Marshal C++ struct array into C#

Question

I have the following struct in C++:

#define MAXCHARS 15

typedef struct 
{
    char data[MAXCHARS];
    int prob[MAXCHARS];
} LPRData;

And a function that I'm p/invoking into to get an array of 3 of these structures:

void GetData(LPRData *data);

In C++ I would just do something like this:

LPRData *Results;
Results = (LPRData *)malloc(MAXRESULTS*sizeof(LPRData));
GetData( Results );

And it would work just fine, but in C# I can't seem to get it to work. I've created a C# struct like this:

public struct LPRData
{

    /// char[15]
    [MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 15)]
    public string data;

    /// int[15]
    [MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 15)]
    public int[] prob;
}

And if I initialize an array of 3 of those (and all their sub-arrays) and pass it into this:

GetData(LPRData[] data);

It returns with success, but the data in the LPRData array has not changed.

I've even tried to create a raw byte array the size of 3 LPRData's and pass that into a function prototype like this:

GetData(byte[] data);

But in that case I will get the "data" string from the very first LPRData structure, but nothing after it, including the "prob" array from the same LPRData.

Any ideas of how to properly handle this?

score 25 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 09 '08 at 17:54

I would try adding some attributes to your struct decloration

[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, Size=TotalBytesInStruct),Serializable]
public struct LPRData
{
/// char[15]
[MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 15)]
public string data;

/// int[15]
[MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 15)]
public int[] prob;
}

*Note TotalBytesInStruct is not intended to represent a variable

JaredPar is also correct that using the IntPtr class could be helpful, but it has been quite awhile since I have used PInvoke so I'm rusty.

I've used this approach, but I get exceptions in Mono that the variables are set to null references. For example, "prob" is null so it doesn't want to work. Am I supposed to be newing these at some point, or is that supposed to be handled by the framework somehow? Thanks — swinefeaster, Apr 05 '11 at 17:21

score 13 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 31 '12 at 16:41

13

One trick when dealing with pointers is to just use an IntPtr. You can then use Marshal.PtrToStructure on the pointer and increment based on the size of the structure to get your results.

static extern void GetData([Out] out IntPtr ptr);

LPRData[] GetData()
{
    IntPtr value;
    LPRData[] array = new LPRData[3];
    GetData(out value);
    for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; i++)
    {
        array[i] = Marshal.PtrToStructure(value, typeof(LPRData));
        value += Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(LPRData));
    }
    return array;
}

edited Jul 31 '12 at 16:41

Chris Kerekes

1,116
8
27

answered Oct 09 '08 at 17:50

JaredPar

733,204
149
1,241
1,454

2

should line 11 either: change `+=` to `=` and `ToInt32` to `ToInt64` if running 64-bit; or, remove the `value.ToInt32()`? – maxwellb Jul 08 '10 at 19:20
4

what I'm really getting at, is that you are increment-assigning by the increment of pointer.toInt + sizeof(struct). Wouldn't the increment be only sizeof(struct)? – maxwellb Jul 08 '10 at 20:21
But in the example GetData is just sending an intptr, where is the memory being created and where is it being released – Epirocks Nov 17 '16 at 00:31
Be careful with PtrToStruct. Your structure has to contain all its own memory. In particular, arrays that are not marked "fixed" will blow it up. – user430788 Nov 06 '21 at 21:56

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:33

A similar topic was discussed on this question, and the one of the conclusions was that the CharSet named parameter must be set to CharSet.Ansi. Otherwise, we would be making a wchar_t array instead of a char array. Thus, the correct code would be as follows:

[Serializable]
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Ansi)]
public struct LPRData
{
    [MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 15)]
    public string data;

    [MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 15)]
    public int[] prob;
}

score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 19 '16 at 12:40

3

The PInvoke Interop Assistant may help. http://clrinterop.codeplex.com/releases/view/14120

edited Jul 19 '16 at 12:40

Eternal21

4,190
2
48
63

answered Oct 16 '08 at 02:37

GregUzelac

462
2
6

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 18 '08 at 21:42

Did you mark GetData parameter with OutAttribute?

Combining the InAttribute and OutAttribute is particularly useful when applied to arrays and formatted, non-blittable types. Callers see the changes a callee makes to these types only when you apply both attributes.

Marshal C++ struct array into C#

5 Answers5

Linked

Related