how to use a resource file (txt - tab delimited) as a data source for win32 application

Question

i am working on a win32 app. i am currently using the text file which has tab delimited data as a source. i want to embed this as a resource so that i need not worry about shipping this file along with .exe file.

can anyone tell me how to do it?

Solution 1

Windows binary can have resources embedded in them. Most resources are of predetermined type (e.g. a menu, an icon or a bitmap) but you can also embed arbitrary binary data (e.g. a text file). The proper syntax is hard to figure out just from reading msdn docs.

This snippet shows how to embed a binary resource from a file.

First you need to define a resource identifier in a header file (e.g. resource.h) that will be used by both C compiler and resource compiler:

#define MY_RESOURCE 300

Then you need to add to your resource file (e.g. resource.rc):

MY_RESOURCE RCDATA "file-with-data.txt"

And finally, this is how you can get to this data:

void WorkOnResource(void)
{
    HGLOBAL     res_handle = NULL;
    HRSRC       res;
    char *      res_data;
    DWORD       res_size;

    // NOTE: providing g_hInstance is important, NULL might not work
    res = FindResource(g_hInstance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(MY_RESOURCE), RT_RCDATA);
    if (!res)
        return;
    res_handle = LoadResource(NULL, res);
    if (!res_handle)
        return;
    res_data = (char*)LockResource(res_handle);
    res_size = SizeofResource(NULL, res);
    /* you can now use the resource data */
}

Solution 2

Define the resource ID, add this to the .rc file:

ID_CUSTOM1 ANYTHINGGOESHERE "filename.txt"

Read it at runtime with code like this:

  HRSRC hRes = FindResource(hInst, MAKEINTRESOURCE(ID_CUSTOM1), L"ANYTHINGGOESHERE");
  HGLOBAL hMem = LoadResource(hInst, hRes);
  DWORD size = SizeofResource(hInst, hRes);
  char* resText = (char*)LockResource(hMem);
  char* text = (char*)malloc(size + 1);
  memcpy(text, resText, size);
  text[size] = 0;
  FreeResource(hMem);
  // use text...

Solution 3

If you are looking for the "correct" way to do this then I would suggest adding your text file as a resource (as a string table or binary) and using LoadString or FindResource to access it.

Solution 4

why not use a header file and put all your data in a static array. That way you don't have to parse a text file or worry about deployment

Solution 5

in Visual Studio, you can add text as a resource just like any other resource.

In the resource.rc file of your project:

IDR_MYRESOURCE  MYCUSTOMRESOURCETYPE "path_to_file.txt"

in the resource.h file:

#define IDR_MYRESOURCE 104

(or you can add these through the resource editor by selecting "Add Resource", then "New")

To load the resource in code:

HRSRC hRes = FindResource( 0, "#104", "MYCUSTOMRESOURCETYPE" );
HGLOBAL hData = LoadResource( 0, hRes );
LPVOID data = LockResource( hData );

Now data points to the text, and can be casted to string.

edit hmm looks like everyone was posting the same answer at the same time ;P

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