The state in COM object between calls is not consistent - c#

I have a .NET COM object, that i uses to call from C code.
[EventTrackingEnabled(true)]
[ComVisible(true)]
public class ComObject : IComObject
{
private static XslCompiledTransform transformer = null;
private static string transformerXsltPath = null;
private static string TransformerXsltPath
{
get
{
return transformerXsltPath;
}
set
{
transformerXsltPath = value;
}
}
private static XslCompiledTransform Transformer
{
get
{
return transformer;
}
set
{
transformer = value;
}
}
[ComVisible(true)]
public bool TransformXML(String inputPath, String xsltPath, String outputPath)
{
// ....
if (Transformer == null || xsltPath != TransformerXsltPath)
{
Transformer = new XslCompiledTransform(true);
Transformer.Load(xsltPath, new XsltSettings(true, true), new XmlUrlResolver());
}
// ...
}
}
I want to keep the state of the com object, as long as i call this method. by static members. so when i'll call it again, the state members will be initialized.
But the problem is, that just the Transformer object stay initialized in the second call but the transformerXsltPath string restarted to null.
how it is possible ?

First, a field doesn't need to be static in order to retain its value between method calls (only variables declared inside methods have that property). Static means that the field belongs to the class, not to any instance of the class, and there is only one instance of the field, which is shared by all instances of the class (and can even be accessed without creating an instance of the class, as in Class.field). For more information see fields and static fields.
Second, I don't see how you expect the transformerXsltPath field to be modified when you don't modify it anywhere (and it's private, which means that it can't be modified outside the class).

Related

C# Make a class return its instance without a function or variable

So I've been working with classes with single instances in Unity for a while and generally do this:
class PublicThings {
public static PublicThings I; // instance of this class
public int Score;
void Start { I = GetComponent<PublicThings>(); }
}
Usage: PublicThings.I.Score = 10;
Which works pretty well. However, I've been curious as to whether or not it's possible to have the instance of the class be returned without having to type .I after the class.
So basically here's how it would look instead:
PublicThings.Score = 10;
This question seems like it's relevent but I'm having trouble getting it to work.
Is this possible? If so, how would it be done?
Three options to do what you are looking to do:
Make a static property/field with the static keyword in the PublicThings class
Make a ScriptableObject and attach it to the item that is calling it (video tutorial)
Utilize the Singleton Pattern (I would suggest avoid using this method before trying the other two)
Also it's worth noting that the Singleton Pattern doesn't necessarily solve your problem. You will still have to call something like PublicThings.instance.Score.
Hope this helps.
Singleton pattern is the way to go.
Also, with lazy instantiation.
public class PublicThings
{
private static PublicThings _instance;
// Your private constructor
private PublicThings() { }
public static PublicThings Instance
{
get
{
if (_instance == null)
{
// Construction of instance logic here
_instance = new PublicThings();
}
return _instance;
}
// No setter, read-only property
}
// Decide if Score is a read-only property or not.
public int Score { get; set; }
}
Whener the single instance of PublicThings is required, it will be constructed and then stored. A second access to the instance will provide the stored one.
[Test]
public void WithTwoAccess_ToSingleInstance_MustBeTheSame()
{
var things1 = PublicThings.Instance;
var things2 = PublicThings.Instance;
Assert.AreSame(things2, things1);
// Asserts true
}
If your Score property must be set once, just change que Instance property to a method (commonly called GetInstance) which expects the value of Score.
Hope it helps.

How to show all the static properties of a struct like the System.Drawing.Color?

I have a struct called Services and in it I have some static properties
public struct Servico
{
public static Servico Instalacao {
get { return new Servico(ServicesType.Instalacao); }
}
public static Servico Desativacao {
get { return new Servico(ServicesType.Desativacao); }
}
public static Servico TrocaVeiculo {
get { return new Servico(ServicesType.TrocaVeiculo); }
}
public static Servico TrocaTitularidade {
get { return new Servico(ServicesType.TrocaTitularidade); }
}
}
How to list all my properties when I declare an object. Same when we declare a color, automatically all colors are listed.
Example:
Some object-oriented languages allow one to access a static member through an instance.
C# however does not. While from within the class or struct (or one derived from it) you can call a static method or access a static field or property directly just as you can an instance method, from outside of it you must use the name of the class or struct.
Hence e.g.:
var foo = Servico.Instalacao;
The intellisense is geared towards helping you write reasonable code. As such if you write the above as far as:
var foo = Servico.
Then it should list the static members at that point.

HowTo: Return an object from a (static) method?

I'm building a WinForms application using C# 2.0 for a Job Scheduler.
Wrote a public class Job in Program.cs defining the Job object.
//Class for defining Job object and its properties
public class Job
{
private int IntJobID;
public int JobID
{
get {return IntJobID;}
set {IntJobID = value;}
}
private string StrJobName;
public string JobName
{
get { return StrJobName; }
set { StrJobName = value; }
}
//Several other properties defined here.
}
Also wrote a public static class ApplicationName in Program.cs for containing application-wide config variables and all helper methods.
//Static Class for Global Properties and Global Methods
//*****************************************************
public static class ApplicationName
{
//Global Properties
//***************************
public static string ConfigFilePath = "D:\\ApplicationName\\conf\\ApplicationName.ini";
public static string DBFilePath = "D:\\ApplicationName\\data\\ApplicationName.xml";
//Global Methods
//************************
public static void HelperMethod1(Args)
{
}
public static string HelperMethod2(Args)
{
}
public static Job GetJobByID(int JobID)
{
XmlDocument XMLDB = new XmlDocument(); XMLDB.Load(DBFilePath);
Job ObjJob = new Job();
ObjJob.JobName = XMLDB.SelectSingleNode("/ApplicationName/Job[JobID=" + JobID.ToString() + "]/JobName").InnerText.Trim();
//Several other properties are retrieved from the DB and set to the object here.
return ObjJob;
}
}
One of the helper methods GetJobByID in the public static class ApplicationName is required to create/instantiate a Job object and return the same. I believe this is possible, a method within ClassA creating and returning an instance/object of ClassB.
Note: This method is meant for access from other forms such as Form1.cs, Form2.cs, etc. in the following way. To my knowledge, this is also allowed and is accepted practice.
private void FormAddEditJob_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
int SelectedJobID = Convert.ToInt32(this.Tag);
//Creating an instance of the Job Class
//Assigning the value of the Job object returned by GetJobByID method
Job JobToEdit = ApplicationName.GetJobByID(SelectedJobID);
TextBoxJobID.Text = SelectedJobID.ToString();
TextBoxJobName.Text = JobToEdit.JobName;
}
PROBLEM: The object returned by GetJobByID method is not getting stored in the object reference JobToEdit. Or even possible that the GetJobByID method does not return an object appropriately / as expected. What am I doing wrong here? Is this not the right way to return an object?
Issue identified and resolved.
One of the statements ObjJob.PropertyName = XMLDB.SelectSingleNode() in the GetJobByID method was throwing an exception, due to fetching null values from the DB, thereby resulting in the ObjJob object being returned as null. Found this by debugging line by line.

Replace object instance with another in C#

In this question I would like to find out if and how this is possible. This technique would seem extremely bad practice but it seems that the API (UnityEditor) that I am using, is doing something like this and I am just curious.
If there are multiple references to the same object, is it possible to instantiate a new object into the same memory slot so that all previous references point to the new object?
I figured out that the only feasible way to do so is by using unmanaged C++. Essentially the following is happening:
// Original prefab
GameObject prefab = x;
prefab.tag = "Untagged";
// A copy of the original prefab
GameObject prefabCopy = PrefabUtility.InstantiatePrefab(prefab) as GameObject;
prefabCopy.tag = "EditorOnly"; // Change from initial value "Untagged"
Debug.Log(prefab.tag); // "Untagged" - expected
Debug.Log(prefabCopy.tag); // "EditorOnly" - expected
// Replace contents of prefab file with `prefabCopy`
PrefabUtility.ReplacePrefab(prefabCopy, prefab);
// Destroy the copy
DestroyImmediate(prefabCopy);
Debug.Log(prefab.tag); // "EditorOnly" - whoa?
Some how prefab is now pointing to a different object?
Note: Bear in mind that Unity is built on top of the Mono flavour of .NET
Since an object state is defined by field values, you can copy memory, containing field values, from one object to another, effectively "replacing" it:
public static void Replace<T>(T x, T y)
where T : class
{
// replaces 'x' with 'y'
if(x == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("x");
if(y == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("y");
var size = Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(T));
var ptr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(size);
Marshal.StructureToPtr(y, ptr, false);
Marshal.PtrToStructure(ptr, x);
Marshal.FreeHGlobal(ptr);
}
Note that this code requires [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)] (or LayoutKind.Explicit) attribute defined for a class.
You could do that if you embed your object into another one that is used to access the object.
class ObjectReference<T>
where T : new()
{
private T _obj = new T();
public void CreateNewObject()
{
_obj = new T();
}
public T Value { get return _obj; }
}
Now you can create multiple references to an object of type ObjectReference and only change the local object. The "real" object would be accessed through the Value property
A slightly different approach is that you create a wrapper that implements the same interface as your "real" object, thus making this wrapping transparent.
interface ISomeInterface
{
string PropertyA { get; set }
void MethodB (int x);
}
class TheRealObject : ISomeInterface
{
public string PropertyA { get; set }
public void MethodB (int x)
{
Console.WriteLine(x);
}
}
class Wrapper : ISomeInterface
{
TheRealObject _obj = new TheRealObject();
public string PropertyA
{
get { return _obj.PropertyA; }
set { _obj.PropertyA = value; }
}
public void MethodB (int x)
{
_obj.MethodB(x);
}
public void CreateNewObject()
{
_obj = new TheRealObject();
}
}
Now the wrapper can be used as if it was the "real" object. You could also pass an initial instance of the "real" object in the wrapper's constructor and remove the initializer of _obj.
No, that's not possible.
To actually change all references to an object, you would have to freeze all threads in the process, and access their register sets and stack. That's what the garbage collector does, but it's not possible for regular code.
What the method most likely does is to make a deep copy of one object onto the other.
If it is a custom Class you want to reference, i think you can have all the references point to a Fake Reference...
create your class (A)
create your class Interface (IA)
Create a wrapper class based on your interface which just passes all calls to a contained object (AC)
I Added a Assignment operator so i have all A Objects as ACs.
class AC:IA
{
IA ref;
AC(IA ref)
{
this.ref = ref;
}
public void ChangeReference(IA newRef) { ref = newRef;}
public static operator = (IA assignedObj)
{
return (assignedObject is AC) ? assignedObject : new AC(assignedObj);
}
// implementation of all methods in A
public override string ToString() { return ref.ToString(); }
...
}
Now if you want, you can use the ChangeReference method to switch all to the new Reference..
in C++ you would use Reference to Reference
Best of luck

C# Get property value without creating instance?

Is it possible to get value without creating an instance ?
I have this class:
public class MyClass
{
public string Name{ get{ return "David"; } }
public MyClass()
{
}
}
Now I need get the value "David", without creating instance of MyClass.
Real answer: no. It's an instance property, so you can only call it on an instance. You should either create an instance, or make the property static as shown in other answers.
See MSDN for more information about the difference between static and instance members.
Tongue-in-cheek but still correct answer:
Is it possible to get value without creating an instance ?
Yes, but only via some really horrible code which creates some IL passing in null as this (which you don't use in your property), using a DynamicMethod. Sample code:
// Jon Skeet explicitly disclaims any association with this horrible code.
// THIS CODE IS FOR FUN ONLY. USING IT WILL INCUR WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH.
using System;
using System.Reflection.Emit;
public class MyClass
{
public string Name { get{ return "David"; } }
}
class Test
{
static void Main()
{
var method = typeof(MyClass).GetProperty("Name").GetGetMethod();
var dynamicMethod = new DynamicMethod("Ugly", typeof(string),
Type.EmptyTypes);
var generator = dynamicMethod.GetILGenerator();
generator.Emit(OpCodes.Ldnull);
generator.Emit(OpCodes.Call, method);
generator.Emit(OpCodes.Ret);
var ugly = (Func<string>) dynamicMethod.CreateDelegate(
typeof(Func<string>));
Console.WriteLine(ugly());
}
}
Please don't do this. Ever. It's ghastly. It should be trampled on, cut up into little bits, set on fire, then cut up again. Fun though, isn't it? ;)
This works because it's using call instead of callvirt. Normally the C# compiler would use a callvirt call even if it's not calling a virtual member because that gets null reference checking "for free" (as far as the IL stream is concerned). A non-virtual call like this doesn't check for nullity first, it just invokes the member. If you checked this within the property call, you'd find it's null.
EDIT: As noted by Chris Sinclair, you can do it more simply using an open delegate instance:
var method = typeof(MyClass).GetProperty("Name").GetGetMethod();
var openDelegate = (Func<MyClass, string>) Delegate.CreateDelegate
(typeof(Func<MyClass, string>), method);
Console.WriteLine(openDelegate(null));
(But again, please don't!)
You can make that property static
public static string Name{ get{ return "David"; } }
Usage:
MyClass.Name;
You requirements do seem strange, but I think you're looking for some kind of metadata. You can use an attribute to achieve this:
public class NameAttribute : Attribute {
public string Name { get; private set; }
public NameAttribute(string name) {
Name = name;
}
}
[Name("George")]
public class Dad {
public string Name {
get {
return NameGetter.For(this.GetType());
}
}
}
[Name("Frank")]
public class Son : Dad {
}
public static class NameGetter {
public static string For<T>() {
return For(typeof(T));
}
public static string For(Type type) {
// add error checking ...
return ((NameAttribute)type.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(NameAttribute), false)[0]).Name;
}
}
Now this code can get names with and without instances:
Console.WriteLine(new Dad().Name);
Console.WriteLine(new Son().Name);
Console.WriteLine(NameGetter.For<Dad>());
Console.WriteLine(NameGetter.For<Son>());
You can make your property static, as pointed out by many others.
public static string Name{ get{ return "David"; } }
Be aware that this means your instances of MyClass will no longer have their own Name property, since static members belong to the class, not the individual object instances of it.
Edit:
In a note, you mentioned that you want to override the Name property in subclasses. At the same time, you want to be able to access it at the class level (access it without creating an instance of your class).
For the static properties, you would simply create a new Name property in each class. Since they are static, you're always (almost always, yay reflection) going to access them using a specific class, so you'd be specifying which version of Name you want to get. If you want to try and hack polymorphism in there and get the name from any given subclass of MyClass, you could do so using reflection, but I wouldn't recommend doing so.
Using the example from your comment:
public class Dad
{
public static string Name { get { return "George"; }
}
public class Son : Dad
{
public static string Name { get{ return "Frank"; }
}
public static void Test()
{
Console.WriteLine(Dad.Name); // prints "George"
Console.WriteLine(Son.Name); // prints "Frank"
Dad actuallyASon = new Son();
PropertyInfo nameProp = actuallyASon.GetType().GetProperty("Name");
Console.WriteLine(nameProp.GetValue(actuallyASon, null)); // prints "Frank"
}
As a side note, since you are declaring a property that has only a getter and it is returning a constant value, I recommend possibly using a const or static readonly variable instead.
public const string Name = "David";
public static readonly string Name = "David";
Usage for both would be the same:
string name = MyClass.Name;
The main benefit (and drawback) of const is that all references to it are actually replaced by its value when the code is compiled. That means it will be a little faster, but if you ever change its value, you will need to recompile ALL code that references it.
Whenever you write C# code, always check if your method and property getter/setter code does anything at all with other instance members of the class. If they don't, be sure to apply the static keyword. Certainly the case here, it trivially solves your problem.
The reason I really post to this question is that there's a bit of language bias at work in some of the answers. The C# rule that you can't call an instance method on a null object is a specific C# language rule. It is without a doubt a very wise one, it really helps to troubleshoot NullReferenceExceptions, they are raised at the call site instead of somewhere inside of a method where it gets very hard to diagnose that the this reference is null.
But this is certainly not a requirement to the CLR, nor of every language that run on the CLR. In fact, even C# doesn't enforce it consistently, you can readily bypass it in an extension method:
public static class Extensions {
public static bool IsNullOrEmpty(this string obj) {
return obj != null && obj.Length > 0;
}
}
...
string s = null;
bool empty = s.IsNullOrEmpty(); // Fine
And using your property from a language that doesn't have the same rule works fine as well. Like C++/CLI:
#include "stdafx.h"
using namespace System;
using namespace ClassLibrary1; // Add reference
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
MyClass^ obj = nullptr;
String^ name = obj->Name; // Fine
Console::WriteLine(name);
return 0;
}
Create a static property:
public class MyClass
{
public static string Name { get { return "David"; } }
public MyClass()
{
}
}
Get it like so:
string name1 = MyClass.Name;
That is not possible. As Name is an instance property, you can only get its value if you have an instance.
Also, note that you are not talking about a parameter, but about a property.
Create a static class or a static property, and you don't have to explicitly instantiate it.

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