System.Runtime.InteropServi ...


.NET Framework Class Library
GCHandle Structure

Provides a means for accessing a managed object from unmanaged memory.

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

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Structure GCHandle
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As GCHandle
C#
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public struct GCHandle
Visual C++
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public value class GCHandle
JScript
JScript supports the use of structures, but not the declaration of new ones.
Remarks

The GCHandle class is used in conjunction with the GCHandleType enumeration to create a handle corresponding to any managed object. This handle can be one of four types: Weak, WeakTrackResurrection, Normal, or Pinned. Once allocated, you can use a GCHandle to prevent the managed object from being collected by the garbage collector when an unmanaged client holds the only reference. Without such a handle, the object can be collected by the garbage collector before completing its work on behalf of the unmanaged client.

You can also use the GCHandle to create a pinned object that returns a memory address and prevents the garbage collector from moving the object in memory.

Examples

The following example shows an App class that creates a handle to a managed object using the GCHandle.Alloc method, which prevents the managed object from being collected. A call to the EnumWindows method passes a delegate and a managed object (both declared as managed types, but not shown), and casts the handle to an IntPtr. The unmanaged function passes the type back to the caller as a parameter of the callback function.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports System.Security.Permissions

Public Delegate Function CallBack(ByVal handle As Integer, ByVal param As IntPtr) As Boolean


Module LibWrap

    ' passing managed object as LPARAM
    ' BOOL EnumWindows(WNDENUMPROC lpEnumFunc, LPARAM lParam);
    <DllImport("user32.dll")> _
    Function EnumWindows(ByVal cb As CallBack, ByVal param As IntPtr) As Boolean
    End Function
End Module 'LibWrap


Module App

    Sub Main()
    Run()

    End Sub

    <SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, UnmanagedCode:=true)> _
    Sub Run()

        Dim tw As TextWriter = System.Console.Out
        Dim gch As GCHandle = GCHandle.Alloc(tw)

        Dim cewp As CallBack
        cewp = AddressOf CaptureEnumWindowsProc

        ' platform invoke will prevent delegate to be garbage collected
        ' before call ends
        LibWrap.EnumWindows(cewp, GCHandle.ToIntPtr(gch))
        gch.Free()

    End Sub


    Function CaptureEnumWindowsProc(ByVal handle As Integer, ByVal param As IntPtr) As Boolean
        Dim gch As GCHandle = GCHandle.FromIntPtr(param)
        Dim tw As TextWriter = CType(gch.Target, TextWriter)
        tw.WriteLine(handle)
        Return True

    End Function
End Module
C#
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Security.Permissions;

public delegate bool CallBack(int handle, IntPtr param);

public class LibWrap
{
    // passing managed object as LPARAM
    // BOOL EnumWindows(WNDENUMPROC lpEnumFunc, LPARAM lParam);

    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    public static extern bool EnumWindows(CallBack cb, IntPtr param);
}

public class App
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Run();
    }

        [SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, UnmanagedCode=true)]
    public static void Run()
        {
        TextWriter tw = System.Console.Out;
        GCHandle gch = GCHandle.Alloc(tw);

        CallBack cewp = new CallBack(CaptureEnumWindowsProc);

        // platform invoke will prevent delegate to be garbage collected
        // before call ends

        LibWrap.EnumWindows(cewp, GCHandle.ToIntPtr(gch));
        gch.Free();
        }

    private static bool CaptureEnumWindowsProc(int handle, IntPtr param)
    {
        GCHandle gch = GCHandle.FromIntPtr(param);
        TextWriter tw = (TextWriter)gch.Target;
        tw.WriteLine(handle);
        return true;
    }
}
Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
See Also

Reference

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