Sorry for probably simple question but I'm newbie in shared memory and trying to learn by example how to do things.
On c++ side I receive such pair: const unsigned char * value, size_t length
On c# side I need to have regular c# string. Using shared memory what is the best way to do that?
It's not that easy to using the string.
If it's me, I'll try these ways:
1.simply get a copy of the string. System.Text.Encoding.Default.GetString may convert from a byte array to a string.
You may try in a unsafe code block (for that you could use pointer type) to do:
(1) create a byte array, size is your "length"
byte[] buf = new byte[length];
(2) copy your data to the array
for(int i = 0; i < length; ++i) buf[i] = value[i];
(3) get the string
string what_you_want = System.Text.Encoding.Default.GetString(buf);
2.write a class, having a property "string what_you_want", and each time you access it, the above process will perform.
before all, you should first using P/Invoke feature to get the value of that pair.
edit: this is an example.
C++ code:
struct Pair {
int length;
unsigned char value[1024];
};
#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
const char* s = "hahaha";
HANDLE handle = CreateFileMappingW(INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE, NULL, PAGE_READWRITE, 0, sizeof(Pair), L"MySharedMemory");
struct Pair* p = (struct Pair*) MapViewOfFile(handle, FILE_MAP_READ|FILE_MAP_WRITE, 0, 0, sizeof(Pair));
if (p != 0) {
p->length = lstrlenA(s);
lstrcpyA((char*)p->value, s);
puts("plz start c# program");
getchar();
} else
puts("create shared memory error");
if (handle != NULL)
CloseHandle(handle);
return 0;
}
and C# code:
using System;
using System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles;
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
MemoryMappedFile mmf = MemoryMappedFile.OpenExisting("MySharedMemory");
MemoryMappedViewStream mmfvs = mmf.CreateViewStream();
byte[] blen = new byte[4];
mmfvs.Read(blen, 0, 4);
int len = blen[0] + blen[1] * 256 + blen[2] * 65536 + blen[3] * 16777216;
byte[] strbuf = new byte[len];
mmfvs.Read(strbuf, 0, len);
string s = System.Text.Encoding.Default.GetString(strbuf);
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
}
just for example.
you may also add error-check part.
Related
In the following example, I try to concatenate two unsigned chars(which is the requirement) by passing the values to a C++ dll and return a single string. The output I'm getting is not right.
C#:
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
class HelloWorld
{
[DllImport("cpp_func.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr concat_fun(byte[] a,byte[] b, int c, int d);
static void Main()
{
int x,y;
IntPtr return_value;
string hello = "hello", world = "world", final;
byte[] hel = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(hello);
byte[] wor = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(world);
x = hel.Length;
y = wor.Length;
return_value = concat_fun(hel, wor, hel.Length, wor.Length);
final = Marshal.PtrToStringAuto(return_value);
Console.WriteLine("Concatenated string:" +final);
Console.Read();
}
}
I've declared them as byte[], since that's how native type uint8_t is represented in .NET(https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/native-interop/type-marshaling)
I've passed the two byte array along with their lengths as parameters.
C++:
_declspec(dllexport) unsigned char * concat_fun(unsigned char a[], unsigned char b[], int d, int e) {
int i, ind = 0;
unsigned char c[20];
for (i = 0; i < d; i++) {
c[ind] = a[i];
ind++;
}
for (i = 0; i < e; i++) {
c[ind] = b[i];
ind++;
}
return c;
}
The output I'm getting is this:
Concatenated string:????????????????
How do I get the concatenated string?
Note: Getting input as an unsigned char for the dll function parameter, is a requirement
I know I'm making some trivial mistake here, since I'm just a beginner.
The memory for c array is allocated in the concat_fun function and has a scope and lifetime of this function, so the memory is released when you leave the function body.
Try to allocate c array in the calling function Main or use dynamic memory allocation: new/delete or malloc/free in concat_fun.
i really need your help to port this c# code to Delphi one :
public unsafe byte[] Encode(byte[] inputPcmSamples, int sampleLength, out int encodedLength)
{
if (disposed)
throw new ObjectDisposedException("OpusEncoder");
int frames = FrameCount(inputPcmSamples);
IntPtr encodedPtr;
byte[] encoded =new byte [MaxDataBytes];
int length = 0;
/* How this can be ported to delphi */
fixed (byte* benc = encoded)
{
encodedPtr = new IntPtr((void*)benc);
length = API.opus_encode(_encoder, inputPcmSamples, frames, encodedPtr, sampleLength);
}
encodedLength = length;
if (length < 0)
throw new Exception("Encoding failed - " + ((Errors)length).ToString());
return encoded;
}
The main code part that i'm looking for is :
fixed (byte* benc = encoded)
{
encodedPtr = new IntPtr((void*)benc);
/* API.opus_encode = is declared in an other Class */
length = API.opus_encode(_encoder, inputPcmSamples, frames, encodedPtr, sampleLength);
}
many thanks
You seem to want to know how to deal with the fixed block in the C#.
byte[] encoded =new byte [MaxDataBytes];
....
fixed (byte* benc = encoded)
{
encodedPtr = new IntPtr((void*)benc);
length = API.opus_encode(_encoder, inputPcmSamples, frames, encodedPtr, sampleLength);
}
This use of fixed is to pin the managed array to obtain a pointer to be passed to the unmanaged code.
In Delphi we just want an array of bytes, and a pointer to that array. That would look like this:
var
encoded: TBytes;
....
SetLength(encoded, MaxDataBytes);
....
length := opus_encode(..., Pointer(encoded), ...);
or perhaps:
length := opus_encode(..., PByte(encoded), ...);
or perhaps:
length := opus_encode(..., #encoded[0], ...);
depending on how you declared the imported function opus_encode and your preferences.
If MaxDataBytes was a small enough value for the buffer to live on the stack, and MaxDataBytes was known at compile time, then a fixed length array could be used.
I am trying to create a Win32 DLL exposes some functions which are called in C# as follows
__declspec(dllexport) int GetData(unsigned char* *data, int* size)
{
try
{
int tlen = 3;
unsigned char* tchr = new unsigned char[5];
tchr[0] = 'a';
tchr[1] = 'b';
tchr[2] = 'c';
*size = tlen;
*data = tchr;
return 1;
}
catch (char *p)
{
return 0;
}
}
And on C# side
[DllImport("MyDll.dll")]
static extern int GetData(ref byte[] data, ref int size);
static void Main()
{
try
{
int hr = 0;
byte[] gData = null;
int gSize = 0;
hr = GetData(ref gData, ref gSize);
Console.WriteLine(gSize);
for (int i = 0; i < gSize; i++)
Console.WriteLine((char)gData[i]);
}
catch (Exception p)
{
Console.WriteLine(p.ToString());
}
}
When I run C# code, AccessViolationException happens on GetData function which is a sign of exception in C++ code however, following C++ code snippet works fine without any error.
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
unsigned char* data = NULL;
int size = NULL;
GetData(&data, &size);
printf("%d", size);
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
printf("%c,", data[i]);
return 0;
}
If you compare C# main function and C++ _tmain, they are almost analoguous so where I may make a mistake?
You are returning an array allocated by a call to C++ new and hoping that the marshaler will turn it into a C# byte[]. That won't happen.
You'll need to pass a pointer by reference and then marshal it by hand. Your p/invoke should look like this:
[DllImport("MyDll.dll")]
static extern int GetData(out IntPtr data, out int size);
When the function returns data will point to the array and you can read the contents using the Marshal class. I guess you would copy it to a new byte array.
var arr = new byte[size];
Marshal.Copy(data, arr, 0, size);
Some other points:
The calling conventions do not match. The native side is cdecl and the managed is stdcall.
You'll need to export a deallocator to delete the memory returned by the native function. Consider a re-design where the caller allocates the buffer.
If I send plain text there is no problem. Everything is ok.
However If I try to send from the C# client an image, the server receives correct bytes number, but when I save the buffer to a file (in binary mode - wb), it always has 4 bytes.
I send it by the C# client by using the function File.ReadAllBytes().
My saving code looks like
FILE * pFile;
char *buf = ReceiveMessage(s);
pFile = fopen (fileName , "wb");
fwrite(buf, sizeof(buf[0]), sizeof(buf)/sizeof(buf[0]), pFile);
fclose (pFile);
free(buf);
My receiving function looks like
static unsigned char *ReceiveMessage(int s)
{
int prefix;
recv(s, &prefix, 4, 0);
int len = prefix;
char *buffer= (char*)malloc(len + 1);
int received = 0, totalReceived = 0;
buffer[len] = '\0';
while (totalReceived < len)
{
if (len - totalReceived > BUFFER_SIZE)
{
received = recv(s, buffer + totalReceived, BUFFER_SIZE, 0);
}
else
{
received = recv(s, buffer + totalReceived, len - totalReceived, 0);
}
totalReceived += received;
}
return buffer;
}
Your C code needs to pass len back from the ReceiveMessage() function.
char *buf = ReceiveMessage(s); // buf is a char*
... sizeof(buff) // sizeof(char*) is 4 or 8
So you'll need something like
static unsigned char *ReceiveMessage(int s, int* lenOut)
{
...
*lenOut = totalReceived ;
}
You do a beginners mistake of using sizeof(buf). It doesn't return the number of bytes in the buffer but the size of the pointer (which is four or eight depending on if you run 32 or 64 bit platform).
You need to change the ReceiveMessage function to also "return" the size of the received data.
You do not get size of array by sizeof. Change to i.e.:
int len = 0;
char *buf;
buf = ReceiveMessage(s, &len);
/* then use len to calculate write length */
static unsigned char *ReceiveMessage(int s, int *len)
/* or return len and pass ptr to buf */
{
...
}
Is there a way of mapping data collected on a stream or array to a data structure or vice-versa?
In C++ this would simply be a matter of casting a pointer to the stream as a data type I want to use (or vice-versa for the reverse)
eg: in C++
Mystruct * pMyStrct = (Mystruct*)&SomeDataStream;
pMyStrct->Item1 = 25;
int iReadData = pMyStrct->Item2;
obviously the C++ way is pretty unsafe unless you are sure of the quality of the stream data when reading incoming data, but for outgoing data is super quick and easy.
Most people use .NET serialization (there is faster binary and slower XML formatter, they both depend on reflection and are version tolerant to certain degree)
However, if you want the fastest (unsafe) way - why not:
Writing:
YourStruct o = new YourStruct();
byte[] buffer = new byte[Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(YourStruct))];
GCHandle handle = GCHandle.Alloc(buffer, GCHandleType.Pinned);
Marshal.StructureToPtr(o, handle.AddrOfPinnedObject(), false);
handle.Free();
Reading:
handle = GCHandle.Alloc(buffer, GCHandleType.Pinned);
o = (YourStruct)Marshal.PtrToStructure(handle.AddrOfPinnedObject(), typeof(YourStruct));
handle.Free();
In case lubos hasko's answer was not unsafe enough, there is also the really unsafe way, using
pointers in C#. Here's some tips and pitfalls I've run into:
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;
// Use LayoutKind.Sequential to prevent the CLR from reordering your fields.
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
unsafe struct MeshDesc
{
public byte NameLen;
// Here fixed means store the array by value, like in C,
// though C# exposes access to Name as a char*.
// fixed also requires 'unsafe' on the struct definition.
public fixed char Name[16];
// You can include other structs like in C as well.
public Matrix Transform;
public uint VertexCount;
// But not both, you can't store an array of structs.
//public fixed Vector Vertices[512];
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
unsafe struct Matrix
{
public fixed float M[16];
}
// This is how you do unions
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
unsafe struct Vector
{
[FieldOffset(0)]
public fixed float Items[16];
[FieldOffset(0)]
public float X;
[FieldOffset(4)]
public float Y;
[FieldOffset(8)]
public float Z;
}
class Program
{
unsafe static void Main(string[] args)
{
var mesh = new MeshDesc();
var buffer = new byte[Marshal.SizeOf(mesh)];
// Set where NameLen will be read from.
buffer[0] = 12;
// Use Buffer.BlockCopy to raw copy data across arrays of primitives.
// Note we copy to offset 2 here: char's have alignment of 2, so there is
// a padding byte after NameLen: just like in C.
Buffer.BlockCopy("Hello!".ToCharArray(), 0, buffer, 2, 12);
// Copy data to struct
Read(buffer, out mesh);
// Print the Name we wrote above:
var name = new char[mesh.NameLen];
// Use Marsal.Copy to copy between arrays and pointers to arrays.
unsafe { Marshal.Copy((IntPtr)mesh.Name, name, 0, mesh.NameLen); }
// Note you can also use the String.String(char*) overloads
Console.WriteLine("Name: " + new string(name));
// If Erik Myers likes it...
mesh.VertexCount = 4711;
// Copy data from struct:
// MeshDesc is a struct, and is on the stack, so it's
// memory is effectively pinned by the stack pointer.
// This means '&' is sufficient to get a pointer.
Write(&mesh, buffer);
// Watch for alignment again, and note you have endianess to worry about...
int vc = buffer[100] | (buffer[101] << 8) | (buffer[102] << 16) | (buffer[103] << 24);
Console.WriteLine("VertexCount = " + vc);
}
unsafe static void Write(MeshDesc* pMesh, byte[] buffer)
{
// But byte[] is on the heap, and therefore needs
// to be flagged as pinned so the GC won't try to move it
// from under you - this can be done most efficiently with
// 'fixed', but can also be done with GCHandleType.Pinned.
fixed (byte* pBuffer = buffer)
*(MeshDesc*)pBuffer = *pMesh;
}
unsafe static void Read(byte[] buffer, out MeshDesc mesh)
{
fixed (byte* pBuffer = buffer)
mesh = *(MeshDesc*)pBuffer;
}
}
if its .net on both sides:
think you should use binary serialization and send the byte[] result.
trusting your struct to be fully blittable can be trouble.
you will pay in some overhead (both cpu and network) but will be safe.
If you need to populate each member variable by hand you can generalize it a bit as far as the primitives are concerned by using FormatterServices to retrieve in order the list of variable types associated with an object. I've had to do this in a project where I had a lot of different message types coming off the stream and I definitely didn't want to write the serializer/deserializer for each message.
Here's the code I used to generalize the deserialization from a byte[].
public virtual bool SetMessageBytes(byte[] message)
{
MemberInfo[] members = FormatterServices.GetSerializableMembers(this.GetType());
object[] values = FormatterServices.GetObjectData(this, members);
int j = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < members.Length; i++)
{
string[] var = members[i].ToString().Split(new char[] { ' ' });
switch (var[0])
{
case "UInt32":
values[i] = (UInt32)((message[j] << 24) + (message[j + 1] << 16) + (message[j + 2] << 8) + message[j + 3]);
j += 4;
break;
case "UInt16":
values[i] = (UInt16)((message[j] << 8) + message[j + 1]);
j += 2;
break;
case "Byte":
values[i] = (byte)message[j++];
break;
case "UInt32[]":
if (values[i] != null)
{
int len = ((UInt32[])values[i]).Length;
byte[] b = new byte[len * 4];
Array.Copy(message, j, b, 0, len * 4);
Array.Copy(Utilities.ByteArrayToUInt32Array(b), (UInt32[])values[i], len);
j += len * 4;
}
break;
case "Byte[]":
if (values[i] != null)
{
int len = ((byte[])values[i]).Length;
Array.Copy(message, j, (byte[])(values[i]), 0, len);
j += len;
}
break;
default:
throw new Exception("ByteExtractable::SetMessageBytes Unsupported Type: " + var[1] + " is of type " + var[0]);
}
}
FormatterServices.PopulateObjectMembers(this, members, values);
return true;
}