MemoryStream.GetBuffer Method

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Returns the array of unsigned bytes from which this stream was created.

Namespace:  System.IO
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Overridable Function GetBuffer As Byte()
public virtual byte[] GetBuffer()

Return Value

Type: array<System.Byte[]
The byte array from which this stream was created, or the underlying array if a byte array was not provided to the MemoryStream constructor during construction of the current instance.

Exceptions

Exception Condition
UnauthorizedAccessException

The MemoryStream instance was not created with a publicly visible buffer.

Remarks

Note that the buffer contains allocated bytes which might be unused. For example, if the string "test" is written into the MemoryStream object, the length of the buffer returned from GetBuffer is 256, not 4, with 252 bytes unused. To obtain only the data in the buffer, use the ToArray method; however, ToArray creates a copy of the data in memory.

The buffer can also be nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

To create a MemoryStream instance with a publicly visible buffer, use MemoryStream, MemoryStream(array<Byte[], Int32, Int32, Boolean, Boolean), or MemoryStream(Int32). If the current stream is resizable, two calls to this method do not return the same array if the underlying byte array is resized between calls. For additional information, see Capacity.

NoteNote:

This method works when the memory stream is closed.

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.