I had given up on Microsoft and Visual Studio although I sought to engage each iteration of the language with an emphasis on Visual Basic.

It seemed that all I wanted to do was cross the river in a row boat and Microsoft was forcing me to command my own StartShip Enterprise, complete with Warp controls.

So I was elated to learn that the Desktop version of VB2012 could operate as a stand-alone work environment and I have become quite comfortable with the new version although I still run up against some as yet "undocumented aliens" that need to be included in your books and on-line tutorials.

But my immediate problem is the need to emulate the old DOS Terminal program to communicate with a laboratory instrument, a Gamma Counter actually. It involves simple two-way communication and the conversation is initiated with the good ole "^C" being sent to the instrument. However, I haven't found a way to send this command and although my datalogging and file update skills are more than sufficient, would someone please direct me to where I can learn more about the transmission side of the application?

Please don't tell me I have to embrace the new VB 2012 Async concepts. I've spent some time there and unless told otherwise would like to learn if a more direct and simple approach is possible for my application.

At your mercy. . .

Robert Gabardy, San Diego, CA

You got that right!

First I would check with the vendor that wrote the gamma counter software to see if they have any suggestions. They may not but if their product is popular, there's a chance someone else already needed this. If they have a high-level solution, like a .NET library, things will be much easier for you.

If you really have to work through a command interface, take a look at this:

Run a DOS application and capture its output in VB .NET

The general idea in .NET is to redirect stdin and stdout so you can communicate with the program running in the console window.

__________________
Rod

Rod Stephens, Microsoft MVP

Essential Algorithms: A Practical Approach to Computer Algorithms

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