Uploading a file using post() method of QNetworkAccessManager - windows

I'm having some trouble with a Qt application; specifically with the QNetworkAccessManager class. I'm attempting to perform a simple HTTP upload of a binary file using the post() method of the QNetworkAccessManager. The documentation states that I can give a pointer to a QIODevice to post(), and that the class will transmit the data found in the QIODevice. This suggests to me that I ought to be able to give post() a pointer to a QFile. For example:
QFile compressedFile("temp");
compressedFile.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly);
netManager.post(QNetworkRequest(QUrl("http://mywebsite.com/upload") ), &compressedFile);
What seems to happen on the Windows system where I'm developing this is that my Qt application pushes the data from the QFile, but then doesn't complete the request; it seems to be sitting there waiting for more data to show up from the file. The post request isn't "closed" until I manually kill the application, at which point the whole file shows up at my server end.
From some debugging and research, I think this is happening because the read() operation of QFile doesn't return -1 when you reach the end of the file. I think that QNetworkAccessManager is trying to read from the QIODevice until it gets a -1 from read(), at which point it assumes there is no more data and closes the request. If it keeps getting a return code of zero from read(), QNetworkAccessManager assumes that there might be more data coming, and so it keeps waiting for that hypothetical data.
I've confirmed with some test code that the read() operation of QFile just returns zero after you've read to the end of the file. This seems to be incompatible with the way that the post() method of QNetworkAccessManager expects a QIODevice to behave. My questions are:
Is this some sort of limitation with the way that QFile works under Windows?
Is there some other way I should be using either QFile or QNetworkAccessManager to push a file via post()?
Is this not going to work at all, and will I have to find some other way to upload my file?
Any suggestions or hints would be appreciated.
Update: It turns out that I had two different problems: one on the client side and one on the server side. On the client side, I had to ensure that my QFile object stayed around for the duration of the network transaction. The post() method of QNetworkAccessManager returns immediately but isn't actually finished immediately. You need to attach a slot to the finished() signal of QNetworkAccessManager to determine when the POST is actually finished. In my case it was easy enough to keep the QFile around more or less permanently, but I also attached a slot to the finished() signal in order to check for error responses from the server.
I attached the signal to the slot like this:
connect(&netManager, SIGNAL(finished(QNetworkReply*) ), this, SLOT(postFinished(QNetworkReply*) ) );
When it was time to send my file, I wrote the post code like this (note that compressedFile is a member of my class and so does not go out of scope after this code):
compressedFile.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly);
netManager.post(QNetworkRequest(QUrl(httpDestination.getCString() ) ), &compressedFile);
The finished(QNetworkReply*) signal from QNetworkAccessManager triggers my postFinished(QNetworkReply*) method. When this happens, it's safe for me to close compressedFile and to delete the data file represented by compressedFile. For debugging purposes I also added a few printf() statements to confirm that the transaction is complete:
void CL_QtLogCompressor::postFinished(QNetworkReply* reply)
{
QByteArray response = reply->readAll();
printf("response: %s\n", response.data() );
printf("reply error %d\n", reply->error() );
reply->deleteLater();
compressedFile.close();
compressedFile.remove();
}
Since compressedFile isn't closed immediately and doesn't go out of scope, the QNetworkAccessManager is able to take as much time as it likes to transmit my file. Eventually the transaction is complete and my postFinished() method gets called.
My other problem (which also contributed to the behavior I was seeing where the transaction never completed) was that the Python code for my web server wasn't fielding the POST correctly, but that's outside the scope of my original Qt question.

You're creating compressedFile on the stack, and passing a pointer to it to your QNetworkRequest (and ultimately your QNetworkAccessManager). As soon as you leave the method you're in, compressedFile is going out of scope. I'm surprised it's not crashing on you, though the behavior is undefined.
You need to create the QFile on the heap:
QFile *compressedFile = new QFile("temp");
You will of course need to keep track of it and then delete it once the post has completed, or set it as the child of the QNetworkReply so that it it gets destroyed when the reply gets destroyed later:
QFile *compressedFile = new QFile("temp");
compressedFile->open(QIODevice::ReadOnly);
QNetworkReply *reply = netManager.post(QNetworkRequest(QUrl("http://mywebsite.com/upload") ), compressedFile);
compressedFile->setParent(reply);

You can also schedule automatic deletion of a heap-allocated file using signals/slots
QFile* compressedFile = new QFile(...);
QNetworkReply* reply = Manager.post(...);
// This is where the tricks is
connect(reply, SIGNAL(finished()), reply, SLOT(deleteLater());
connect(reply, SIGNAL(destroyed()), compressedFile, SLOT(deleteLater());
IMHO, it is much more localized and encapsulated than having to keep around your file in the outer class.
Note that you must remove the first connect() if you have your postFinished(QNetworkReply*) slot, in which you must then not forget to call reply->deleteLater() inside it for the above to work.

Related

FireAndForget call to WebApi from Azure Function

I want to be able to call an HTTP endpoint (that I own) from an Azure Function at the end of the Azure Function request.
I do not need to know the result of the request
If there is a problem in the HTTP endpoint that is called I will log it there
I do not want to hold up the return to the client calling the initial Azure Function
Offloading the call of the secondary WebApi onto a background job queue is considered overkill for this requirement
Do I simply call HttpClient.PutAsync without an await?
I realise that the dependencies I have used up until the point that the call is made may well not be available when the call returns. Is there a safe way to check if they are?
My answer may cause some controversy but, you can always start a background task and execute it that way.
For anyone reading this answer, this is far from recommended. The OP has been very clear that they don't care about exceptions or understanding what sort of result the request is returning ...
Task.Run(async () =>
{
using (var httpClient = new HttpClient())
{
await httpClient.PutAsync(...);
}
});
If you want to ensure that the call has fired, it may be worth waiting for a second or two after the call is made to ensure it's actually on it's way.
await Task.Delay(1000);
If you're worried about dependencies in the call, be sure to construct your payload (i.e. serialise it, etc.) external to the Task.Run, basically, minimise any work the background task does.

Boost calling method from outside of class

Let's see how simple of a question I can ask. I have:
void TCPClient::test(const boost::system::error_code& ErrorCode)
{
// Anything can be here
}
and I would like to call it from another class. I have a global boost::thread_group that creates a thread
clientThreadGroup->create_thread(boost::bind(&TCPClient::test,client, /* this is where I need help */));
but am uncertain on how to call test, if this is even the correct way.
As an explanation for the overall project, I am creating a tcp connection between a client and a server and have a method "send" (in another class) that will be called when data needs to be sent. My current goal is to be able to call test (which currently has async_send in it) and send the information through the socket that is already set up when called. However, I am open to other ideas on how to implement and will probably work on creating a consumer/producer model if this proves to be too difficult.
I can use either for this project, but I will later have to implement listen to be able to receive control packets from the server later, so if there is any advice on which method to use, I would greatly appreciate it.
boost::system::error_code err;
clientThreadGroup->create_thread(boost::bind(&TCPClient::test,client, err));
This works for me. I don't know if it will actually have an error if something goes wrong, so if someone wants to correct me there, I would appreciate it (if just for the experience sake).

Writing to channel in a loop

I have to send a lot of data to I client connected to my server in small blocks.
So, I have something like:
for(;;) {
messageEvent.getChannel().write("Hello World");
}
The problem is that, for some reason, client is receiving dirty data, like Netty buffer is not clear at each iteration, so we got something like "Hello WorldHello".
If I make a little change in my code putting a thread sleep everything works fine:
for(;;) {
messageEvent.getChannel().write("Hello World");
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
As MRAB said, if the server is sending multiple messages on a channel without indicating the end of each message, then client can not always read the messages correctly. By adding sleep time after writing a message, will not solve the root cause of the problem either.
To fix this problem, have to mark the end of each message in a way that other party can identify, if client and server both are using Netty, you can add LengthFieldPrepender and LengthFieldBasedFrameDecoder before your json handlers.
String encodedMsg = new Gson().toJson(
sendToClient,newTypeToken<ArrayList<CoordinateVO>>() {}.getType());
By default, Gson uses html escaping for content, sometime this will lead to wired encoding, you can disable this if required by using a Gson factory
final static GsonBuilder gsonBuilder = new GsonBuilder().disableHtmlEscaping();
....
String encodedMsg = gsonBuilder.create().toJson(object);
In neither case are you sending anything to indicate where one item ends and the next begins, or how long each item is.
In the second case the sleep is getting the channel time out and flush, so the client sees a 'break', which it interprets as the end of the item.
The client should never see this "dirty data". If thats really the case then its a bug. But to be hornest I can't think of anything that could lead to this in netty. As every Channel.write(..) event will be added to a queue which then get written to the client when possible. So every data that is passed in the write(..) method will just get written. There is no "concat" of the data.
Do you maybe have some custom Encoder in the pipeline that buffers the data before sending it to the client ?
It would also help if you could show the complete code that gives this behavoir so we see what handlers are in the pipeline etc.

Problem with Boost Asio asynchronous connection using C++ in Windows

Using MS Visual Studio 2008 C++ for Windows 32 (XP brand), I try to construct a POP3 client managed from a modeless dialog box.
Te first step is create a persistent object -say pop3- with all that Boost.asio stuff to do asynchronous connections, in the WM_INITDIALOG message of the dialog-box-procedure. Some like:
case WM_INITDIALOG:
return (iniPop3Dlg (hDlg, lParam));
Here we assume that iniPop3Dlg() create the pop3 heap object -say pointed out by pop3p-. Then connect with the remote server, and a session is initiated with the client’s id and password (USER and PASS commands). Here we assume that the server is in TRANSACTION state.
Then, in response to some user input, the dialog-box-procedure, call the appropriate function. Say:
case IDS_TOTAL: // get how many emails in the server
total (pop3p);
return FALSE;
case IDS_DETAIL: // get date, sender and subject for each email in the server
detail (pop3p);
return FALSE;
Note that total() uses the POP3’s STAT command to get how many emails in the server, while detail() uses two commands consecutively; first STAT to get the total and then a loop with the GET command to retrieve the content of each message.
As an aside: detail() and total() share the same subroutines -the STAT handle routine-, and when finished, both leaves the session as-is. That is, without closing the connection; the socket remains opened an the server in TRANSACTION state.
When any option is selected by the first time, the things run as expected, obtaining the desired results. But when making the second chance, the connection hangs.
A closer inspection show that the first time that the statement
socket_.get_io_service().run();
Is used, never ends.
Note that all asynchronous write and read routines uses the same io_service, and each routine uses socket_.get_io_service().reset() prior to any run()
Not also that all R/W operations also uses the same timer, who is reseted to zero wait after each operation is completed:
dTimer_.expires_from_now (boost::posix_time::seconds(0));
I suspect that the problem is in the io_service or in the timer, and the fact that subsequent executions occurs in a different load of the routine.
As a first approach to my problem, I hope that someone would bring some light in it, prior to a more detailed exposition of the -very few and simple- routines involved.
Have you looked at the asio examples and studied them? There are several asynchronous examples that should help you understand the basic control flow. Pay particular importance to the main event loop started by invoking io_service::run, it's important to understand control is not expected to return to the caller until the io_service has no more remaining work to do.

How to know when a web page is loaded when using QtWebKit?

Both QWebFrame and QWebPage have void loadFinished(bool ok) signal which can be used to detect when a web page is completely loaded. The problem is when a web page has some content loaded asynchronously (ajax). How to know when the page is completely loaded in this case?
I haven't actually done this, but I think you may be able to achieve your solution using QNetworkAccessManager.
You can get the QNetworkAccessManager from your QWebPage using the networkAccessManager() function. QNetworkAccessManager has a signal finished ( QNetworkReply * reply ) which is fired whenever a file is requested by the QWebPage instance.
The finished signal gives you a QNetworkReply instance, from which you can get a copy of the original request made, in order to identify the request.
So, create a slot to attach to the finished signal, use the passed-in QNetworkReply's methods to figure out which file has just finished downloading and if it's your Ajax request, do whatever processing you need to do.
My only caveat is that I've never done this before, so I'm not 100% sure that it would work.
Another alternative might be to use QWebFrame's methods to insert objects into the page's object model and also insert some JavaScript which then notifies your object when the Ajax request is complete. This is a slightly hackier way of doing it, but should definitely work.
EDIT:
The second option seems better to me. The workflow is as follows:
Attach a slot to the QWebFrame::javascriptWindowObjectCleared() signal. At this point, call QWebFrame::evaluateJavascript() to add code similar to the following:
window.onload = function() { // page has fully loaded }
Put whatever code you need in that function. You might want to add a QObject to the page via QWebFrame::addToJavaScriptWindowObject() and then call a function on that object. This code will only execute when the page is fully loaded.
Hopefully this answers the question!
To check the load of specific element you can use a QTimer. Something like this in python:
#pyqtSlot()
def on_webView_loadFinished(self):
self.tObject = QTimer()
self.tObject.setInterval(1000)
self.tObject.setSingleShot(True)
self.tObject.timeout.connect(self.on_tObject_timeout)
self.tObject.start()
#pyqtSlot()
def on_tObject_timeout(self):
dElement = self.webView.page().currentFrame().documentElement()
element = dElement.findFirst("css selector")
if element.isNull():
self.tObject.start()
else:
print "Page loaded"
When your initial html/images/etc finishes loading, that's it. It is completely loaded. This fact doesn't change if you then decide to use some javascript to get some extra data, page views or whatever after the fact.
That said, what I suspect you want to do here is expose a QtScript object/interface to your view that you can invoke from your page's script, effectively providing a "callback" into your C++ once you've decided (from the page script) that you've have "completely loaded".
Hope this helps give you a direction to try...
The OP thought it was due to delayed AJAX requests but there also could be another reason that also explains why a very short time delay fixes the problem. There is a bug that causes the described behaviour:
https://bugreports.qt-project.org/browse/QTBUG-37377
To work around this problem the loadingFinished() signal must be connected using queued connection.

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