ResourceManager.GetStream Method (String)

The GetStream method takes the name of a resource that is stored as a MemoryStream object, gets the value of the Object resource, and returns an UnmanagedMemoryStream object. It requires that you work directly with a stream of bytes, which you then convert to an object. This method is useful primarily for performance reasons: Retrieving a resource as a byte stream instead of an explicit object can improve performance.

The returned resource is localized for the UI culture of the current thread, which is defined by the CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture property. If the resource is not localized for that culture, the resource manager uses fallback rules to load an appropriate resource. If no usable set of localized resources is found, the ResourceManager falls back on the default culture's resources. If a resource set for the default culture is not found, the method throws a MissingManifestResourceException exception or, if the resource set is expected to reside in a satellite assembly, a MissingSatelliteAssemblyException exception. If the resource manager can load an appropriate resource set but cannot find a resource named name, the method returns null.

The IgnoreCase property determines whether the comparison of name with the names of resources is case-insensitive (the default) or case-sensitive.

The following example uses the GetStream(String) method to retrieve a bitmap that is used in an app's opening splash window. The following source code from a file named CreateResources.cs (for C#) or CreateResources.vb (for Visual Basic) generates a .resx file named AppResources.resx that contains the serialized image. In this case, the image is loaded from a file named SplashScreen.jpg; you can modify the file name to substitute your own image.

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.IO;
using System.Resources;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      Bitmap bmp = new Bitmap(@".\SplashScreen.jpg");
      MemoryStream imageStream = new MemoryStream();
      bmp.Save(imageStream, ImageFormat.Jpeg);

      ResXResourceWriter writer = new ResXResourceWriter("AppResources.resx");
      writer.AddResource("SplashScreen", imageStream);
      writer.Generate();
      writer.Close();      
   }
}

The following code from a file named GetStream.cs (for C#) or GetStream.vb (for Visual Basic) then retrieves the resource and displays the image in a System.Windows.Forms.PictureBox control.

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;
using System.Resources;
using System.Windows.Forms;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      ResourceManager rm = new ResourceManager("AppResources", typeof(Example).Assembly);
      Bitmap screen = (Bitmap) Image.FromStream(rm.GetStream("SplashScreen"));

      Form frm = new Form();
      frm.Size = new Size(300, 300);

      PictureBox pic = new PictureBox();
      pic.Bounds = frm.RestoreBounds;
      pic.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D; 
      pic.Image = screen;
      pic.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage;

      frm.Controls.Add(pic);
      pic.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Top | AnchorStyles.Bottom |
                   AnchorStyles.Left | AnchorStyles.Right;

      frm.ShowDialog();
   }
}

You can use the following batch file to build the C# example. For Visual Basic, change csc to vbc, and change the extension of the source code file from .cs to .vb..

csc CreateResources.cs
CreateResources

resgen AppResources.resx

csc GetStream.cs /resource:AppResources.resources

.NET Framework

.NET Framework Client Profile

• ReflectionPermission 

  when invoked late-bound through mechanisms such as Type.InvokeMember. Associated enumeration: ReflectionPermissionFlag.MemberAccess.

Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role supported with SP1 or later; Itanium not supported)

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

Reference