.NET Framework Class Library
Marshal.PtrToStructure Method (IntPtr, Type)

Marshals data from an unmanaged block of memory to a newly allocated managed object of the specified type.

Namespace: System.Runtime.InteropServices
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Shared Function PtrToStructure ( _
    ptr As IntPtr, _
    structureType As Type _
) As Object
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim ptr As IntPtr
Dim structureType As Type
Dim returnValue As Object

returnValue = Marshal.PtrToStructure(ptr, structureType)
C#
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)] 
public static Object PtrToStructure (
    IntPtr ptr,
    Type structureType
)
C++
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)] 
public:
static Object^ PtrToStructure (
    IntPtr ptr, 
    Type^ structureType
)
J#
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */ 
public static Object PtrToStructure (
    IntPtr ptr, 
    Type structureType
)
JScript
ComVisibleAttribute(true) 
public static function PtrToStructure (
    ptr : IntPtr, 
    structureType : Type
) : Object

Parameters

ptr

A pointer to an unmanaged block of memory.

structureType

The Type of object to be created. This type object must represent a formatted class or a structure.

Return Value

A managed object containing the data pointed to by the ptr parameter.
Exceptions

Exception typeCondition

ArgumentException

The structureType parameter layout is not sequential or explicit.

-or-

The structureType parameter is a generic type.

Remarks

PtrToStructure is often necessary in COM interop and platform invoke when structure parameters are represented as an System.IntPtr value. You can pass a value type to this overload method. In this case, the returned object is a boxed instance.

NoteNote

This method uses SecurityAction.LinkDemand to prevent it from being called from untrusted code; only the immediate caller is required to have SecurityPermissionAttribute.UnmanagedCode permission. If your code can be called from partially trusted code, do not pass user input to Marshal class methods without validation. For important limitations on using the LinkDemand member, see Demand vs. LinkDemand.

Example

The following code example creates a managed structure, transfers it to unmanaged memory, and then transfers it back to managed memory using the PtrToStructure method.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices



Public Structure Point
    Public x As Integer
    Public y As Integer
End Structure


Module Example


    Sub Main()

        ' Create a point struct.
        Dim p As Point
        p.x = 1
        p.y = 1

        Console.WriteLine("The value of first point is " + p.x.ToString + " and " + p.y.ToString + ".")

        ' Initialize unmanged memory to hold the struct.
        Dim pnt As IntPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Marshal.SizeOf(p))

        Try

            ' Copy the struct to unmanaged memory.
            Marshal.StructureToPtr(p, pnt, False)

            ' Create another point.
            Dim anotherP As Point

            ' Set this Point to the value of the 
            ' Point in unmanaged memory. 
            anotherP = CType(Marshal.PtrToStructure(pnt, GetType(Point)), Point)

            Console.WriteLine("The value of new point is " + anotherP.x.ToString + " and " + anotherP.y.ToString + ".")

        Finally
            ' Free the unmanaged memory.
            Marshal.FreeHGlobal(pnt)
        End Try

    End Sub
End Module

C#
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

public struct Point
{
    public int x;
    public int y;
}

class Example
{

    static void Main()
    {

        // Create a point struct.
        Point p;
        p.x = 1;
        p.y = 1;

        Console.WriteLine("The value of first point is " + p.x + " and " + p.y + ".");

        // Initialize unmanged memory to hold the struct.
        IntPtr pnt = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Marshal.SizeOf(p));

        try
        {

            // Copy the struct to unmanaged memory.
            Marshal.StructureToPtr(p, pnt, false);

            // Create another point.
            Point anotherP;

            // Set this Point to the value of the 
            // Point in unmanaged memory. 
            anotherP = (Point)Marshal.PtrToStructure(pnt, typeof(Point));

            Console.WriteLine("The value of new point is " + anotherP.x + " and " + anotherP.y + ".");

        }
        finally
        {
            // Free the unmanaged memory.
            Marshal.FreeHGlobal(pnt);
        }
        


    }

}

The following code example demonstrates how to marshal an unmanaged block of memory to a managed structure using the PtrToStructure method.

C#
        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]

        public class  INNER

        {

            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst =  10)]

            public string field1 = "Test";

     

        }    

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]

        public struct OUTER

        {

            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst =  10)]

            public string field1;

            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst =  100)]

            public byte[] inner;

        }





        [DllImport(@"SomeTestDLL.dll")]

        public static extern void CallTest( ref OUTER po);



        static void Main(string[] args)

        {

            OUTER ed = new OUTER();

            INNER[] inn=new INNER[10];

            INNER test = new INNER();

            int iStructSize = Marshal.SizeOf(test);



            int sz =inn.Length * iStructSize;

            ed.inner = new byte[sz];



            try

            {

                CallTest( ref ed);

            }

            catch(Exception e)

            {

                Console.WriteLine(e.Message);

            }

            IntPtr buffer = Marshal.AllocCoTaskMem(iStructSize*10);

            Marshal.Copy(ed.inner,0,buffer,iStructSize*10);

            

            int iCurOffset = 0;

            for(int i=0;i<10;i++)

            {

                

                inn[i] = (INNER)Marshal.PtrToStructure(new
IntPtr(buffer.ToInt32()+iCurOffset),typeof(INNER) );

                iCurOffset += iStructSize;

            }

            Console.WriteLine(ed.field1);

            Marshal.FreeCoTaskMem(buffer);

        }
C++
[StructLayout(LayoutKind::Sequential)]
ref class INNER
{
public:
    [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType::ByValTStr,SizeConst=10)]
    String^ field;

    INNER()
    {
        field = "Test";
    }
};

[StructLayout(LayoutKind::Sequential)]
value struct OUTER
{
public:
    [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType::ByValTStr,SizeConst=10)]
    String^ field;

    [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType::ByValArray,SizeConst=100)]
    array<Byte>^ inner;
};

[DllImport("SomeTestDLL.dll")]
static void CallTest(OUTER^ outerStructurePointer);

void static Work()
{
    OUTER outerStructure;
    array<INNER^>^ innerArray = gcnew array<INNER^>(10);
    INNER^ innerStructure = gcnew INNER;
    int structSize = Marshal::SizeOf(innerStructure);
    int size = innerArray->Length * structSize;
    outerStructure.inner = gcnew array<Byte>(size);

    try
    {
        CallTest(outerStructure);
    }
    catch (SystemException^ ex) 
    {
        Console::WriteLine(ex->Message);
    }

    IntPtr buffer = Marshal::AllocCoTaskMem(structSize * 10);
    Marshal::Copy(outerStructure.inner, 0, buffer, structSize * 10);
    int currentOffset = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
    {
        innerArray[i] = safe_cast<INNER^>(Marshal::PtrToStructure(
            IntPtr(buffer.ToInt32() + currentOffset),
            INNER::typeid));
        currentOffset += structSize;
    }
    Console::WriteLine(outerStructure.field);
    Marshal::FreeCoTaskMem(buffer);
}
J#
/** @attribute StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)
 */
public static class Inner
{
    /** @attribute MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 10)
     */
    public String field1 = "Test";
} //Inner

/** @attribute StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)
 */
public static class Outer
{
    /** @attribute MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 10)
     */
    public String field1;

    /** @attribute MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 100)
     */
    public ubyte inner[];
} //Outer

/** @attribute DllImport("SomeTestDLL.dll")
 */
public static native void CallTest(Outer po);

private static void main(String[] args)
{
    Outer ed = new Outer();
    Inner inn[] = new Inner[10];
    Inner test = new Inner();
    int iStructSize = Marshal.SizeOf(test);
    int sz = inn.get_Length() * iStructSize;
    ed.inner = new ubyte[sz];
    try {
        CallTest(ed);
    }
    catch (System.Exception e) {
        Console.WriteLine(e.get_Message());
    }
    IntPtr buffer = Marshal.AllocCoTaskMem(iStructSize * 10);
    Marshal.Copy(ed.inner, 0, buffer, iStructSize * 10);
    int iCurOffset = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
        inn.set_Item(i, (Inner)(Marshal.PtrToStructure(new IntPtr(
            buffer.ToInt32() + iCurOffset), Inner.class.ToType())));
        iCurOffset += iStructSize;
    }
    Console.WriteLine(ed.field1);
    Marshal.FreeCoTaskMem(buffer);
} //main 
.NET Framework Security

Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.0
See Also

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