Resource File Unit

ReadMe

Description

This unit contains classes that encapsulate Windows 32 bit binary resource files and the resources contained in them. The main functionality is provided by two classes:

• TPJResourceFile – encapsulates the contents of a whole resource file and provides methods and properties for reading, finding, editing, adding and deleting resources. Resource files can be read from and written to files or streams.
• TPJResourceEntry – encapsulates a single resource within the file and provides properties to access its header record and its raw data. The class also has methods to check the identity of the resource. The resource's raw data is made available as a TStream and so is easily read and written using familiar TStream methods.
  This class has no knowledge of resource data formats and sees the data simply as a raw sequence of bytes. It is for the user of the class to interpret the data correctly.

In addition to the two main classes, some helper functions, constants and an exception class are also provided.

The unit is maintained as part of the Delphi Dabbler Code Library project on GoogleCode.

Compatibility

The unit works with Delphi 4 and later. It has been tested on both Unicode and non-Unicode Delphi compilers.

Installation

The Resource File Unit and documentation are supplied in a zip file. Before installing you need to extract all the files from the zip file, preserving the directory structure. The following files will be extracted:

• PJResFile.pas – Main source code.
• ReadMe.htm – This file.
• ChangeLog.txt – The unit's change log.
• MPL-1.1.txt – Mozilla Public Licence v1.1.
• Wiki.url – Shortcut to the online Wiki that documents the unit.

There are three possible ways to use the unit.

1. The simplest way is to add PJResFile.pas to your projects as you need it.
2. To make the unit easier to re-use you can either copy it to a folder on your Delphi search path, or add the folder where you extracted the unit to the Delphi Search path. You then simply use the unit as required without needing to add it to your project.
3. For maximum portability you can add the unit to a Delphi design time package. If you need help doing this see here.

Update History

A complete change log is provided in the file ChangeLog.txt that is included in the download.

License and Disclaimer

This product, Resource File Unit, is subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (the "License"). You may not use this Product except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/MPL-1.1.

Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the License.

The Initial Developer of Resource File Unit is Peter D Johnson. Portions created by the Initial Developer are Copyright © 2004-2010 Peter D Johnson (www.delphidabbler.com). All Rights Reserved.

All relevant trademarks are acknowledged.

Bugs and Feature Requests

Bugs can be reported or new features requested via the Issue Tracker.

If no similar report or request has been recorded already, use the New Issue link to add a new issue. Please select the most appropriate template from the Templates drop down list.

Please change the Project-unspecified label to Project-resfile.

About the Author

I'm Peter Johnson – a hobbyist programmer living in Ceredigion in West Wales, UK, writing write mainly in Delphi. My programs and code are available from: http://www.delphidabbler.com/.

I can be contacted via the website.