Develop Reference

How to get content of array from C++ dll in C#

I want to use functions from DLL in C++ with C#.
I store string data in a vector.
My C++ file contains:
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) std::vector<std::string> GetProduct();
std::vector<std::string> GetProduct()
{
std::vector<std::string> vectProduct;
vectProduct.push_back("Citroen");
vectProduct.push_back("C5");
vectProduct.push_back("MOP-C5");
return vectProduct;
}
In C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
[DllImport("ProductLibrary.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern StringBuilder GetProduct();
static void Main(string[] args)
{
StringBuilder vectProduct_impl = GetProduct();
}
}
}
I don't know how to continue to browse the array in c#.
I don't know if the use of vector is optimal. if you have other solution I'm ready.
Please help.

My favourite way for passing an array of strings C++-->C# is by using a delegate.
C#:
// If possible use UnmanagedType.LPUTF8Str
// or under Windows rewrite everything to use
// wchar_t, std::wstring and UnmanagedType.LPWStr
[UnmanagedFunctionPointer(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public delegate void AddAnsi([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)] string str);
[DllImport("CPlusPlusSide.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern void TestReturnArrayStrings(AddAnsi add);
and then
var lst = new List<string>();
TestReturnArrayStrings(lst.Add);
foreach (string str in lst)
{
Console.WriteLine(str);
}
And C++:
#include <string>
#include <vector>
extern "C"
{
__declspec(dllexport) void TestReturnArrayStrings(void (add)(const char* pstr))
{
std::string str1 = "Hello";
std::string str2 = "World";
add(str1.data());
add(str2.data());
// Example with std::vector
add("--separator--"); // You can even use C strings
std::vector<std::string> v = { "Foo", "Bar" };
// for (std::vector<std::string>::iterator it = v.begin(); it != v.end(); ++it)
for (std::vector<std::string>::const_iterator it = v.begin(); it != v.end(); ++it)
{
add(it->data());
}
add("--separator--"); // You can even use C strings
// With C++ 11
// for (auto& it: v)
for (const auto& it: v)
{
add(it.data());
}
}
}
Here the "trick" is that C# passes to C++ a delegate to the List<string>.Add() method, and C++ "fills" directly the C# List<>. The memory managed by C++ remains in the C++ side, the memory managed by the C# remains in the C# side. No problems of cross-memory ownership. As you can imagine, it is quite easy to expand the "trick" to any other .Add() method, like HashSet<string>, or Dictionary<string, string>.
As a sidenote, I've created a github with many examples about marshaling between C/C++ and C# (both .NET Framework and .NET Core/5.0).

One way to do it is to use COM's SAFEARRAY structure as it's supported by .NET (the .NET Allocator used by P/Invoke is the COM allocator), including most of associated sub types, like BSTR.
So, in C/C++, you can define this:
extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) LPSAFEARRAY GetProduct();
LPSAFEARRAY GetProduct()
{
LPSAFEARRAY psa = SafeArrayCreateVector(VT_BSTR, 0, 3);
LONG index = 0;
// _bstr_t is a smart class that frees allocated memory automatically
// it needs #include <comdef.h>
// but you can also use raw methods like SysAllocString / SysFreeString
_bstr_t s0(L"Citroen"); // could use "Citroen" if you really want ANSI strings
// note SafeArrayPutElement does a copy internally
SafeArrayPutElement(psa, &index, s0.GetBSTR());
index++;
_bstr_t s1(L"C5");
SafeArrayPutElement(psa, &index, s1.GetBSTR());
index++;
_bstr_t s2(L"MOP - C5");
SafeArrayPutElement(psa, &index, s2.GetBSTR());
index++;
return psa;
}
And in C#, you can define this:
[DllImport("ProductLibrary.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.SafeArray)]
public static extern string[] GetProduct();

type conversion problem for marshaling datatypes from C# to C++

I'm currently working on an C# (.NET Framework 4.7.2) application using some business logic from an unmanaged C++ library. I try to pass data (interop) back and forth from C# to C++. I may not use C++/CLI, no common language runtime allowed in my project.
It works fine for int. Unfortunately as soon as I try to send another datatype I'm getting an conversion error e.g. float 4.2f becomes 1 and string "fourtytwo" turns into -1529101360.
My C# code looks like this:
// works fine, creates an instance of TestClass
var test = TestProxy.Wrapper_Create("test");
// int, works fine, a = 42
var a = TestProxy.TryInt(test, 42);
// float, problem, b = 1
var b = TestProxy.TryFloat(test, 4.2f);
// string, problem, c = -159101360
var c = TestProxy.TryString(test, "fourtytwo");
My C# Interop Proxy class to call the native (unmanaged) C++ code looks like this:
public static class TestProxy
{
private const string coreDLL = "test.core.dll";
[DllImport(coreDLL, CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern IntPtr Wrapper_Create(string name);
[DllImport(coreDLL, EntryPoint = "?TryInt#TestClass##XXX#X", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.ThisCall)]
public static extern int TryInt(IntPtr instance, int n);
[DllImport(coreDLL, EntryPoint = "?TryFloat#TestClass##XXX#X", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.ThisCall)]
public static extern int TryFloat(IntPtr instance, float n);
[DllImport(coreDLL, EntryPoint = "?TryString#TestClass##XXX#X", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.ThisCall)]
public static extern int TryString(IntPtr instance, string n);
}
My native (unmanaged) C++ looks like that:
the header file:
#ifdef TESTCORE_EXPORTS
#define TESTCORE_API __declspec(dllexport)
#endif
#pragma once
extern "C"
{
class TESTCORE_API TestClass
{
private:
char* name;
public:
TestClass(char*);
int TryInt(int);
float TryFloat(float);
char* TryString(char*);
};
TESTCORE_API TestClass* Wrapper_Create(char* name);
}
the implementation file:
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "TESTCore.h"
TestClass::TestClass(char* n)
{
name = n;
}
int TestClass::TryInt(int n)
{
return n; // works fine
}
float TestClass::TryFloat(float n)
{
return n; // something goes wrong here
}
char* TestClass::TryString(char* n)
{
return n; // something goes wrong here
}
extern "C"
{
TESTCORE_API TestClass * Wrapper_Create(char* name)
{
return new TestClass(name);
}
TESTCORE_API int TryInt(TestClass * instance, int n)
{
if (instance != NULL)
{
return instance->TryInt(n);
}
}
TESTCORE_API float TryFloat(TestClass * instance, float n)
{
if (instance != NULL)
{
return instance->TryFloat(n);
}
}
TESTCORE_API char* TryString(TestClass * instance, char* n)
{
if (instance != NULL)
{
return instance->TryString(n);
}
}
}
Do you know how to correctly marshal float, string from C# to C++ and back?
Thank you!

C++ doesn't have standard ABI. It's rarely a good idea to use C++ classes across DLLs, even when you have same language on both sides.
There're better ways.
Replace your __thiscall class methods with global functions, cdecl or stdcall whichever you like (but note C# and C++ have different defaults, if you'll do nothing C++ will use cdecl, C# will import as stdcall). You can pass "this" pointer of the class in the first argument, IntPtr in C#, just like you're doing now. Also if you'll write extern "C" or use a module definition file, they will have human-readable names.
If you want objects, use COM. Declare an interface that inherits from IUnknown, implement it in C++ (I usually use ATL), and export a global function to create an instance of that object (2 lines in ATL, CComObject<T>::CreateInstance followed by AddRef). No need to register, type libraries, you just need to implement IUnknown (but see this if you want to use them from multiple threads)
Update: strings are indeed harder. Apply [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)] to the argument. Apply [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)] to the function. Specify PreserveSig=true in your DllImport. Finally, modify the C++ code to return a copy of the string, i.e. call strlen then CoTaskMemAlloc (don't forget about the '\0') then strcpy.
Easier way to deal with strings is like this:
HRESULT TryString( TestClass *instance, BSTR i, BSTR *o )
At least there're CComBSTR and _bstr_t built-in classes to deal with memory management.

C++/CLI wrapper memleak when calling managed lib from unmanaged

I have this error when calling managed code library from unmanaged code:
Run-Time Check Failure #2 - Stack around the variable 'BridgeObj' was corrupted.
The code I created is:
Managed lib:
using System;
namespace My.Name.Space
{
public class Sample
{
public int Request(string xml_input, out string xml_output)
{
xml_output = "Retun string.";
return 0;
}
}
}
Wrapper C++/CLI:
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <msclr\auto_gcroot.h>
#using "..\link\ManagedLib.dll"
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices; // Marshal
struct ManagedModul
{
public:
msclr::auto_gcroot<My::Name::Space::Sample^> SampleModul;
};
class __declspec(dllexport) Bridge
{
private:
ManagedModul _private;
public:
Bridge()
{
_private.SampleModul = gcnew My::Name::Space::Sample();
};
~Bridge()
{
}
int Request ( const char * xmlin, char ** xmlout )
{
System::String ^ps;
_private.SampleModul->Request(gcnew System::String(xmlin), ps);
* xmlout = (char*) (Marshal::StringToHGlobalAnsi(ps)).ToPointer();
return 0;
}
};
Sample usage:
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <Windows.h>
#pragma comment ( lib, "..\\link\\Wrapper.lib" )
class Bridge
{
public:
Bridge();
~Bridge();
int Request ( const char * xmlin, char ** xmlout );
};
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
Bridge BridgeObj;
char * buffer = NULL;
BridgeObj.Request("aaaaa", & buffer );
LocalFree ( buffer );
return 0;
}

class Bridge
{
public:
Bridge();
~Bridge();
int Request ( const char * xmlin, char ** xmlout );
};
This is a very, very bad practice. Instead of using a .h file that is used in both projects, you redeclared the Bridge class. And got it wrong, you missed the _private member. This always goes wrong. If not immediately then in a year from now when you modify the real Bridge class.
What happens next is pretty inevitable. The real class object is larger than what the compiler thinks when it compiles your redeclared class. So it doesn't reserve enough space on the stack to store the object. Inevitable, that will cause another variable on the stack to get whacked, overwritten whenever the real class assigns the _private member.
Buy Microsoft a cigar for building in this diagnostic, stack corruption like this is normally extraordinarily hard to diagnose. And use a .h file to declare Bridge.

How to call C++ function takes Vector call from C#

I am working in C++ and creating library which analyses the data. I have created few classes which have functions taking C++ vector. Now I want to create UI in C# and call these classes. I am thinking to create API to call from C#.
Since data are arrays/vector then how can I call it from C#?

I would have just made this a comment, but my rep isn't high enough. There are some complications when using STL classes (such as vector or string) in a class library with C++. You can check here for some more info and possible solutions: I can pass std::string for a Dll and what i can do with DLL´s?

You need to create your own C++/CLI interop to achieve this.
Strongly recommend a nice book, "Expert C++/CLI" by Marcus Heege, quite a good read.
Here's my brief example:
// Program.cs
static void Main(string[] args)
{
List<string> someStringList = new List<string>();
someStringList.Add("Betty");
someStringList.Add("Davis");
someStringList.Add("Eyes");
NativeClassInterop nativeClass = new NativeClassInterop();
string testString = nativeClass.StringCat(someStringList);
}
// NativeClass.h, skipping this, it's obvious anyways
// NativeClass.cpp, normal C++ class, this was in some DLL project, don't need exports
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "NativeClass.h"
std::string NativeClass::StringCat(std::vector<std::string> stringList)
{
std::string result = "";
for(unsigned int i = 0; i < stringList.size(); i++)
{
if(i != 0)
{
result += " ";
}
result += stringList[i];
}
return result;
}
// NativeClassInterop.cpp, in same DLL project, but compile this file with /clr switch
#include <gcroot.h>
#using <System.dll>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
#include "NativeClass.h"
// Helper method
static std::string nativeStringFromManaged(System::String^ str)
{
System::IntPtr hGlobal =
System::Runtime::InteropServices::Marshal::StringToHGlobalAnsi(str);
std::string nativeString((hGlobal.ToPointer() == 0)
? "" : (char*)hGlobal.ToPointer());
System::Runtime::InteropServices::Marshal::FreeHGlobal(hGlobal);
return nativeString;
}
// C++/CLI wrapper class
public ref class NativeClassInterop
{
public:
System::String^ StringCat(System::Collections::Generic::List<System::String^>^ someStringList)
{
// You get to do the marshalling for the inputs
std::vector<std::string> stringList;
for(int i = 0; i < someStringList->Count; i++)
{
stringList.push_back(nativeStringFromManaged(someStringList[i]));
}
NativeClass nativeClass;
std::string nativeString = nativeClass.StringCat(stringList);
// And for the outputs ;-)
System::String^ managedString = gcnew System::String(nativeString.c_str());
return managedString;
}
};

Reverse PInvoke from native C++

I am currently trying to call a function from a C# DLL from an unmanaged C++ app.
After searching for hours on the web and SO, I found I have a few options.
I can use COM, DllExport, or use reverse PInvoke with delegates. The last sounded most appealing to me, so after searching SO I ended up here.
It states that the article shows how to use reverse PInvoke, but it looks like the C# code has to first import the C++ Dll, before it can be used.
I need to be able to use C++ to call my C# Dll functions, without running a C# app first.
Maybe reverse PInvoke isn't the way to do it, but I am quite inexperienced when it comes to low level stuff, so any pointers or tips on how to do this would be great.
The code in the link is
C#
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class foo
{
public delegate void callback(string str);
public static void callee(string str)
{
System.Console.WriteLine("Managed: " +str);
}
public static int Main()
{
caller("Hello World!", 10, new callback(foo.callee));
return 0;
}
[DllImport("nat.dll",CallingConvention=CallingConvention.StdCall)]
public static extern void caller(string str, int count, callback call);
}
C++
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
typedef void (__stdcall *callback)(wchar_t * str);
extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) void __stdcall caller(wchar_t * input, int count, callback call)
{
for(int i = 0; i < count; i++)
{
call(input);
}
}

Meh, just spin up your own CLR host and run what you need to:
#include <mscoree.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#pragma comment(lib, "mscoree.lib")
void Bootstrap()
{
ICLRRuntimeHost *pHost = NULL;
HRESULT hr = CorBindToRuntimeEx(L"v4.0.30319", L"wks", 0, CLSID_CLRRuntimeHost, IID_ICLRRuntimeHost, (PVOID*)&pHost);
pHost->Start();
printf("HRESULT:%x\n", hr);
// target method MUST be static int method(string arg)
DWORD dwRet = 0;
hr = pHost->ExecuteInDefaultAppDomain(L"c:\\temp\\test.dll", L"Test.Hello", L"SayHello", L"Person!", &dwRet);
printf("HRESULT:%x\n", hr);
hr = pHost->Stop();
printf("HRESULT:%x\n", hr);
pHost->Release();
}
int main()
{
Bootstrap();
}