So, I'm incredibly new to LiveCode and I have an external file in the same directory as the .livecode file called 'words.txt', with english words, each on a new line. I plan to read this file into a variable and then pick a random word from that variable. However, I am stumped as to how I must find the file path and insert this into the syntax required for me to do this. My code is as follows:
put url ("binfile:" & filePathGoesHere) into dictionary
replace crlf with lf in dictionary
replace numToChar(13) with lf in dictionary
put any line of dictionary into randomword
The file path is supposed to be inserted into the code at filePathGoesHere. Once the program is compiled I will be moving it and its resources around a bit (from computer to computer), so, beyond the text file staying in the same folder as the compiled program, the file path will change. What extra code would I need to add to make this work, if the folder the compiled program and the txt file is in is called "MyProgram"?
Help is much appreciated, and if further specification is required I can provide it. I also have a folder called "resources" if moving it there can help.
If the stack you're building is for your own use, you can place external files anywhere, but if you're going to deliver your stack to other users, you need plan where you external files are going to be placed, and how.
An easy way to determine the path to a file that sits immediately outside your stack is using the stack's filename:
put the fileName of this stack into theFilePath
set the itemDel to "/"
put "words.txt" into the last item of theFilePath
Now theFilePath variable will an absolute path reference to your external file. If the file is placed inside a folder "TextFiles" you can do this:
put the fileName of this stack into theFilePath
set the itemDel to "/"
put "TextFiles/words.txt" into the last item of theFilePath
If you're going to deliver your stack to other people, you should write your external file/s into a common system folder, or you need to use an installer to define where your files/folders will be placed. Common folder paths are found using the specialFolderPath function:
put specialFolderPath("Documents") into the theFolderPath
A somewhat recent addition to LiveCode is a "Resources" folder -- specialFolderPath("Resources") -- which can be handy for delivering on desktop and mobile platforms. Also, keep in mind that few of these folders allow writing to existing files contained in them for security reasons. "Preferences" and "Documents" are two examples of folders where you can change the contents of files.
The LC dictionary contains details of each of the folders.
If you use the file: scheme instead of bindle: LiveCode will automatically convert end of line characters to LF, so that step may not be necessary. (Although you might need it if you are reading a text file produced in native Windows encoding on a Mac.) You don't even necessarily need to read it into a variable. You could do this:
put any line of URL ("file:" & specialFolderPath("resources") & "/words.txt") \
into tRandomWord
Related
I've encountered a problem long time ago which I couldn't solve, but I'm curious whether it's possible to fulfill ALL of the below listed criteria at once or not.
The solution what I was looking for can:
somehow refer to an existing file or folder from another folder of the same git repo
basically reach the content of the file or folder from another subfolder, see the content(s) as if they were on the another path as well
e.g.: if ./path/to/folder is referred from ./another_path/different_folder, then every file in ./path/to/folder/* is visible on path ./another_path/different_folder/*
e.g.: if ./path/to/file is referred by ./another_path/different_file, then by reading/writing content of the different_file, the original file is read/modified
store the referred file only once in git repo
don't want to make a copy of the file to another path and maintain changes in both files simultaneously
be able to use multiple references for a single file
be able to use relative paths
make it work on both Windows and Linux
As if I can remember, some of the problems were while experimenting with this:
the paths were broken after the repository was pulled to a different path (I assume they were not relative, but absolute)
the Windows style links are special files, were not working on Linux
the symlinks can't handle relative paths correctly on the Windows system
the hardlinks resulted duplicating files in Windows
(I can't remember exactly which if these might be incorrect, but I'll experiment with the problem again and try to update this question.)
Is there any workaround for this problem?
Thank you for any help!
Please note (in case you would like to mark this question as a duplicate), that there are other similar questions here, but none of those questions define this set of the criteria, therefore it can't be a duplicate.
I have to create two boilerplate files, both of which always have the same content, with the EXCEPTION of a single word. I'm thinking of creating a command or something that I can run in the Linux terminal (Ubuntu), along with an argument that represents the one word which can vary in the files created. Perhaps a batch file will accomplish this, but I don't know what it will look like.
I will be able to run this command every time I create these boilerplate files, instead of pasting the boilerplate and changing the one word in the file that has to be changed.
These file paths relative to my current working directory are:
registration.php
etc/module.xml
A simple Python script that reads in the file as string and replaces the occurrence would probably be the quickest. Something like:
with open('somefile.txt', 'r+') as inputFile:
txt=inputFile.read().replace('someword', 'replacementword')
inputFile.seek(0)
inputFile.write(txt)
inputfile.close()
I am processing a big images dataset and I'm trying to reorder the files in classes, while at the same time keeping the original directory structure.
To do this, I make a second directory structure with symlinks to the files in the first one.
Everything works as it should but for one small detail: the symlinks created via os.symlink() do not show the image thumbnail, while if I make a link of the same file (e.g., via right click & send to Desktop) I do see the thumbnail.
I wanted to check how the two link files differ (note, the link files themselves, not the linked file), but if I try to drag the os.symlink-generated file in a text editor it opens the linked file instead (while this does not happen with the .lnk file generated via right-click).
What's the difference between the link files? Is os.symlink making something different than a .lnk file? If so, is there a way to get the thumbnail? And if there's no such way, how can I make a .lnk file instead?
Example:
User is searching for menu file and currently in C:\Root\Food\Lunch\Pizza.
The menu file is Food folder.
How to traverse up the path to look for it?
You can do it with the basic functions of fs and path modules.
https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html
https://nodejs.org/api/path.html
The easiest way would be to use path.sep to split the current path and remove the last part every time you try a new directory. Or you can remove the parts using a regex, or you can add /.. and use path.normalize() to see the parent dir. There are a lot of ways to do it. Then you can either stat or read the file if you need on every step and stop whenever you see that it exists.
I need to insert a generated file into an exe at the time of download. Currently, I create an "empty" file (filled with a repeating character) and package that with the exe. When it comes time to download, I look at the bytes for the installer, find the file by looking for the repeating character, and insert the generated file.
This process however is not working. The repeating character just does not show in the bytes. But I am certain the file is there as it is unpacked if I run the exe. Am I doing something wrong or is inserting a file into an exe even possible?
Also note that I am using Inno Setup Script v5.5.1 to compile the project into an exe.
If you want to change the contents of a file specified in a [Files] entry and compiled into the setup executable, then you must:
Make a dummy file that is at least as large as the largest content you will want to insert.
Fill the file (or at least the first 64 bytes or so) with something unique and easily distinguishable.
Mark its [Files] entry with the "nocompression noencryption dontverifychecksum" flags.
You should then be able to scan the resulting executable for the marker in #2 and then substitute the data that you want. Note however that doing this might invalidate any digital signature on the setup file, although I haven't tested this to be sure.
Note that if the content you are inserting is smaller than the dummy file size, the extra bytes will still remain on the end of your inserted content. So whatever reads the file will have to have some way to ignore that or to recognise the end of the interesting content.
So, if your are making changes in the existing exe file, and if the text is not much, you can probably use some hex editor and make changes at desired location. If text is more , you might want to include some meaningless bytes, just as fillers.