how search\find a folder name?

[Cambalinho]

i have these function that i can find a folder name:

string FindDirectory(std::string FindDirectoryName[2], std::string StartDirectory="C:")
{
    WIN32_FIND_DATA file={0};
    string str=StartDirectory+ "\\*";
    HANDLE search_handle = FindFirstFile(str.c_str(), &file);
    static bool blnFindDirectoryName=false;
    static string strFolderName ="";


    //testing if the folder is valid:
    if (search_handle != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
    {
        do
        {
            //if the folder was founded, then break the loop:
            if(strFolderName!="")
                break;


            //for avoid files names and the folders "." and "..":
            if ((file.dwFileAttributes & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY) && strcmp(file.cFileName, "..") && strcmp(file.cFileName, "."))
            {
                //cout <<StartDirectory + "\\" + file.cFileName << endl;


                //testing if the folder was found
                //and add it on static strFolderName
                if(string(file.cFileName)==FindDirectoryName[0] && blnFindDirectoryName==false)
                {
                    if(FindDirectoryName[1]=="")
                    {
                        strFolderName = StartDirectory+ "\\" + file.cFileName;
                        break;
                    }
                    else
                        blnFindDirectoryName=true;
                }
                if(string(file.cFileName)==FindDirectoryName[1] && blnFindDirectoryName==true)
                {
                    //MessageBox(NULL, string(StartDirectory+ "\\" + file.cFileName).c_str(), "found it", MB_OK);
                    strFolderName = StartDirectory+ "\\" + file.cFileName;
                    break;
                }
                else
                {
                    //or continue searching:
                    FindDirectory(FindDirectoryName,StartDirectory + "\\" + file.cFileName);
                }
            }
        } while (FindNextFile(search_handle, &file) && search_handle!=NULL);
        //destroy the search_handle:
        FindClose(search_handle);
    }
    //return the search folder full path:
    return strFolderName;
}
/// using:
string File[]={"x86_64-7.2.0-win32-seh-rt_v5-rev1","mingw64"};
    string FileName1=FindDirectory(File);
    MessageBox(NULL,FileName1.c_str(),"hey", MB_OK);

these function works but it's slow.. sometimes can take 2 minutes for do the job.
can anyone advice me more for be more faster?

[Marc G]

What exactly is slow?
What exactly are you trying to do?
Through how many files/folders do you need to search?

[Marc G]

Also, since C++17, there is a standard way to work with the filesystem, it's called std::filesystem. More details: https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/header/filesystem

[Cambalinho]

1 program can be installed anywhere on C drive. so my function using a vector string with 2 folders names, i can search for the entire folder path... doing these search and depending what you have installed it can take time for find it

[Arjay]

1 program can be installed anywhere on C drive. so my function using a vector string with 2 folders names, i can search for the entire folder path... doing these search and depending what you have installed it can take time for find it

Did you write this program, if so modify it so it registers a key in the registry during runtime? If you didn't write this program, does it use an install program to install it? If so, it may already register a key in the registry.

Does the app expose any COM servers? If so, it already registers its location in the registry.

If the app is registered in the registry, all you have to do is look for the key in the registry - it's way faster doing this than searching through local harddrives.

Btw, if you app doesn't register itself, do yourself and your users a favor and fix it so it does.

This thing reminds me of a issue we ran into testing 3rd party applications about 20 years ago. In automated testing, one app would time out during an install. It was doing the "search the drive for previous app installs" trick. Unfortunately, if any network drives were mapped, it would search those too.

Using this approach to determine if an app has been installed is bad business.

[Cambalinho]

Arjay it's the GNU free compiler.. i\we can download it and install it. the rest about registry or something i don't know it
"Using this approach to determine if an app has been installed is bad business."
you have right, but it's for do it just once and save it on configuration file

[Arjay]

Arjay it's the GNU free compiler.. i\we can download it and install it. the rest about registry or something i don't know it
"Using this approach to determine if an app has been installed is bad business."
you have right, but it's for do it just once and save it on configuration file

What about the next time you install the app? Are you going to have search the file system again to find the app or its configuration file? If so, you are simply doing it wrong.

[Cambalinho]

i get your point and you have right... but i don't know how can i get the folder name.. maybe it's on registry, but i don't know how can i get it
the Windows API have functions for read registry, but i don't know what to find and where

[Arjay]

i get your point and you have right... but i don't know how can i get the folder name.. maybe it's on registry, but i don't know how can i get it
the Windows API have functions for read registry, but i don't know what to find and where

You start by opening the tool regedit.exe and do a search for the name of the exe you wish to find. Search the whole registry and record the key(s) that you find the contain values of the name of your exe.

Post the keys back here.

Btw, the registry is kind of like a system database for Windows. If you are programming on Windows, it's a good idea to understand how it works.

[Cambalinho]

on search tool:
i used "x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++.exe", but hace '++'...
so try, too, "x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-7.2.0.exe"..
i even tryied "mingw".. but nothing is found
so what you can tell me more?

[2kaud]

Why do you want to determine if the MINGWG (GNU compiler for Windows) is already installed or not?

[Cambalinho]

yes

[2kaud]

No, I asked why you wanted to know if minggw is installed or not.

[Cambalinho]

i need just the entire folder name.. is what the function help me to find:
C:\Program Files\mingw-w64\x86_64-7.2.0-win32-seh-rt_v5-rev1\mingw64\bin

[2kaud]

OK. On a system on which you have mingw installed, open a command prompt, type in

set > set.txt

and reply to this post with the file set.txt (created in the above statement) as an attachment.