Alternative to Winsock? How do I communicate with IP address/Port No within vba?

[BiigJiim]

Hi,
I have an application running on Access 2003 which has to communicate with a 3rd party piece of software running on another pc by sending and receiving xml text to a specific port number at the IP address of the other pc. At the moment I use the MS Winsock control which I am able to use as I have VB6 installed. All pc's are currently running Win XP.
It is not an ideal solution however, as it means VB6 needs to be installed on each client pc (otherwise there are licencing issues with the Winsock control) and VB6 does not install on Windows 7, so future OS upgrades are ruled out.
Does anyone know if there is another way to send/receive text strings to an IP address/Port number from within Access VBA?
Many thanks,
Jim

 

[NigelShaw]

This is a double post on UA!

I won't post the link in case I get banned here too..........


Nigel

 

[BiigJiim]

I'm sorry Nigel, are you implying I have done something wrong?

 

[NigelShaw]

No dude, not something 'wrong'

Double posting i.e. same post on more than one thread even if it's on a different forum is viewed with a dim light. Let's say it was seen here and someone spent time o look up code and work a solution only to find someone else has already done it is a tad frustrating. One thread only or if you really must post to multiple sites, cross link them so everyone is clear.

In the case of UA, I posted the same as I did here but because their ego's are more precious than a rare gem stone, I got myself banned ( again )

Cheers

Nidge.

 

[BiigJiim]

If you don't mind me being honest Nigel, I think you are being a touch pedantic. I take your point about if someone takes the time to work out a solution to a problem which has already been solved etc. but I have merely asked for suggestions for ways to approach a task. The more suggestions people offer, the more chance I have of finding the best one. If I was asking for users to work up a solution to a specific problem, and that solution had already been posted, that would be different.

You would also seem to imply that each thread would also only ever receive one reply in a newsgroup (i.e. it's been answered, so we won't bother.) My experience from the newsgroups is that this is not the case. Through the generosity of the experts who monitor these groups, most threads I read or have posted seem to receive multiple replies from different users, often with different suggestions, all in the same thread.

Part of the problem is that since the demise of the microsoft newsgroups, there does not seem to be a single commonly used place for users to ask for help. Not knowing which forums are well read and which are not, I posted my question in both places.

I would like to point out that I rarely ask for help in the forums/newsgroups, but when I do I am extremely grateful for the time and effort people put in to reply and help. Their time is not something I take lightly in any way whatsoever.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[spikepl]

You have missed Nigel's point.

Read this link: http://www.excelguru.ca/content.php?184

The issue is not that you are crossposting, but that you are doing so without notifying the unsuspecting helpers that you have done so. You have no control over whether people just post a one-line reply, or try to be helpful and go off onto a lengthy attempt to dig out or concoct code, and solve the entire issue. In more than one place at the same time, so someone's efforts gets wasted, instead of building on what perhaps already has been posted in the crosspost.

To be clear: Do not crosspost without notification that you have done so, and update your current crosspostings. Or else wind up on a shitlist.

 

[BiigJiim]

Fair enough Spikepl. Point taken. In future I will post with a crosspost notification. My apologies to anyone in this forum I have offended.

 

[NigelShaw]

No offence taken we are all here for the better cause

you can identify the IP address within Access VBA. Im not sure about the port but if the port on the other PC is open, then i cant see any real issues especially if there is a re route in the router for application re-direct.

you could make a small app within access that gets the IP of the local pc ( where the call is made to ) that stores the IP in a table accessable from your main application. YOu could then look up the IP from the stored data and execute with that.

I have an IP app that i can post to you later, its not available at work.


Cheers

Nigel

 

[BiigJiim]

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your reply. I am not concerned with identifying the IP address of the remote machine - it is merely a pc on the LAN, which I already know and store the IP address of. What I need to do is have a mechanism for sending xml text commands to a port at that IP address which the 3rd party application is listening to, and receiving the response which it sends back.

At the moment, my app successfully does this using the Winsock control, but I don't want to be dependent on Winsock and having VB6 installed.

Is this something your IP app can help with?

Someone on the other thread I posted to has mentioned MSXML. This is something I know nothing about and I feel a little bit out of my depth with it. But if anyone can give me any good pointers...

Many thanks for all your help,
Jim

 

[jdraw]

For info on msxml, this site has many related topics.

http://www.jpsoftwaretech.com/vba/msxml-object-library-routines/

Good luck.

 

[opencandy is malware]

with all this frenzied ranting of cross posting... can we have the referenced solution (cross) posted here?

 

[BiigJiim]

Sorry opencandy. No solution as yet. At the moment persevering with Winsock and Windows XP

 

[vbaInet]

Have you considered a FTP Server?