TaskChain ActiveX Reference Documentation

TaskChain

Current Version: 11.1.0

Represents a chain of asynchronous tasks to be run in sequence in a background thread.

Object Creation

Note:
For a specific major version, use "Chilkat.TaskChain.<major_version>", such as "Chilkat.TaskChain.10" for Chilkat v10.*.*
See Chilkat ActiveX Object Creation

(ASP)
set obj = Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.TaskChain")

(AutoIt)
$obj = ObjCreate("Chilkat.TaskChain")

(Visual Basic 6.0)
Dim obj As New ChilkatTaskChain

(VBScript)
set obj = CreateObject("Chilkat.TaskChain")

(VBA, such as Excel)
Dim obj As New ChilkatTaskChain
See How to Use ActiveX in Excel

(Delphi)
obj := TChilkatTaskChain.Create(Self);

(FoxPro)
loObject = CreateObject('Chilkat.TaskChain')

(PowerBuilder)
lole_object = create oleobject
li_rc = lole_object.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.TaskChain")

(SQL Server)
EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.TaskChain', @obj OUT

(Javascript)
var obj = new ActiveXObject("Chilkat.TaskChain");

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As String

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

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Finished
Finished As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

1 if the task status is canceled, aborted, or completed. A task chain can only reach the canceled status if it was activated via the Run method, made it onto the internal thread pool thread's queue, was waiting for a pool thread to become available, and was then canceled prior to the task actually starting.

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HeartbeatMs
HeartbeatMs As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

The number of milliseconds between each AbortCheck event callback. The AbortCheck callback allows an application to abort the Wait method. If HeartbeatMs is 0 (the default), no AbortCheck event callbacks will fire. Note: An asynchronous task chain running in a background thread (in one of the thread pool threads) does not fire events. The task chain's event callbacks pertain only to the Wait method.

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Inert
Inert As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

1 if the task status is empty or loaded. When a task chain is inert, it has been loaded but is not scheduled to run yet.

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LastBinaryResult
LastBinaryResult As Variant (read-only)

This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.

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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As String (read-only)

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
LastErrorText As String (read-only)

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As String (read-only)

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Long

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages.

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LastStringResult
LastStringResult As String (read-only)

In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.

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LastStringResultLen
LastStringResultLen As Long (read-only)

The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.

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Live
Live As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

1 if the task status is queued or running. When a task chain is live, it is either already running, or is on the thread pool thread's queue waiting for a thread to become available.

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NumTasks
NumTasks As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

The number of tasks contained within the task chain.

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Status
Status As String (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

The current status of the task chain. Possible values are:

  • empty -- No tasks have yet been appended to the task chain.
  • loaded -- The task chain has been loaded (appended) with one or more task objects.
  • queued -- The task chain is in the thread pool's queue of tasks awaiting to be run.
  • running -- The task chain is currently running.
  • canceled -- The task chain was canceled before it entered the running state.
  • aborted -- The task chain was canceled while it was in the running state.
  • completed -- The task chain completed.

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StatusInt
StatusInt As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

The current status of the task as an integer value. Possible values are:

  • 1 -- empty -- No tasks have yet been appended to the task chain.
  • 2 -- loaded -- The task chain has been loaded (appended) with one or more task objects.
  • 3 -- queued -- The task chain is in the thread pool's queue of tasks awaiting to be run.
  • 4 -- running -- The task chain is currently running.
  • 5 -- canceled -- The task chain was canceled before it entered the running state.
  • 6 -- aborted -- The task chain was canceled while it was in the running state.
  • 7 -- completed -- The task chain completed.

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StopOnFailedTask
StopOnFailedTask As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

If 1 then stops execution of the task chain if any individual task fails. Task failure is defined by the standard LastMethodSuccess property. If 0, then all of the tasks in the chain will be run even if some fail. The default value of this property is 1.

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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Long

If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
Version As String (read-only)

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

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Methods

Append
Append(task As ChilkatTask) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Appends a task to the task chain. Can fail if the task is already part of another chain. (A task can only be part of a single chain.)

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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Cancel
Cancel() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Cancels execution of the asynchronous task chain.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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GetTask
GetTask(ByVal index As Long) As ChilkatTask
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Returns the Nth task in the chain. The 1st task is at index 0.

Returns Nothing on failure

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Run
Run() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Queues the task chain to run on the internal Chilkat thread pool. Each task in the chain will run, one after the other.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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RunSynchronously
RunSynchronously() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Runs the task chain synchronously. Then this method returns after all the tasks in the chain have been run.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SleepMs
SleepMs(ByVal numMs As Long)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Convenience method to force the calling thread to sleep for a number of milliseconds.

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Wait
Wait(ByVal maxWaitMs As Long) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Waits for the task chain to complete. Returns when all of the tasks in the chain have completed, or after maxWaitMs milliseconds have elapsed. (A maxWaitMs value of 0 is to wait indefinitely.) Returns (0) if the task chain has not yet been started by calling the Run method, or if the maxWaitMs expired. If the task chain completed, was already completed, was canceled, or aborted, then this method returns 1.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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Events

AbortCheck
AbortCheck(abort As Long)

Enables a method call to be aborted by triggering the AbortCheck event at intervals defined by the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is set to its default value of 0, no events will occur. For instance, set HeartbeatMs to 200 to trigger 5 AbortCheck events per second.

More Information and Examples

VB6 Event callback implementation:

Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks

Dim WithEvents myTaskchain As ChilkatTaskChain

Private Sub myTaskchain_AbortCheck(abort As Long)

	'Insert application code here.

End Sub
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PercentDone
PercentDone(ByVal pctDone As Long, abort As Long)

This provides the percentage completion for any method involving network communications or time-consuming processing, assuming the progress can be measured as a percentage. This event is triggered only when it's possible and logical to express the operation's progress as a percentage. The pctDone argument will range from 1 to 100. For methods that finish quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks may vary, but the final callback will have pctDone equal to 100. For longer operations, callbacks will not exceed one per percentage point (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 98, 99, 100).

The PercentDone callback also acts as an AbortCheck event. For fast methods where PercentDone fires, an AbortCheck event may not trigger since the PercentDone callback already provides an opportunity to abort. For longer operations, where time between PercentDone callbacks is extended, AbortCheck callbacks enable more responsive operation termination.

To abort the operation, set the abort output argument to 1. This will cause the method to terminate and return a failure status or corresponding failure value.

More Information and Examples

VB6 Event callback implementation:

Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks

Dim WithEvents myTaskchain As ChilkatTaskChain

Private Sub myTaskchain_PercentDone(ByVal pctDone As Long, abort As Long)

	'Insert application code here.

End Sub
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ProgressInfo
ProgressInfo(ByVal name As String, ByVal value As String)

This event callback provides tag name/value pairs that detail what occurs during a method call. To discover existing tag names, create code to handle the event, emit the pairs, and review them. Most tag names are self-explanatory.

More Information and Examples

VB6 Event callback implementation:

Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks

Dim WithEvents myTaskchain As ChilkatTaskChain

Private Sub myTaskchain_ProgressInfo(ByVal name As String, ByVal value As String)

	'Insert application code here.

End Sub
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TaskCompleted
TaskCompleted(task As ChilkatTask)

Called from the background thread when an asynchronous task completes.

VB6 Event callback implementation:

Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks

Dim WithEvents myTaskchain As ChilkatTaskChain

Private Sub myTaskchain_TaskCompleted(task As ChilkatTask)

	'Insert application code here.

End Sub
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