Remove From My Forums

Does Anyone Have a (Working) sample of messagewebsockets for windows 8 Store app

Question

I need to figure out how to setup both the client ans server side using MessageWebSockets for a Windows 8 Store app using VB.net

I am in search of WORKING Samples to help me figure this out. NO C# CODE PLEASE!

I have tried for 7 weeks to convert microsofts sample here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/hh994397.aspx

and I just will not work

My needs are very simple. All I need is Someone to convert the echo sample below into a working vb.net sample. this is suposed to be the simplest sample out there but it's written in javascript. It works as java script with there server. If I can see how this would be done in vb.net I think I can figure the rest out myself

<!DOCTYPE html> 
 <meta charset="utf-8" /> 
 <title>WebSocket Test</title> 
 <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> 
 var wsUri = "ws://echo.websocket.org/";
 var output; 

 function init() 
 {
 output = document.getElementById("output");
 testWebSocket();
 }  
 function testWebSocket() 
 {
 websocket = new WebSocket(wsUri); 
 websocket.onopen = function(evt) { onOpen(evt) };
 websocket.onclose = function(evt) { onClose(evt) };
 websocket.onmessage = function(evt) { onMessage(evt) };
 websocket.onerror = function(evt) { onError(evt) };
 }
 function onOpen(evt) { writeToScreen("CONNECTED");
 doSend("WebSocket rocks");
 }
 function onClose(evt) 
 {
 writeToScreen("DISCONNECTED");
 }
 function onMessage(evt) 
 {
 writeToScreen('<span style="color: blue;">RESPONSE: ' + evt.data+'</span>');
 websocket.close();
 }
 function onError(evt) 
 {
 writeToScreen('<span style="color: red;">ERROR:</span> ' + evt.data);
 }
 function doSend(message) 
 {
 writeToScreen("SENT: " + message);
 websocket.send(message);
 }
 function writeToScreen(message) 
 {
 var pre = document.createElement("p");
 pre.style.wordWrap = "break-word";
 pre.innerHTML = message;
 output.appendChild(pre);
 }
 window.addEventListener("load", init, false); 
 </script> 
 <h2>WebSocket Test</h2>  
 <div id="output"></div>

thanks

Edited by PBPuddin Thursday, May 22, 2014 9:38 PM

Thursday, May 22, 2014 9:25 PM

Answers

0

Sign in to vote
I'm not aware of any such samples that are already in VB.

The JavaScript snippet you quote is not using the Windows Runtime classes but is using the HTML5 WebSocket class.

C# is much closer to VB than JavaScript is and it should be significantly easier to convert the C# version of the WebSocket sample to VB, especially if you first eliminate the scenarios which don't match what you are trying to do. There are also online converters which can help. I just ran the MSDN article through one and it translated essentially the same as my hand-translated sample.

The code you translated in your previous thread looks pretty good (essentially the same as my version). In what way didn't it work? If you need help finessing it please continue in that thread.

--Rob
- Edited by Rob Caplan [MSFT]Microsoft employee, Moderator Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:05 PM
- Marked as answer by PBPuddin Friday, May 23, 2014 3:53 PM
Thursday, May 22, 2014 10:53 PM

Moderator

Finally! After Weeks and weeks of trying to get this answered I was able to successfully convert a C# sample from Microsoft to vb.net. I meshed the Scenarios back into the main page code so everything is in one place and simplified somewhat. there may still be some bloat code from Microsoft's sample I'll need to remove but for now I thought I'd put it up here since no one else could provide one and maybe others would like to use it.

1. This is the vb.net code behind page for this windows 8 store app. it uses an echo server and just echos back what is sent to it.

Imports Windows.Networking.Sockets
Imports Windows.Storage.Streams

Imports sockettest523
Imports System
Imports Windows.UI.Core
Imports Windows.UI.Xaml
Imports Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls
Imports Windows.UI.Xaml.Navigation
Imports Windows.Web

' The Blank Page item template is documented at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=234238

''' <summary>
''' An empty page that can be used on its own or navigated to within a Frame.
''' </summary>
Public NotInheritable Class MainPage
    Inherits Page


    Private messageWebSocket As MessageWebSocket
    Private messageWriter As DataWriter




    Private Async Function Start_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs) As Task Handles StartButton.Click

        If [String].IsNullOrEmpty(InputField.Text) Then
            NotifyUser("Please specify text to send", NotifyType.ErrorMessage)
            Return
        End If

        Dim connecting As Boolean = True
        Try

            ' Have we connected yet?
            If messageWebSocket Is Nothing Then
                ' Validating the URI is required since it was received from an untrusted source (user input). 
                ' The URI is validated by calling TryGetUri() that will return 'false' for strings that are not
                ' valid WebSocket URIs.
                ' Note that when enabling the text box users may provide URIs to machines on the intrAnet 
                ' or intErnet. In these cases the app requires the "Home or Work Networking" or 
                ' "Internet (Client)" capability respectively.
                Dim server As Uri
                If Not TryGetUri(ServerAddressField.Text, server) Then
                    Return
                End If

                NotifyUser("Connecting to: " & server.ToString, NotifyType.StatusMessage)

                messageWebSocket = New MessageWebSocket()
                messageWebSocket.Control.MessageType = SocketMessageType.Utf8
                AddHandler messageWebSocket.MessageReceived, AddressOf MessageReceived
                AddHandler messageWebSocket.Closed, AddressOf Closed

                ' messageWebSocket.MessageReceived += MessageReceived()

                ' Dispatch close event on UI thread. This allows us to avoid synchronizing access to messageWebSocket.
                'messageWebSocket.Closed += Async Function(senderSocket, args)
                '                               Await Dispatcher.RunAsync(CoreDispatcherPriority.Normal, Function() Closed(senderSocket, args))

                '                           End Function

                Await messageWebSocket.ConnectAsync(server)
                messageWriter = New DataWriter(messageWebSocket.OutputStream)

                NotifyUser("Connected", NotifyType.StatusMessage)
            Else
                NotifyUser("Already connected", NotifyType.StatusMessage)
            End If

            connecting = False
            Dim message As String = InputField.Text
            OutputField.Text += "Sending Message:" & vbCr & vbLf & message & vbCr & vbLf

            ' Buffer any data we want to send.
            messageWriter.WriteString(message)

            ' Send the data as one complete message.
            Await messageWriter.StoreAsync()

            NotifyUser("Send Complete", NotifyType.StatusMessage)
        Catch ex As Exception
            ' For debugging
            ' Error happened during connect operation.
            If connecting AndAlso messageWebSocket IsNot Nothing Then
                messageWebSocket.Dispose()
                messageWebSocket = Nothing
            End If

            Dim status As WebErrorStatus = WebSocketError.GetStatus(ex.GetBaseException().HResult)

            Select Case status
                Case WebErrorStatus.CannotConnect, WebErrorStatus.NotFound, WebErrorStatus.RequestTimeout
                    NotifyUser("Cannot connect to the server. Please make sure " & "to run the server setup script before running the sample.", NotifyType.ErrorMessage)
                    Exit Select

                Case WebErrorStatus.Unknown
                    Throw
                Case Else

                    NotifyUser("Error: " & status, NotifyType.ErrorMessage)
                    Exit Select
            End Select

            OutputField.Text += ex.Message + vbCr & vbLf
        End Try
    End Function




    Private Sub MessageReceived(sender As MessageWebSocket, args As MessageWebSocketMessageReceivedEventArgs)
        Try
            MarshalText(OutputField, "Message Received; Type: " & Convert.ToString(args.MessageType) & vbCr & vbLf)
            Using reader As DataReader = args.GetDataReader()
                reader.UnicodeEncoding = Windows.Storage.Streams.UnicodeEncoding.Utf8

                Dim read As String = reader.ReadString(reader.UnconsumedBufferLength)
                MarshalText(OutputField, read & vbCr & vbLf)
            End Using
        Catch ex As Exception
            ' For debugging
            Dim status As WebErrorStatus = WebSocketError.GetStatus(ex.GetBaseException().HResult)

            If status = WebErrorStatus.Unknown Then
                Throw
            End If

            ' Normally we'd use the status to test for specific conditions we want to handle specially,
            ' and only use ex.Message for display purposes.  In this sample, we'll just output the
            ' status for debugging here, but still use ex.Message below.
            MarshalText(OutputField, "Error: " & status & vbCr & vbLf)

            MarshalText(OutputField, ex.Message + vbCr & vbLf)
        End Try
    End Sub




    Private Sub Close_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
        Try
            If messageWebSocket IsNot Nothing Then
                NotifyUser("Closing", NotifyType.StatusMessage)
                messageWebSocket.Close(1000, "Closed due to user request.")
                messageWebSocket = Nothing
            Else
                NotifyUser("No active WebSocket, send something first", NotifyType.StatusMessage)
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
            Dim status As WebErrorStatus = WebSocketError.GetStatus(ex.GetBaseException().HResult)

            If status = WebErrorStatus.Unknown Then
                Throw
            End If

            ' Normally we'd use the status to test for specific conditions we want to handle specially,
            ' and only use ex.Message for display purposes.  In this sample, we'll just output the
            ' status for debugging here, but still use ex.Message below.
            NotifyUser("Error: " & status, NotifyType.ErrorMessage)

            OutputField.Text += ex.Message + vbCr & vbLf
        End Try
    End Sub




    ' This may be triggered remotely by the server or locally by Close/Dispose()
    Private Sub Closed(sender As IWebSocket, args As WebSocketClosedEventArgs)
        MarshalText(OutputField, "Closed; Code: " & Convert.ToString(args.Code) & ", Reason: " & Convert.ToString(args.Reason) & vbCr & vbLf)

        If messageWebSocket IsNot Nothing Then
            messageWebSocket.Dispose()
            messageWebSocket = Nothing
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub MarshalText(output As TextBox, value As String)
        MarshalText(output, value, True)
    End Sub

    ' When operations happen on a background thread we have to marshal UI updates back to the UI thread.
    Private Sub MarshalText(output As TextBox, value As String, append As Boolean)
        Dim ignore = output.Dispatcher.RunAsync(Windows.UI.Core.CoreDispatcherPriority.Normal, Function()
                                                                                                   If append Then
                                                                                                       output.Text += value
                                                                                                   Else
                                                                                                       output.Text = value
                                                                                                   End If

                                                                                               End Function)
    End Sub



    Public Sub NotifyUser(strMessage As String, type As NotifyType)
        Select Case type
            Case NotifyType.StatusMessage
                StatusBorder.Background = New SolidColorBrush(Windows.UI.Colors.Green)
                Exit Select
            Case NotifyType.ErrorMessage
                StatusBorder.Background = New SolidColorBrush(Windows.UI.Colors.Red)
                Exit Select
        End Select
        StatusBlock.Text = strMessage

        ' Collapse the StatusBlock if it has no text to conserve real estate.
        If StatusBlock.Text <> [String].Empty Then
            StatusBorder.Visibility = Windows.UI.Xaml.Visibility.Visible
        Else
            StatusBorder.Visibility = Windows.UI.Xaml.Visibility.Collapsed
        End If
    End Sub

    Public Enum NotifyType
        StatusMessage
        ErrorMessage
    End Enum



    Public Function TryGetUri(uriString As String, ByRef uri__1 As Uri) As Boolean
        uri__1 = Nothing

        Dim webSocketUri As Uri
        If Not Uri.TryCreate(uriString.Trim(), UriKind.Absolute, webSocketUri) Then
            NotifyUser("Error: Invalid URI", NotifyType.ErrorMessage)
            Return False
        End If

        ' Fragments are not allowed in WebSocket URIs.
        If Not [String].IsNullOrEmpty(webSocketUri.Fragment) Then
            NotifyUser("Error: URI fragments not supported in WebSocket URIs.", NotifyType.ErrorMessage)
            Return False
        End If

        ' Uri.SchemeName returns the canonicalized scheme name so we can use case-sensitive, ordinal string
        ' comparison.
        If (webSocketUri.Scheme <> "ws") AndAlso (webSocketUri.Scheme <> "wss") Then
            NotifyUser("Error: WebSockets only support ws:// and wss:// schemes.", NotifyType.ErrorMessage)
            Return False
        End If

        uri__1 = webSocketUri

        Return True
    End Function


   
End Class

2. This is the Xaml front page

<Page
    x:Class="sockettest523.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:local="using:sockettest523"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
    xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    mc:Ignorable="d">

    <Grid Background="{ThemeResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}">
        <Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <RowDefinition Height="82*"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="82*"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="78*"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="91*"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="82*"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="82*"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="271*"/>
        </Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="197*"/>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="486*"/>
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <Button x:Name="StartButton" Content="Start" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="5"/>
        <Button x:Name="CloseButton" Content="Close" Grid.Column="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="142,40,0,0" Grid.Row="5" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
        <TextBlock Grid.Column="1" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBlock"/>
        <TextBlock Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="1" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBlock"/>
        <TextBox x:Name="ServerAddressField" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="2" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="ws://echo.websocket.org" FontSize="20"/>
        <TextBlock Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="3" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBlock" FontSize="20"/>
        <TextBlock Grid.Row="5" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBlock" FontSize="20"/>
        <TextBlock x:Name="StatusBlock" Grid.Row="6" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBlock" FontSize="20"/>
        <Border x:Name="StatusBorder" Grid.Row="6" Grid.Column="1">
        <TextBox x:Name="OutputField" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="6" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" FontSize="20" IsReadOnly="True"/>
        </Border>
        <TextBox x:Name="InputField" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="4" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" FontSize="20"/>

    </Grid>
</Page>

this is all on Microsoft's visual studio express 2013 for windows. there are no special references for this and the appxmanifest only has the Default Internet(client) capabilities set. I may need this changed fro true two way socket I'm not sure yet.

Also the server used is NOT on localhost and is available to anyone so this takes any issues about the server out of the equation. Now I need to get a basic server going for myself so I can customize that

Marked as answer by PBPuddin Friday, May 23, 2014 3:52 PM

Friday, May 23, 2014 3:52 PM

All replies

0

Sign in to vote
I'm not aware of any such samples that are already in VB.

The JavaScript snippet you quote is not using the Windows Runtime classes but is using the HTML5 WebSocket class.

C# is much closer to VB than JavaScript is and it should be significantly easier to convert the C# version of the WebSocket sample to VB, especially if you first eliminate the scenarios which don't match what you are trying to do. There are also online converters which can help. I just ran the MSDN article through one and it translated essentially the same as my hand-translated sample.

The code you translated in your previous thread looks pretty good (essentially the same as my version). In what way didn't it work? If you need help finessing it please continue in that thread.

--Rob
- Edited by Rob Caplan [MSFT]Microsoft employee, Moderator Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:05 PM
- Marked as answer by PBPuddin Friday, May 23, 2014 3:53 PM
Thursday, May 22, 2014 10:53 PM

Moderator