Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 December 31

= December 31 =

Sending data to a website from within a program.
My son and I are trying to write a complete PC computer game over the week between Xmas and New Year - and we're doing pretty good. I've done almost all of the coding except the high score table, the art is 99% complete and the game is playable & fun.

However, I've run into a problem - we need to store the high-score table on a web site. So I need to figure out how to send the high score data to a web page on a remote computer. I know how to to it under Linux - but I also need to have this work under Windows. So what I want is to be able to have my Windows/C++ program send something like:

http://www.sjbaker.com/mygame.html?score=1234&player=Steve&securitycode=0x123456

...to the web - where a PHP script on the game's web site can grab it and update an online database that anyone can view in a browser. I know how to do all of the server-side stuff - and I have the string coded up in the game - so all I need to know is how to make an HTTP request from within C++ under Windows. The security code should prevent vandals and cheating (it's a mildly encrypted hash of the score and the player's name).

Is there an easy way to do this in Windows/VisualStudio C++ code?

SteveBaker (talk) 02:03, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Of course the easiest way is to use ShellExecute with the URL above, but this will open the web browser, and that you do not want. You want the data to be sent in the background. This is not too hard using Windows API. I believe you should use InternetOpen and InternetConnect followed by some other calls to the WinINet functions. (Well, a few years ago I did write a small FTP client using the WinINet API, but I have never used any other "parts" of it.) --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 02:32, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * You can try WinINet. Here is a simple example. manya (talk) 03:51, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The sample example I mentioned above is for sending post request. Since your request is "GET", you can pass second parameter of HttpOpenRequest as null or "GET". If you are interested in writing your own socket code, then you need to connect to the server and once connected send "GET http://www.sjbaker.com/mygame.html?score=1234&player=Steve&securitycode=0x123456 HTTP/1.0" followed by two newline characters. And server will respond "HTTP/1.0 200 OK" if everything is fine. It may be required to send HEADER information also. You need to study HTTP protocol to understand HEADERS. Also, since users may be using proxy servers, you need code to handle that too. Then it becomes complex, and you end up developing your own network library. I think it is best to try out WinINet first, which provides all functionality for calling web server from application. manya (talk) 04:21, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Psst... it sounds like the request you're making should really be a POST, not a GET. -- Coneslayer (talk) 13:35, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * If it needs to be cross-platform, the easiest thing will be to either get some library like libcurl or else just write a very simplistic bit of socket code. You could also just include a copy of wget or whatever in the game's Windows distribution.  --Sean 14:43, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * It would be very fun to try your game! --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 15:05, 1 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Well, one of the nice things about the HTTP protocol is that its all plain text. If you can open a socket to the web server on port 80 (or whatever port its running on), you can send a get request manually by sending the proper text through the socket.  The full protocol is described here .  The above link should have what you need. Quanticle (talk) 04:57, 2 January 2010 (UTC)

help me
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/sis.html?ssPageName=VINS:SIM&_kw=REMOTE+UNLOCK+CODE+Huawei+E160+E160G+by+IMEI+Number&_fis=1&_id=380187543101&_isid=3&_sibeleafcat=50197

i'm planning to start a remote unlocking service. i'm in Kenya and basically i want modems to be able to support all networks. I was doing some research and currently Ebay seem to giving the cheapest option. i tried Nextgen servers i was recommended by a friend that they offer cheaper rates but from their site they charge nearly 10 times what ebay is charging.. http://www.nextgenserver.com/broadband_dongle_unlock.htm

question--what's the cheapest way to unlock modems? Anybody who's been down this path kindly assist. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.88.34 (talk) 08:03, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * You might find some information here BigDunc  13:10, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

modern trends and technologies in processor
i wand t get information related to modern trends and technologies in processor (including processors used in desktop,laptop,nettop,supercom,pc,servers,custom made,mobile,and other procssors made my intel amd, cyrix etc) with fig.
 * include time chart of processors
 * tabulated comparison of technologies used in processors by various manufatures
 * perfomence facter and grafical represntation
 * draw backs of each technologies
 * details regarding forth coming technologies and recherch going on to invent new technologies

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Mikimon (talk • contribs) 11:03, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * The reference desk volunteers won't do your homework for you. However, you might find the following articles helpful: Microprocessor, VLSI, Intel, AMD, Cyrix and the other articles linked on CPU technologies.  You could also follow some of the external links on those articles for more detailed information.  Astronaut (talk) 13:14, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

SteveBaker (talk) 13:11, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

define the scope of it
define the scope of it —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mikimon (talk • contribs) 11:08, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The scope of what? Do you have a question?  Astronaut (talk) 13:06, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Perhaps Mikmon's keyboard is malfunctioning, and he wants to know the scope of IT. -- Coneslayer (talk) 14:55, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * SteveBaker (talk) 17:46, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

computer memory
Until recently I used a computer which was about the best available in the shops when I got it in I think 2003. I was wondering roughly how much RAM that would have on it. Is it possible for a computer of that age to have 2GB?

80.47.223.218 (talk) 13:27, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Are you running Windows? If so, right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties".  The dialog box that pops up will tell you how much memory (RAM) is installed.  -- Coneslayer (talk) 13:28, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Win+Pause. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 15:57, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

As it happens, I no longer have access to that computer. I thought I had made that clear in the question, but apparently not. 80.47.223.218 (talk) 14:09, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I had a laptop in 2003 with 250MB ram, so a desktop probably had a little more. I'm guessing around 500MB - 1GB —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.54.145 (talk) 15:43, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * It is very possible, indeed. In fact I think that you very well could put in - say - 8 GB in a very high-end computer. But you need a mainboard able to handle so much memory, and each module needs to be quite large (in GBs). And you would need a 64 bit OS to utilize the memory. But most regular computers, such as the ones found in stores, probably did not have more than around 1 GB at that time. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 16:01, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Moore's law applies to RAM densities fairly well - so we would expect RAM sizes to have doubled three times since 2003. On that basis, I'd bet that your PC back then had about 1/8th the amount of RAM of a modern PC.  Most off-the-shelf desktop PC's have either 2Gb or 4Gb this year - so 256Mb to 512Mb seems most likely.  However, I'm not sure that Moore's law is going to be 100% right in this case.  We're currently stuck in an annoying little rut - because Windows users have been so slow to adopt 64 bit technology, (I've been running 64 bit Linux for YEARS) - on 32 bit hardware there is an essentially hard limit of 4Gb for addressable memory - and good reasons (related to how virtual memory is addressed) why extending RAM beyond 2Gb is not as fruitful as you might hope.  Had we not been slow in adopting 64 architectures, we'd probably be seeing 'typical' computers having more like 8Gb - and on that basis, I'd probably revise my 2003 estimate to say that you probably had 512Mb and may possibly have had 1Gb if it was a really high end machine. SteveBaker (talk) 17:43, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * SteveBaker is correct here regarding size of available SIMMs, but I was thinking 6 years ago a major limiting factor could have been the high cost compared to now. I remember paying ≈$Aus95 for 64Mb of RAM, ≈$A80 for 128Mb & ≈$A60 for 256Mb over about 12 months! (At that price 2Gb would cost $A480!) Later still, $A130 for 2x512Mb(DDR). Started 1998-99 with 64Mb, then 384Mb, Currently 2.5 Gb! (a few years old, about 40 x more RAM.) It's so cheap that I am using a 1Gb DDR SIMM that someone threw away! (working fine!) Currently 2Gb(DDR2) is only $A65. --220.101.28.25 (talk) 07:21, 1 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I remember very clearly that my computer had 1G in 2004, and 2G was regarded as high end back then (nothing except very specialized software required 2G back in 2003/2004). So it's possible but not likely. Sandman30s (talk) 08:59, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

rss
I need a simple program that can scan an rss feed for a keyword, and only alert if that keyword is found. (currently all the ones I've tried have alerted any update and don't have keyword scanner.) Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.54.145 (talk) 18:10, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * You may want to use the original feed as input to something like Yahoo! Pipes, configure the pipe to do the keyword filtering, and subscribe to the pipe's output in your RSS reader. -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:16, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Yeah, yahoo pipes would be ideal for this. You don't even need to know any programming. It will be simple: Input Feed ==> Operations:Filter ==> Output. Then you can subscribe to that output as an RSS feed yourself, or you can set it up to do email or even text message alerts. Shadowjams (talk) 00:37, 1 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Feedreader is good, it allows creation of "smartfeeds" that only alert when certain conditions are met —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kv7sW9bIr8 (talk • contribs) 11:02, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Adding a second hard drive to Win XP computer, don't want another drive letter.
Is it possible to add a second physical hard drive to be considered a continuation of the first one? 20.137.18.50 (talk) 19:20, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes and no. You can add the second disk as a Volume Mount Point so that it maps to a directory (i.e. C:\NewDisk is your new disk and anything stored in that directory or beneath it is on the new disk), but it's not possible to just add it to your drives free space. If your motherboard supports it then you might be able to create a RAID-0 volume across both disks which would turn both disks into one massive disk, however this would involve wiping all the data already on the disk as well as RAID-0 has major redundancy issues (if either disk fails, general speaking you lose everything). Hope this helps! ZX81  talk  19:57, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I read that you can create spanned volumes inside Windows. I don't think you need to have a RAID card or RAID-capable mobo for spanned volumes. I think it fills up the first disk, then the second disk, and treats them as one. It's not striped like a RAID-0 or mirrored like RAID-1. You use the disk-management snap in. Right-click on My Computer and go to Manage --> Disk Management.--Drknkn (talk) 00:46, 2 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Logical Disk Manager.Indeterminate (talk) 02:05, 2 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah ... What else would I be talking about?--Drknkn (talk) 02:43, 2 January 2010 (UTC)

Converting .flv files to .avi
I got a new MP3 player for Christmas, and it wants its video files to be in .avi format. All of the videos I have stored on my computer are in .flv format (I play them on the PC with Real Player). What free conversion program is there available to convert .flv files to .avi? The MP3 player came with a conversion program, but, of all of the file formats that it will convert, .flv is not one of them. Woogee (talk) 20:18, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * SUPER is pretty good at this kind of thing. Unfortunately the website is ridiculously, purposefully impossible to navigate, so download it here instead. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:38, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Some more programs; ffmpeg, mencoder, handbrake (before version 0.9.4), avidemux -- kv7sW9bIr8 (talk) 10:59, 1 January 2010 (UTC)
 * This will do it if you have mencoder:

mencoder -oac faac -ovc lavc input.flv -o output.avi
 * --Sean 14:49, 4 January 2010 (UTC)


 * In addition to what has been listed, I'd recommend a program called FormatFactory, it is a handy windows program that all users should be able to use with the simple interface. --EpicCyndaquil (talk) 19:45, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Component HD to USB converter?
I'm trying to record some game footage from PS3/XBOX360. I've been looking for a device that can take Component HD and record the footage onto a computer as I play. I can't seem to find any current products that can do this. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 20:35, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * You can connect the output of the game console to a DVD recorder, and make a DVD of the game. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 20:49, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * He requested HD, though. This PC HDMI capture card appears to be worth looking at, though it uses an HDMI cable and not component cables.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:51, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I've seen the HDMI ones. But I need component. I swear I saw a USB product marketed specifically for videogame console users. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 21:21, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * It was probably not HD, and whether or not it was, I expect the quality to be crap &mdash; USB 2.0 can't support anywhere near the bandwidth needed to pipe an HD video signal, meaning the device itself is doing video compression, of one sort or another, before any of the 'signal' gets to your PC. My expectations are low.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:44, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Perhaps the OP is thinking of the Hauppauge HD PVR. It does do compression but uses H.264 and from the little I've heard does have decent quality. The maximum bitrate is evidentally 13.5mbps which may seem low compared to BluRays but isn't bad comparing to broadcast TV for example which achieves decent quality or even some of the websources you can get. (In any case, aren't people in the US usually limited to some crappy MPEG2 HDTV with not much better bitrate then most other places are using for their H.264 HD broadcasts?) Note that it is limited to a maximum of 1080i since it's primarily intended to capture HD video from STBs which are usually limited to 1080i. You can get some samples here and  not from game consoles but still should give you an idea of what to expect. I'm pretty sure I came across some others somewhere once I suspect there's a lot out there. You may want to try a more specific place like AVS Forum, AV Forum and may be even something like Green Button or Doom9 or the MythTV forums if you want more samples and/or to see how it works with consoles and/or if you still think there's something else out there (I don't think so since if you search you'll find many discussions most only talk about the HD PVR and or the BlackMagic HDMI thing). You can also do a simple search for something like Bing 'record component hd' Google 'record component hd' or Bing 'component hd capture' Google 'component hd capture' which easily (big HINT, HINT to the OP here) finds the HD PVR but does not find anything else that I've noticed. (At least nothing of interest to the ordinary consumer.) Nil Einne (talk) 09:01, 1 January 2010 (UTC)