I'm writing an app that supposed to copy a bunch of files from one place to another. When I'm using TFileStream for the copy it is 3-4 times slower than copying the files with the OS.
I also tried to copy with a buffer, but that was too slow aswell.
I'm working under Win32, anyone got some insights on this matter?
There are a few options.
If you know the kind of files your going to copy, the 3th method will normally outperform the others. Because the windows API's are more tuned for overall best case (small files, large files, files over network, files on slow drives). You can tune your own copy function more to fit your needs.
Below is my own buffered copy function (i've stripped out the GUI callbacks):
procedure CustomFileCopy(const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName);
const
BufferSize = 1024; // 1KB blocks, change this to tune your speed
var
Buffer : array of Byte;
ASourceFile, ADestinationFile: THandle;
FileSize: DWORD;
BytesRead, BytesWritten, BytesWritten2: DWORD;
begin
SetLength(Buffer, BufferSize);
ASourceFile := OpenLongFileName(ASourceFileName, 0);
if ASourceFile <> 0 then
try
FileSize := FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_END);
FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_BEGIN);
ADestinationFile := CreateLongFileName(ADestinationFileName, FILE_SHARE_READ);
if ADestinationFile <> 0 then
try
while (FileSize - FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_CURRENT)) >= BufferSize do
begin
if (not ReadFile(ASourceFile, Buffer[0], BufferSize, BytesRead, nil)) and (BytesRead = 0) then
Continue;
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[0], BytesRead, BytesWritten, nil);
if BytesWritten < BytesRead then
begin
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[BytesWritten], BytesRead - BytesWritten, BytesWritten2, nil);
if (BytesWritten2 + BytesWritten) < BytesRead then
RaiseLastOSError;
end;
end;
if FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_CURRENT) < FileSize then
begin
if (not ReadFile(ASourceFile, Buffer[0], FileSize - FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_CURRENT), BytesRead, nil)) and (BytesRead = 0) then
ReadFile(ASourceFile, Buffer[0], FileSize - FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_CURRENT), BytesRead, nil);
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[0], BytesRead, BytesWritten, nil);
if BytesWritten < BytesRead then
begin
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[BytesWritten], BytesRead - BytesWritten, BytesWritten2, nil);
if (BytesWritten2 + BytesWritten) < BytesRead then
RaiseLastOSError;
end;
end;
finally
CloseHandle(ADestinationFile);
end;
finally
CloseHandle(ASourceFile);
end;
end;
Own functions:
function OpenLongFileName(const ALongFileName: String; SharingMode: DWORD): THandle; overload;
begin
if CompareMem(@(ALongFileName[1]), @('\\'[1]), 2) then
{ Allready an UNC path }
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar(WideString(ALongFileName)), GENERIC_READ, SharingMode, nil, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0)
else
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar(WideString('\\?\' + ALongFileName)), GENERIC_READ, SharingMode, nil, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0);
end;
function OpenLongFileName(const ALongFileName: WideString; SharingMode: DWORD): THandle; overload;
begin
if CompareMem(@(WideCharToString(PWideChar(ALongFileName))[1]), @('\\'[1]), 2) then
{ Allready an UNC path }
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar(ALongFileName), GENERIC_READ, SharingMode, nil, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0)
else
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar('\\?\' + ALongFileName), GENERIC_READ, SharingMode, nil, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0);
end;
function CreateLongFileName(const ALongFileName: String; SharingMode: DWORD): THandle; overload;
begin
if CompareMem(@(ALongFileName[1]), @('\\'[1]), 2) then
{ Allready an UNC path }
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar(WideString(ALongFileName)), GENERIC_WRITE, SharingMode, nil, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0)
else
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar(WideString('\\?\' + ALongFileName)), GENERIC_WRITE, SharingMode, nil, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0);
end;
function CreateLongFileName(const ALongFileName: WideString; SharingMode: DWORD): THandle; overload;
begin
if CompareMem(@(WideCharToString(PWideChar(ALongFileName))[1]), @('\\'[1]), 2) then
{ Allready an UNC path }
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar(ALongFileName), GENERIC_WRITE, SharingMode, nil, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0)
else
Result := CreateFileW(PWideChar('\\?\' + ALongFileName), GENERIC_WRITE, SharingMode, nil, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0);
end;
The code is a bit longer that necessary, because I included a retry mechanism to support a wifi connection problem I had.
So this part
if BytesWritten < BytesRead then
begin
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[BytesWritten], BytesRead - BytesWritten, BytesWritten2, nil);
if (BytesWritten2 + BytesWritten) < BytesRead then
RaiseLastOSError;
end;
could be written as
if BytesWritten < BytesRead then
begin
RaiseLastOSError;
end;
Perhaps you can study Cobian Backup 8 (codenamed Black Moon) source code. It is opensource, written in Delphi.
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm
First of all, I'm sorry for bumping up this old thread, but I made some significant changes to the great answer made by Davy Landman for my own needs. The changes are:
To use this code, create a FastCopy.pas file in your project, then copy-paste the content:
{
FastCopyFile
By SiZiOUS 2014, based on the work by Davy Landman
www.sizious.com - @sizious - fb.com/sizious - sizious (at) gmail (dot) com
This unit was designed to copy a file using the Windows API.
It's faster than using the (old) BlockRead/Write and TFileStream methods.
Every destination file will be overwritten (by choice), unless you specify
the fcfmAppend CopyMode flag. In that case, the source file will be appened to
the destination file (instead of overwriting it).
You have the choice to use a normal procedure callback, method object callback
or no callback at all. The callback is used to cancel the copy process and to
display the copy progress on-screen.
Developed and tested under Delphi 2007 (ANSI).
If you are using a Unicode version of Delphi (greater than Delphi 2007), may
be you need to do some adapations (beware of the WideString type).
All credits flying to Davy Landman.
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/438260/delphi-fast-file-copy
}
unit FastCopy;
interface
uses
Windows, SysUtils;
type
TFastCopyFileMode = (fcfmCreate, fcfmAppend);
TFastCopyFileNormalCallback = procedure(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean);
TFastCopyFileMethodCallback = procedure(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean) of object;
// Simplest definition
function FastCopyFile(
const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName): Boolean; overload;
// Definition with CopyMode and without any callbacks
function FastCopyFile(
const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode): Boolean; overload;
// Definition with normal procedure callback
function FastCopyFile(
const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode;
Callback: TFastCopyFileNormalCallback): Boolean; overload;
// Definition with object method callback
function FastCopyFile(
const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode;
Callback: TFastCopyFileMethodCallback): Boolean; overload;
implementation
{ Dummy Callback: Method Version }
type
TDummyCallBackClient = class(TObject)
private
procedure DummyCallback(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean);
end;
procedure TDummyCallBackClient.DummyCallback(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean);
begin
// Nothing
CanContinue := True;
end;
{ Dummy Callback: Classical Procedure Version }
procedure DummyCallback(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean);
begin
// Nothing
CanContinue := True;
end;
{ CreateFileW API abstract layer }
function OpenLongFileName(ALongFileName: string; DesiredAccess, ShareMode,
CreationDisposition: LongWord): THandle;
var
IsUNC: Boolean;
FileName: PWideChar;
begin
// Translate relative paths to absolute ones
ALongFileName := ExpandFileName(ALongFileName);
// Check if already an UNC path
IsUNC := Copy(ALongFileName, 1, 2) = '\\';
if not IsUNC then
ALongFileName := '\\?\' + ALongFileName;
// Preparing the FileName for the CreateFileW API call
FileName := PWideChar(WideString(ALongFileName));
// Calling the API
Result := CreateFileW(FileName, DesiredAccess, ShareMode, nil,
CreationDisposition, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 0);
end;
{ FastCopyFile implementation }
function FastCopyFile(const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode;
Callback: TFastCopyFileNormalCallback;
Callback2: TFastCopyFileMethodCallback): Boolean; overload;
const
BUFFER_SIZE = 524288; // 512KB blocks, change this to tune your speed
var
Buffer: array of Byte;
ASourceFile, ADestinationFile: THandle;
FileSize, BytesRead, BytesWritten, BytesWritten2, TotalBytesWritten,
CreationDisposition: LongWord;
CanContinue, CanContinueFlag: Boolean;
begin
FileSize := 0;
TotalBytesWritten := 0;
CanContinue := True;
SetLength(Buffer, BUFFER_SIZE);
// Manage the Creation Disposition flag
CreationDisposition := CREATE_ALWAYS;
if CopyMode = fcfmAppend then
CreationDisposition := OPEN_ALWAYS;
// Opening the source file in read mode
ASourceFile := OpenLongFileName(ASourceFileName, GENERIC_READ, 0, OPEN_EXISTING);
if ASourceFile <> 0 then
try
FileSize := FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_END);
FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_BEGIN);
// Opening the destination file in write mode (in create/append state)
ADestinationFile := OpenLongFileName(ADestinationFileName, GENERIC_WRITE,
FILE_SHARE_READ, CreationDisposition);
if ADestinationFile <> 0 then
try
// If append mode, jump to the file end
if CopyMode = fcfmAppend then
FileSeek(ADestinationFile, 0, FILE_END);
// For each blocks in the source file
while CanContinue and (LongWord(FileSeek(ASourceFile, 0, FILE_CURRENT)) < FileSize) do
begin
// Reading from source
if (ReadFile(ASourceFile, Buffer[0], BUFFER_SIZE, BytesRead, nil)) and (BytesRead <> 0) then
begin
// Writing to destination
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[0], BytesRead, BytesWritten, nil);
// Read/Write secure code block (e.g. for WiFi connections)
if BytesWritten < BytesRead then
begin
WriteFile(ADestinationFile, Buffer[BytesWritten], BytesRead - BytesWritten, BytesWritten2, nil);
Inc(BytesWritten, BytesWritten2);
if BytesWritten < BytesRead then
RaiseLastOSError;
end;
// Notifying the caller for the current state
Inc(TotalBytesWritten, BytesWritten);
CanContinueFlag := True;
if Assigned(Callback) then
Callback(ASourceFileName, TotalBytesWritten, FileSize, CanContinueFlag);
CanContinue := CanContinue and CanContinueFlag;
if Assigned(Callback2) then
Callback2(ASourceFileName, TotalBytesWritten, FileSize, CanContinueFlag);
CanContinue := CanContinue and CanContinueFlag;
end;
end;
finally
CloseHandle(ADestinationFile);
end;
finally
CloseHandle(ASourceFile);
end;
// Check if cancelled or not
if not CanContinue then
if FileExists(ADestinationFileName) then
DeleteFile(ADestinationFileName);
// Results (checking CanContinue flag isn't needed)
Result := (FileSize <> 0) and (FileSize = TotalBytesWritten);
end;
{ FastCopyFile simple definition }
function FastCopyFile(const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName): Boolean; overload;
begin
Result := FastCopyFile(ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName, fcfmCreate);
end;
{ FastCopyFile definition without any callbacks }
function FastCopyFile(const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode): Boolean; overload;
begin
Result := FastCopyFile(ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName, CopyMode,
DummyCallback);
end;
{ FastCopyFile definition with normal procedure callback }
function FastCopyFile(const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode;
Callback: TFastCopyFileNormalCallback): Boolean; overload;
var
DummyObj: TDummyCallBackClient;
begin
DummyObj := TDummyCallBackClient.Create;
try
Result := FastCopyFile(ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName, CopyMode,
Callback, DummyObj.DummyCallback);
finally
DummyObj.Free;
end;
end;
{ FastCopyFile definition with object method callback }
function FastCopyFile(const ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName: TFileName;
CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode;
Callback: TFastCopyFileMethodCallback): Boolean; overload;
begin
Result := FastCopyFile(ASourceFileName, ADestinationFileName, CopyMode,
DummyCallback, Callback);
end;
end.
The main method is called FastCopyFile
and you have 4 overloaded functions for fitting every needs. Below you'll find two examples showing you how to play with that unit.
The first one is the simplest: just create a Console Application
, then copy-paste the following contents:
program Project1;
{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}
uses
SysUtils,
fastcopy in 'fastcopy.pas';
begin
try
WriteLn('FastCopyFile Result: ', FastCopyFile('test2.bin', 'test.bin'));
WriteLn('Strike the <ENTER> key to exit...');
ReadLn;
except
on E:Exception do
Writeln(E.Classname, ': ', E.Message);
end;
end.
If you want, I made a VCL application in order to show you how to display the copy progress and the abort possiblity. This application is multi-threaded in order to avoid the freeze of the GUI. To test this more complete example, create a new VCL application then use the code below:
Unit1.pas:
unit Unit1;
interface
uses
Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms,
Dialogs, ComCtrls, StdCtrls, ExtCtrls, FastCopy;
type
TFastCopyFileThread = class;
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Button1: TButton;
ProgressBar1: TProgressBar;
Label1: TLabel;
Button2: TButton;
RadioGroup1: TRadioGroup;
GroupBox1: TGroupBox;
Edit1: TEdit;
GroupBox2: TGroupBox;
Edit2: TEdit;
OpenDialog1: TOpenDialog;
SaveDialog1: TSaveDialog;
Button3: TButton;
Button4: TButton;
procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
procedure Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
procedure Button3Click(Sender: TObject);
procedure Button4Click(Sender: TObject);
private
{ Déclarations privées }
fFastCopyFileThread: TFastCopyFileThread;
fFastCopyFileThreadCanceled: Boolean;
procedure ChangeControlsState(State: Boolean);
procedure FastCopyFileProgress(Sender: TObject; FileName: TFileName;
Value: Integer; var CanContinue: Boolean);
procedure FastCopyFileTerminate(Sender: TObject);
function GetStatusText: string;
procedure SetStatusText(const Value: string);
public
{ Déclarations publiques }
procedure StartFastCopyThread;
property StatusText: string read GetStatusText write SetStatusText;
end;
TFastCopyFileProgressEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; FileName: TFileName;
Value: Integer; var CanContinue: Boolean) of object;
TFastCopyFileThread = class(TThread)
private
fSourceFileName: TFileName;
fDestinationFileName: TFileName;
fProgress: TFastCopyFileProgressEvent;
fCopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode;
procedure FastCopyFileCallback(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean);
protected
procedure Execute; override;
public
constructor Create; overload;
property SourceFileName: TFileName
read fSourceFileName write fSourceFileName;
property DestinationFileName: TFileName
read fDestinationFileName write fDestinationFileName;
property CopyMode: TFastCopyFileMode read fCopyMode write fCopyMode;
property OnProgress: TFastCopyFileProgressEvent
read fProgress write fProgress;
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.dfm}
{ TForm1 }
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
StartFastCopyThread;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
fFastCopyFileThread.Terminate;
fFastCopyFileThreadCanceled := True;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button3Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with OpenDialog1 do
if Execute then
Edit1.Text := FileName;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button4Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with SaveDialog1 do
if Execute then
Edit2.Text := FileName;
end;
procedure TForm1.ChangeControlsState(State: Boolean);
begin
Button1.Enabled := State;
Button2.Enabled := not State;
if State then
begin
if fFastCopyFileThreadCanceled then
StatusText := 'Aborted!'
else
StatusText := 'Done!';
fFastCopyFileThreadCanceled := False;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.FastCopyFileProgress(Sender: TObject; FileName: TFileName;
Value: Integer; var CanContinue: Boolean);
begin
StatusText := ExtractFileName(FileName);
ProgressBar1.Position := Value;
end;
procedure TForm1.FastCopyFileTerminate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ChangeControlsState(True);
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ChangeControlsState(True);
StatusText := 'Idle...';
end;
function TForm1.GetStatusText: string;
begin
Result := Label1.Caption;
end;
procedure TForm1.SetStatusText(const Value: string);
begin
Label1.Caption := Value;
end;
procedure TForm1.StartFastCopyThread;
begin
ChangeControlsState(False);
fFastCopyFileThread := TFastCopyFileThread.Create;
with fFastCopyFileThread do
begin
SourceFileName := Edit1.Text;
DestinationFileName := Edit2.Text;
CopyMode := TFastCopyFileMode(RadioGroup1.ItemIndex);
OnProgress := FastCopyFileProgress;
OnTerminate := FastCopyFileTerminate;
Resume;
end;
end;
{ TFastCopyFileThread }
constructor TFastCopyFileThread.Create;
begin
inherited Create(True);
FreeOnTerminate := True;
end;
procedure TFastCopyFileThread.Execute;
begin
FastCopyFile(SourceFileName, DestinationFileName, CopyMode,
FastCopyFileCallback);
end;
procedure TFastCopyFileThread.FastCopyFileCallback(const FileName: TFileName;
const CurrentSize, TotalSize: LongWord; var CanContinue: Boolean);
var
ProgressValue: Integer;
begin
CanContinue := not Terminated;
ProgressValue := Round((CurrentSize / TotalSize) * 100);
if Assigned(OnProgress) then
OnProgress(Self, FileName, ProgressValue, CanContinue);
end;
end.
Unit1.dfm:
object Form1: TForm1
Left = 0
Top = 0
BorderStyle = bsDialog
Caption = 'FastCopyFile Example (Threaded)'
ClientHeight = 210
ClientWidth = 424
Color = clBtnFace
Font.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET
Font.Color = clWindowText
Font.Height = -11
Font.Name = 'Tahoma'
Font.Style = []
OldCreateOrder = False
Position = poScreenCenter
OnCreate = FormCreate
PixelsPerInch = 96
TextHeight = 13
object Label1: TLabel
Left = 8
Top = 173
Width = 31
Height = 13
Caption = 'Label1'
end
object Button1: TButton
Left = 259
Top = 177
Width = 75
Height = 25
Caption = 'Start'
Default = True
TabOrder = 0
OnClick = Button1Click
end
object ProgressBar1: TProgressBar
Left = 8
Top = 188
Width = 245
Height = 13
TabOrder = 1
end
object Button2: TButton
Left = 340
Top = 177
Width = 75
Height = 25
Caption = 'Stop'
TabOrder = 2
OnClick = Button2Click
end
object RadioGroup1: TRadioGroup
Left = 4
Top = 110
Width = 410
Height = 57
Caption = ' Copy Mode: '
ItemIndex = 0
Items.Strings = (
'Create (Overwrite destination)'
'Append (Merge destination)')
TabOrder = 3
end
object GroupBox1: TGroupBox
Left = 4
Top = 4
Width = 412
Height = 49
Caption = ' Source: '
TabOrder = 4
object Edit1: TEdit
Left = 8
Top = 20
Width = 369
Height = 21
TabOrder = 0
Text = 'test.bin'
end
object Button3: TButton
Left = 383
Top = 20
Width = 21
Height = 21
Caption = '...'
TabOrder = 1
OnClick = Button3Click
end
end
object GroupBox2: TGroupBox
Left = 4
Top = 59
Width = 412
Height = 50
Caption = ' Destination: '
TabOrder = 5
object Edit2: TEdit
Left = 8
Top = 21
Width = 369
Height = 21
TabOrder = 0
Text = 'sizious.bin'
end
end
object Button4: TButton
Left = 387
Top = 80
Width = 21
Height = 21
Caption = '...'
TabOrder = 6
OnClick = Button4Click
end
object OpenDialog1: TOpenDialog
DefaultExt = 'bin'
Filter = 'All Files (*.*)|*.*'
Options = [ofHideReadOnly, ofFileMustExist, ofEnableSizing]
Left = 344
Top = 12
end
object SaveDialog1: TSaveDialog
DefaultExt = 'bin'
Filter = 'All Files (*.*)|*.*'
Options = [ofOverwritePrompt, ofHideReadOnly, ofEnableSizing]
Left = 344
Top = 68
end
end
Of course, don't forget to add the FastCopy.pas file reference to that project.
You should get this:
Select a source file, a destination file then hit Start.
All credits goes of course to Davy Landman.
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