Update MQL4 600 & Named Pipes

Use the SRC button to place code, otherwise the moderators are just going to delete it!

Also, read the many other threads that have mentioned that the "A" functions are no longer supported and you will have use the "W" Wide versions of the functions such as "CreateNamedPipeW" instead of "CreateNamedPipeA".

It is not pasting the source as a file, but using the SRC tool to place code here on the forum. How to use the SRC button. (provided by "RaptorUK")

Here are a couple of references to similar dilemmas with the Wide version of Functions:

• https://www.mql5.com/en/forum/149470
• https://www.mql5.com/en/forum/149321

Thank you. The server side now is able to capture the call count after updating the named pipes "A" to "W'. However, from the other instance of the MT4, it appears to have trouble receiving the input of information. I've updated the name pipes to 'W' on the receiving end but it still fails to pull the data for some reason. Any ideas? See below for the code on the receiving end:

extern double MaxDD          = 30;
extern double MM             = 30;

extern string PipeName       = "Terminal";
extern string ServerPairName = "";
extern double BidCorrection  = 0;
extern double AskCorrection  = 0;

extern int    APips     = 2;
extern int    TPips     = 5;
extern int    StopPips       = 15;
extern int    VirtualStops   = false;

extern int    ConfirmMS     = 20;
extern int    SleepMS       = 20;
extern int    Slippage      = 1;    
extern int    Magic         = 2013; 


#define PIPE_BASE_NAME     "\\\\.\\pipe\\mt4-"     // MUST tally with client code
#define ERROR_MORE_DATA 234

#import "kernel32.dll"
        int CallNamedPipeW(string PipeName, string outBuffer, int outBufferSz, int& inBuffer[], int inBufferSz, int& bytesRead[], int timeOut);
#import


datetime StartTime=0;
double   MinLots=0.1;
double   MaxLots=0.1;
double   LotStep=0.1;
double   MyPoint=0.0001;

string   MasterPair="";
double   MaxBalance=0;
double   TotalPips=0;
int      TotalTrades=0;
double   EntrySlippage=0;
int      EntryMS=0;
int      OpenErrors=0;


int      LastTicket=0;
double   MasterBid=0;
double   MasterAsk=0;

string   LastQ="";
           
int init()
  {
   Comment("Initialization ...");
   if(StringLen(ServerPairName)>=1)
      MasterPair=ServerPairName;
   else
      MasterPair=Symbol();

   StartTime=0;
   return(0);
  }

int deinit()
  {
   Comment("");
   return(0);
  }

int start()
  {
   double CurrentPips=0;
   string sInfo="";
   if(IsStopped() || !IsConnected())
      return(0);

   if(Digits<=3)
      MyPoint=0.01;
   MinLots=MarketInfo(Symbol(),MODE_MINLOT);
   MaxLots=MarketInfo(Symbol(),MODE_MAXLOT);
   LotStep=MarketInfo(Symbol(),MODE_LOTSTEP);

   if(StartTime<=0)
     {
      MaxBalance=AccountBalance();
      StartTime=TimeLocal();
      TotalPips=0;
      EntrySlippage=0;
      TotalTrades=0;
      EntryMS=0;
      LastTicket=0;
      OpenErrors=0;
     }

   while(!IsStopped())  
     {
      RefreshRates();
      double dBid=Bid;
      double dAsk=Ask;
      int OldTicket=LastTicket;
      LastTicket=0;
      for(int j=OrdersTotal()-1; j>=0; j--) 
          if(OrderSelect(j, SELECT_BY_POS, MODE_TRADES))
            if((OrderSymbol() == Symbol()) && (OrderMagicNumber() == Magic))
              {
               if(OrderType()==OP_BUY)
                  CurrentPips=dBid-OrderOpenPrice();
               else
                  CurrentPips=OrderOpenPrice()-dAsk;
               CurrentPips=CurrentPips/MyPoint;
               LastTicket=OrderTicket();
          

              }

      if(LastTicket==0 && OldTicket>0)
         if(OrderSelect(OldTicket, SELECT_BY_TICKET, MODE_HISTORY))
           {
            if(OrderType()==OP_BUY)
               TotalPips=TotalPips+(OrderClosePrice()-OrderOpenPrice())/MyPoint;
            else
               TotalPips=TotalPips+(OrderOpenPrice()-OrderClosePrice())/MyPoint;
           }

      MaxBalance=MathMax(MaxBalance,AccountBalance());
      if(AccountBalance()<=0)
         break;
      sInfo="";
      CheckMaster();
      if(MaxDD<=100*(MaxBalance-AccountBalance())/MaxBalance)
         sInfo=sInfo+"\nMaximum Drawdawn Reached !!!";
      else   
      if(MasterBid>=Point && MasterAsk>=Point)
         sInfo=sInfo+"\nBuy/Sell Levels: "+DoubleToStr((MasterBid-dAsk)/MyPoint-APips,1)+" / "+DoubleToStr((dBid-MasterAsk)/MyPoint-APips,1)+" pips";
      else
      if(StringLen(LastQ)>0)
         sInfo=sInfo+"\nServer: "+LastQ;
      else
         sInfo=sInfo+"\nServer not working !!!";

      if(LastTicket>0)
         sInfo=sInfo+", Position: "+DoubleToStr(CurrentPips,1)+" pips";
      else
      if(MasterBid>=Point && MasterAsk>=Point && MaxDD>100*(MaxBalance-AccountBalance())/MaxBalance)
        {
         bool Oper=-1;
         if((dAsk)>=1.0000)
            Oper=OP_BUY;
         else
         if((dBid)>=1.0000)
            Oper=OP_SELL;
         if(Oper!=-1 && ConfirmMS>0)
           {
            Sleep(ConfirmMS);
            RefreshRates();
            dBid=Bid;
            dAsk=Ask;
            CheckMaster();
            if(Oper==OP_BUY)
               Oper=-1;
            if(Oper==OP_SELL)
               Oper=-1;
           }
         if(Oper!=-1 && IsTradeContextBusy()==false)
           {
            double Lots=MathMax(MinLots,MathMin(MaxLots,MathCeil((MM/100)*AccountFreeMargin()/LotStep/(100000/100))*LotStep));
            int ExecutionTime=GetTickCount();
            if(Oper==OP_BUY)
               LastTicket=OrderSend(Symbol(), OP_BUY, Lots, NormalizeDouble(dAsk,Digits), Slippage*MyPoint/Point, 0, 0, "", Magic,0,Blue);
            else   
               LastTicket=OrderSend(Symbol(), OP_SELL, Lots, NormalizeDouble(dBid,Digits), Slippage*MyPoint/Point, 0, 0, "", Magic,0,Red);
            ExecutionTime=GetTickCount()-ExecutionTime;   
            if(LastTicket<0)
              {
               OpenErrors=OpenErrors+1;
              }
            else
              {
               TotalTrades=TotalTrades+1;
               EntryMS=EntryMS+ExecutionTime;
               if(OrderSelect(LastTicket,SELECT_BY_TICKET))
                  if(OrderType()==OP_BUY)
                     EntrySlippage=EntrySlippage+(dAsk-OrderOpenPrice())/MyPoint;
                  else   
                     EntrySlippage=EntrySlippage+(OrderOpenPrice()-dBid)/MyPoint;
              }
           }
        }

      Comment("\nMagic# "+DoubleToStr(Magic,0)+", MM "+DoubleToStr(MM,2)+ ", Max DD: " + DoubleToStr(MaxDD,1)+"%, Current Drawdawn: "+DoubleToStr(100*(MaxBalance-AccountBalance())/MaxBalance,1)+" %"+
              "\nMin Lot "+DoubleToStr(MinLots,2)+", Max Lot "+DoubleToStr(MaxLots,2)+", Lot Step "+DoubleToStr(LotStep,2)+", Stop Level "+DoubleToStr(MarketInfo(Symbol(),MODE_STOPLEVEL)*Point/MyPoint,1)+" pips"+
              "\n"+sInfo+
              "\nStart Time: "+TimeToStr(StartTime,TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS)+
              "\nLocal Time: "+TimeToStr(TimeLocal(),TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS)+
              "\nTotal Pips: "+DoubleToStr(TotalPips,1)+
              "\nTotal Trades: "+DoubleToStr(TotalTrades,0)+
              "\nEntry Errors: "+DoubleToStr(OpenErrors,0)+
              "\nOpen Slippage: "+DoubleToStr(EntrySlippage,1)+" pips"+
              "\nAverage Speed: "+DoubleToStr(EntryMS/MathMax(TotalTrades,1),0)+" ms"+
              "\nAverage Slippage: "+DoubleToStr(EntrySlippage/MathMax(TotalTrades,1),1)+" pips"
             );
      Sleep(MathMax(SleepMS,10));
      if(IsTesting())
         break;
     }
   return(0);
  }

void CheckMaster()
  {
   MasterBid=0;
   MasterAsk=0;
   LastQ="";
   if(IsTesting())
     {
      MasterBid=NormalizeDouble(MarketInfo(MasterPair,MODE_BID)/2+MarketInfo(MasterPair,MODE_ASK)/2-MyPoint+2*MyPoint*(MathRand()-32767/2)/(32767/6),Digits);
      MasterAsk=MasterBid+2*MyPoint;
     }
   else
     {
      string MyPipeName = PIPE_BASE_NAME+PipeName;
      int inBuffer[2048];
      int bytesRead[1];
      string extMessage = MasterPair;
      bool fSuccess = CallNamedPipeW(MyPipeName,extMessage,StringLen(extMessage)+1,inBuffer,4*ArraySize(inBuffer),bytesRead,0) != 0;
      int lastError = GetLastError();
      if(fSuccess/* || lastError == ERROR_MORE_DATA*/) 
        { 
         string inString = "";
         for(int i=0; i<bytesRead[0]; i++)
             inString = inString + CharToStr( (inBuffer[i/4] >> ((i & 3)*8)) & 0xff);
         int ai=StringFind(inString, "|", 0);
         if(ai>0)
           {
            MasterBid=StrToDouble(StringSubstr(inString, 0, ai));
            MasterAsk=StrToDouble(StringSubstr(inString, ai+1));
           }
         LastQ=inString;  
        }
     }
   if(MasterBid>0.0001)
      MasterBid=MasterBid+BidCorrection;
   if(MasterAsk>0.0001)
      MasterAsk=MasterAsk+AskCorrection;
  }

Just as an advanced notice, I've changed the code to call upon MetaTerminal1 in the extern string PipeName but the data and functions still do not work properly. Was there anything else with the code that needed to be adjusted except for changing the 'A' to 'W' for 'CreateNamedPip' and 'CreateFile' ?

Changing "A" to "W" might seem to be too easy. There may be other factors with regard to changes in the new architecture and the Unicode functions that need to be addressed too.

However, I do not know if this is a bug or not, because I have never used Named Pipes with MT4, but your "inBuffer" and "outBuffer" (in "CallNamedPipeW") are of different types (one is "string" and the other is "int"). That does not seem to be correct.

Actually scratch that, it may be totally correct given MetaTrader's strange tricks to accomplish DLL interaction.

I will leave that part to someone who is more versed in MT4 to DLL interfacing.

"sksyen", could you change your original post to have the code in a SRC section. If one of the moderators goes over this, they will delete that part of the post and ask you to do it properly anyway. So, do it now before you have to go hunting for the code again to paste it in.

I'm also having issues with named pipes in the latest release of MT4

I changed WaitNamedPipeA to WaitNamedPipeW and that is now working

f (!WaitNamedPipeW( FullPipeName, 1))

{
Comment(TimeToStr(TimeLocal(), TIME_DATE|TIME_MINUTES|TIME_SECONDS) + " " + PipeName + " not available"); 
Sleep(1000);
continue;
}

but when I use either CreateFileA or CreateFileW, both calls just permanently hang

PipeHandle = CreateFileA(FullPipeName, GenericRead, 0, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, 0, NULL);

Any ideas / solutions ?

Please remember to use the SRC button in future . . .

Here's the Server file posted originally (I'll remember to post it in SRC next time)

extern string PipeName = "MetaTerminal1";

extern int SuspendSeconds = 10;

extern int SleepMS = 10;







#define PIPE_BASE_NAME "\\\\.\\pipe\\mt4-"



#define GENERIC_READ 0x80000000

#define GENERIC_WRITE 0x40000000

#define PIPE_ACCESS_DUPLEX 3

#define PIPE_UNLIMITED_INSTANCES 255

#define PIPE_NOWAIT 1

#define PIPE_TYPE_MESSAGE 4

#define PIPE_READMODE_MESSAGE 2

#define PIPE_WAIT 0



#import "kernel32.dll"

int CreateNamedPipeA(string pipeName,int openMode,int pipeMode,int maxInstances,int outBufferSize,int inBufferSize,int defaultTimeOut,int security);

int PeekNamedPipe(int PipeHandle, int PassAsZero, int PassAsZero2, int PassAsZero3, int & BytesAvailable[], int PassAsZero4);

int CreateFileA(string Filename, int AccessMode, int ShareMode, int PassAsZero, int CreationMode, int FlagsAndAttributes, int AlsoPassAsZero);

int CloseHandle(int fileHandle);

// int ReadFile(int FileHandle, int BufferPtr, int BufferLength, int & BytesRead[], int PassAsZero);

        int ReadFile(int FileHandle, int& inBuffer[],int BufferLength, int& BytesRead[], int lpOverlapped);

int WriteFile(int FileHandle, string Buffer, int BufferLength, int & BytesWritten[], int PassAsZero);

//      int WriteFile(int FileHandle,int& inBuffer[], int NumberOfBytesToWrite, int& bytesWritten[], int lpOverlapped);

int MulDiv(string X, int N1, int N2);

#import



// Number of pipe instances to create by default. This value can overridden by the optional parameter to

// CreatePipeServer(). The number of instances is in effect the maximum number of messages which

// can be sent to the server between each call which the server makes to CheckForPipeMessages().

// If more messages than this are sent, the extra messages will fail and the sender(s) will need to retry.

#define DEFAULT_MAX_PIPES 200



// Number of pipe instances to allocate. Defaults to DEFAULT_MAX_PIPES unless it is overridden

int glbPipeCount = DEFAULT_MAX_PIPES;

// Array of pipe handles allocated by CreatePipeServer()

int glbPipe[DEFAULT_MAX_PIPES];

// Persistent storage of the pipe name passed as a parameter to CreatePipeServer()

string glbPipeName;



// Starts the pipe server by creating n instances of the pipe

void CreatePipeServer(string PipeName, int UsePipeInstances = DEFAULT_MAX_PIPES)

{

// Store the number of pipe instances to use and resize the array accordinging

glbPipeCount = UsePipeInstances;

ArrayResize(glbPipe, glbPipeCount);

// Store the name to use for the pipe instances

glbPipeName = PipeName;

// Create the pipe instances

for (int i = 0; i < glbPipeCount; i++)

glbPipe[i] = CreatePipeInstance();

return;

}



// Closes all the resources used by the pipe server: i.e. closes all the pipe instances

void DestroyPipeServer()

{

for (int i = 0; i < glbPipeCount; i++)

CloseHandle(glbPipe[i]);

return;

}



// Service function which creates a pipe instance

int CreatePipeInstance()

{

string strPipeName = StringConcatenate(PIPE_BASE_NAME, glbPipeName);

return (CreateNamedPipeA(strPipeName, GENERIC_READ | PIPE_ACCESS_DUPLEX, PIPE_TYPE_MESSAGE | PIPE_READMODE_MESSAGE | PIPE_NOWAIT, PIPE_UNLIMITED_INSTANCES, 1000, 1000, 0, NULL));

}

datetime StartTime=0;

int brCall=0;



int aPairCount=0;

string aPair[1000];

int aDigit[1000];

datetime aLastSinhTime[1000];

double aBid[1000];

double aAsk[1000];



int init()

{

StartTime=TimeLocal();

brCall=0;

aPairCount=0;



// Create the server

CreatePipeServer(PipeName);

return(0);

}



int deinit()

{

// Destroy the pipe server

DestroyPipeServer();

Comment("");

return(0);

}



int start()

{

while(!IsStopped() && IsConnected())    

{

for(int i = 0; i < glbPipeCount; i++)

CheckPipe(i);

Comment("\nStart Time: "+TimeToStr(StartTime,TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS)+

"\nLocal Time: "+TimeToStr(TimeLocal(),TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS)+

"\nCall Count: "+DoubleToStr(brCall,0)

);

Sleep(MathMax(SleepMS,10));

}

return(0);

}



bool CheckPipe(int PipeIndex)

{

bool Result=false;

string sMsg = "";

// See if there's data available on the pipe

int BytesAvailable[1] = {0};

int res = PeekNamedPipe(glbPipe[PipeIndex], 0, 0, 0, BytesAvailable, 0);

if (res != 0) {

// PeekNamedPipe() succeeded



// Is there data?

if (BytesAvailable[0] != 0) {

Result=true;



// Keep reading until either we have all the data, or an error occurs

int TotalBytesRead = 0;

while (TotalBytesRead < BytesAvailable[0])

{

string ReadBuffer="";

int iBuffer[256];

int BytesRead[1] = {0};

ReadFile(glbPipe[PipeIndex],iBuffer,4*ArraySize(iBuffer),BytesRead,NULL);

for(int i=0; i<BytesRead[0]; i++)

ReadBuffer = ReadBuffer + CharToStr( (iBuffer[i/4] >> ((i & 3)*8)) & 0xff);

// Did we get any data from the read?

if(BytesRead[0] > 0)

{

// Yes, got some data. Add it to the total message which is passed back

sMsg = StringConcatenate(sMsg, StringSubstr(ReadBuffer, 0, BytesRead[0]));

TotalBytesRead += BytesRead[0];

}

else

{

// No, the read failed. Stop reading, and pass back an empty string

sMsg = "";

TotalBytesRead = 999999;

}

}

if(StringLen(sMsg)>0)

{

string outString="n/a";

RefreshRates();

brCall=brCall+1;

double pBid=MarketInfo(sMsg,MODE_BID);

double pAsk=MarketInfo(sMsg,MODE_ASK);

if(pBid>0.0001 && pAsk>0.0001)

{

int ai=0;

bool fl=true;

for(i=1;i<=aPairCount;i++)

if(aPair[i]==sMsg)

{

ai=i;

break;

}

if(ai==0)

{

aPairCount=aPairCount+1;

ai=aPairCount;

aPair[ai]=sMsg;

aDigit[ai]=MarketInfo(sMsg,MODE_DIGITS);

aLastSinhTime[ai]=TimeLocal();

aBid[ai]=pBid;

aAsk[ai]=pAsk;

}

else

if(MathAbs(aBid[ai]-pBid)>=0.00001 || MathAbs(aAsk[ai]-pAsk)>=0.00001)

{

aLastSinhTime[ai]=TimeLocal();

aBid[ai]=pBid;

aAsk[ai]=pAsk;

}

else

if(TimeLocal()-aLastSinhTime[ai]>SuspendSeconds)

fl=false;

if(fl)

outString=DoubleToStr(aBid[ai],aDigit[ai])+"|"+DoubleToStr(aAsk[ai],aDigit[ai]);

else

outString="Suspended";

}



int bytesWritten[1];

bool fSuccess=WriteFile(glbPipe[PipeIndex],outString,StringLen(outString)+1,bytesWritten,NULL) != 0;

if(!fSuccess || bytesWritten[0] != StringLen(outString)+1)

{

Sleep(10);

}

}

// Destroy and recreate the pipe instance

CloseHandle(glbPipe[PipeIndex]);

glbPipe[PipeIndex] = CreatePipeInstance();

} else {

// No data available on pipe

}

} else {

// PeekNamedPipe() failed

}

return(Result);

}

Use SRC and next time edit your original post.