By using attributes you can customize how structs are laid out in memory. For example, you can create what is known as a union in C/C++ by using the StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit) and FieldOffset attributes.
Example
In this code segment, all of the fields of TestUnion start at the same location in memory.
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
struct TestUnion
{
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(0)]
public int i;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(0)]
public double d;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(0)]
public char c;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(0)]
public byte b;
}
The following is another example where fields start at different explicitly set locations.
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
struct TestExplicit
{
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(0)]
public long lg;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(0)]
public int i1;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(4)]
public int i2;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(8)]
public double d;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(12)]
public char c;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffset(14)]
public byte b;
}
The two int fields, i1 and i2, share the same memory locations as lg. This sort of control over struct layout is useful when using platform invocation.
See Also