Ubercode

How to Write your own Programs - System Information

1. How do I get system information such as the disk size etc?

Many items of system information are available to your programs. This includes such things as the version of Windows, the amount of installed memory and the free disk space. The following window shows the system information:

How to write your own programs - getting system information

The information was generated by the following program:

  // Pcinfo.cls
  Ubercode 1 Class Pcinfo

  uses commdlgs timeutil

  private function GetInfo(out InfoStr:string[*])
  var
    DiskName : string[*]
    DiskId : integer(0:MAXINT)
    OsName : string[*]
    OsMajor : integer(0:MAXINT)
    OsMinor : integer(0:MAXINT)
  code
    call Dirlabel("\", DiskName, DiskId)
    call Systeminfo(OsName, OsMajor, OsMinor)
    InfoStr <- 
      "Application directory = " + Dirstart() + NL +
      "Application name = " + Appname() + NL +
      "Command processor = " + Environ("COMSPEC") + NL +
      "Current disk and directory = " + Dirpath() + NL +
      "Date/Time = " + FormatTime(Time(),FMT_GENERAL) + NL +
      "Disk free space = " + Str(Int(Dirsize("\")/1e6)) + " MB" + NL +
      "Disk label = " + DiskName + NL +
      "Disk serial number = " + Hexstr(DiskId,8,"0") + NL +
      "Memory (physical) = " + Str(Int(Meminfo(3)/1024)) + " KB" + NL +
      "Memory (stack space) = " + Str(Int(Meminfo(1)/1024)) + " KB" + NL +
      "Memory (total available) = " + Str(Int(Meminfo(2)/1024)) + " KB" + NL +
      "Operating system = " + OsName + " (v" + Str(OsMajor) + "." + Str(OsMinor) + ")" + NL +
      "Program arguments = " + Arguments + NL +
      "Screen size = " + Str(GetPagewidth(Sysscreen)) + " x " + Str(GetPageheight(Sysscreen)) + NL +
      "Windows directory = " + Environ("WINDIR") + NL
  end function

  public function main()
  code
    call PlayMicrosoftSound()
    call Msgbox("PcInfo program", GetInfo())
  end function

  end class

The program starts at function main above. It plays the Microsoft startup sound, then it calls GetInfo. The GetInfo function obtains all the system information, and neatly formats it into a string which it then returns. Back in main the system information is shown in a message box.

2. Is there a list of system information functions?

This table shows the different types of system information available to your programs:

Description	Function name	Details
Application directory	Dirstart	Get the directory / folder storing the application's main EXE file. The folder returned by Dirstart does not change as the application runs.
Application name	Appname	Get the name of the application. This is the same as the filename, but without the ".exe" element.
Command processor	Environ("COMSPEC")	Get the name of the command processor (command window or DOS prompt). This is command.com or cmd.exe depending on the version of Windows.
Current disk and directory	Dirpath	Get the full path of the current logged disk drive. This is the place relative to which files are stored, except where specified using a full path name. The path returned by Dirpath can change as the application runs.
Date/Time	Time	Get the current date and time. This is returned in the format YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss.dddd where YYYY MM DD are the year, month and date, and hh mm ss dddd are hours, minutes, seconds and decimal places. This is the international standard ISO 8601 for Date and Time representation.
Disk free space	Dirsize	Get the total amount of free disk space in bytes.
Disk label / Disk serial number	Dirlabel	Get the name and serial number of the disk drive.
Memory (physical)	Meminfo(3)	Get the amount of free stack space available to the running application.
Memory (stack space)	Meminfo(1)	Get the amount of memory physically installed in the computer.
Memory (total available)	Meminfo(2)	Get the total amount of memory available to the application. This includes physical installed memory and virtual memory.
Operating system	SystemInfo	Get the version of Windows (2000, XP etc) and the Windows version number.
Printer list	Printers	Get the list of printers attached to the computer (it is possible for there to be no attached printers).
Program arguments	Arguments (constant)	Get the arguments passed to the application. Arguments are passed either on the command line, or as a result of calling the application from another program or script.
Screen resolution	GetDpiX / GetDpiY	Get the number of pixels per inch on the screen. These functions also work with the printed page.
Screen size	Pageheight / Pagewidth	Get the size (measured in pixels) of the computer screen. These functions also work with the printed page.
Windows directory	Environ("WINDIR")	Get the directory containing the Windows operating system.

3. How do I get the Windows version?

Use the Systeminfo function:

  // Info.cls
  Ubercode 1 Class Info

  public function main()
  var 
    name : string[*]
    major : integer(0:MAXINT)
    minor : integer(0:MAXINT)
  code
    call Systeminfo(name, major, minor)
    call Msgbox("Systeminfo", name+" "+Str(major)+"."+Str(minor))
  end function

  end class

The Systeminfo function returns the name of the operating system, and the major and minor version numbers. For example if the Windows version is 4.0 the major version number is 4 and the minor version number is 0. The Msgbox function displays the name of the operating system and converts the version numbers to strings. The example program above can be compiled and run to get the Windows version.

4. How do I read environment variables?

Use Environ which can return the value of any environment variable. For example Environ("COMSPEC") returns the path of the Windows command processor (command.com or cmd.exe).