so i can see what data is in the stream at each time. When Memo1.Lines.LoadFromStream(SndStrm); is called, i get a single question mark the contents of the Data in the memo as expected.
When i call Memo1.Lines.LoadFromStream(RcvStrm);, i expect it to add the return result from the API, and then the 5 dots underneath it. However, this does not happen, and it's apparent that the message i'm receiving is related to the issue. I'm assuming i've not set up the data correctly, but i'm simply unsure exactly how i should format it prior to attempting to post it. I've even commented out everything below Memo1.Lines.LoadFromStream(RcvStrm); to the end to see whether the Clear procedure is called on the memo, but the contents of the memo remain the same as they were when i called LoadFromStream(SndStrm). The final ShowMessage is also not called.
I initially tried using String instead of AnsiString, but this simply output the first character of Data rather than the whole string.
There could be numerous reasons why it's not working (all details for API access are correct, so it's an issue with the code), but i need someone with more experience and knowledge to point me in the right direction.
My network coding knowledge is limited, and i've only dealt with basic SQL and FTP in Delphi so far. I've still got to work with the parsed JSON once i do get past this step, but for now, can anyone assist me in this endeavor so i can get started?
I noticed you seemed to solve this with a GET request, but I noticed two immediate problems with your POST request:
as Runner Suggested, drop the '?' in your data. The '?' is only used when appending parameters to the URL in a GET request.
You never set the content type of the HTTP Request (should be application/x-www-form-urlencoded). You can do this with the following code:
SSLHttpCli.ContentTypePost := 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded';
Just a helpful thought. I checked https://www.cloudflare.com/docs/client-api.html and they mention that POST requests are accepted. It's possible the server rejects requests that have any other content type.
Just some food for thought if you ever need to contact another API via POST requests and want to use the Overbyte Components.
Hope the info is useful!
Try this;
SndStrm := TMemoryStream.Create;
RcvStrm := TMemoryStream.Create;
Data := 'a=stats&z=MYDOMAIN&u=MYEMAIL&tkn=MYTOKEN';
SndStrm.Write(Data[1], Length(Data));
SndStrm.Seek(0, 0);
SslHttpCli.SendStream := SndStrm;

JEDI JVCL TJvProgramVersionCheck How to use HTTP

I'm wondering if someone has an example on how can be used the TJvProgramVersionCheck component performing the check via HTTP.
The example in the JVCL examples dir doesn't show how to use HTTP
thank you
The demo included in your $(JVCL)\Examples\JvProgramVersionCheck folder seems to be able to do so. Edit the properties of the JVProgramVersionHTTPLocation, and add the URL to it's VersionInfoLocation list (a TStrings). You can also set up any username, password, proxy, and port settings if needed.
You also need to add an OnLoadFileFromRemote event handler. I don't see anything in the demo that addresses that requirement, but the source code says:
{ Simple HTTP location class with no http logic.
The logic must be implemented manually in the OnLoadFileFromRemote event }
It appears from the parameters that event receives that you do your checking there:
function TJvProgramVersionFTPLocation.LoadFileFromRemoteInt(
const ARemotePath, ARemoteFileName, ALocalPath, ALocalFileName: string;
ABaseThread: TJvBaseThread): string;
So you'll need to add an event handler for this event, and then change the TJVProgramVersionCheck.LocationType property to pvltHTTP and run the demo. After testing, it seems you're provided the server and filename for the remote version, and a local path and temp filename for the file you download. The event handler's Result should be the full path and filename of the newly downloaded file. Your event handler should take care of the actual retrieval of the file.
There are a couple of additional types defined in JvProgramVersionCheck.pas, (TJvProgramVersionHTTPLocationICS and TJvProgramVersionHTTPLocationIndy, both protected by compiler defines so they don't exist in the default compilation. However, setting the ICS related define resulted in lots of compilation errors (it apparently was written against an old version of ICS), and setting the Indy define (and then setting it again to use Indy10 instead) allowed it to compile but didn't change any of the behavior. I'm going to look more into this later today.
Also, make sure that the VersionInfoLocation entry is only the URL (without the filename); the filename itself goes in the VersionInfoFileName property. If you put it in the URL, it gets repeated (as in http://localhost/Remote/ProjectVersions_http.iniProjectVersions_http.ini, and will fail anyway. (I found this while tracing through the debugger trying to solve the issue.)
Finally...
The solution is slightly (but not drastically) complicated. Here's what I did:
Copy JvProgramVersionCheck.pas to the demo folder. (It needs to be recompiled because of the next step.)
Go to Project->Options->Directories and Conditionals, and add the following line to the DEFINES entry:
USE_3RDPARTY_INDY10;USE_THIRDPARTY_INDY;
Delete the JvProgramVersionHTTPLocation component from the demo form.
Add a new private section to the form declaration:
private
HTTPLocation: TJvProgramVersionHTTPLocationIndy;
In the FormCreate event, add the following code:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
const
RemoteFileURL = 'http://localhost/';
RemoteFileName = 'ProjectVersions_http.ini';
begin
HTTPLocation := TJvProgramVersionHTTPLocationIndy.Create(Self); // Self means we don't free
HTTPLocation.VersionInfoLocationPathList.Add(RemoteFileURL);
HTTPLocation.VersionInfoFileName := RemoteFileName;
ProgramVersionCheck.LocationHTTP := HTTPLocation;
ProgramVersionCheck.LocationType := pvltHTTP;
VersionCheck; // This line is already there
end;
In the ProgramVersionCheck component properties, expand the VersionInfoFileOptions property, and change the FileFormat from hffXML to hffIni.
Delete or rename the versioninfolocal.ini from the demo's folder. (If you've run the app once, it stores the http location info, and the changes above are overwritten. This took a while to track down.)
Make sure your local http server is running, and the ProjectVersions_http.ini file is in the web root folder. You should then be able to run the demo. Once the form appears, click on the Edit History button to see the information retrieved from the remote version info file. You'll also have a new copy of the versioninfolocal.ini that has the saved configuration info you entered above.

Unmarshalling Error

I get an error whenever I try do a request to a SOAP service:
Unmarshalling Error: unexpected element (uri:"http://www.domain.com/ws/servicename/", local:"dummyArg"). Expected elements are <{}dummyArg>
The method that I'm calling has is defined as:
function GetTxServer(UseWSDL: Boolean; Addr: string; HTTPRIO: THTTPRIO): TxServer;
I have little experience with SOAP, and I couldn't find any useful information on this. Feel free to ask any question that might speed up the process in finding the issue.
I believe that the way that I am calling the function is not the correct way!
I'm using Delphi 2010, and I've called the method like so:
Response := GetTxServer.requestIVULoto(cm);
Use SoapUI (the free version is fine) to consume the WSDL and make sure that you can properly send a request to the server and get a response that makes sense. Then make a "mock" service in SoapUI, to act as the server. Send your Delphi requests to the mockservice (typically done by setting your endpoint to http://localhost:8089 or some such) so that you can inspect the XML that you're sending out. Now you can experiment and determine whether the problem is due to sending out bad requests, the server returning bad/unexpected results, trouble interpreting good results, etc..
Aside from that, I'd guess that you're failing to allocate or populate "cm" correctly. I assume that's your request object.
Also... big tip here....
Use the RIO_BeforeExecute event to debug this. At that point, the SOAPRequest is a string that you can inspect or dump to a file. So you can see what you're sending, without having to use SoapUI, Fiddler2, Wireshark, etc..

Resources