Guid.ToByteArray Method ()
Returns a 16-element byte array that contains the value of this instance.
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
You can use the byte array returned by this method to round-trip a Guid value by calling the Guid(Byte()) constructor.
Note that the order of bytes in the returned byte array is different from the string representation of a Guid value. The order of the beginning four-byte group and the next two two-byte groups is reversed, whereas the order of the last two-byte group and the closing six-byte group is the same. The example provides an illustration.
The following example calls the NewGuid method to create a Guid value, and then calls the ToByteArray method to represent the Guid value as a byte array. It then displays both values to the console. Finally, it instantiates a new Guid value from the byte array and calls its Equals(Guid) method to show that the two Guid values are identical.
Module Example Public Sub Main() Dim guid As Guid = Guid.NewGuid Console.WriteLine("Guid: {0}", guid) Dim bytes() As Byte = guid.ToByteArray For Each byt In bytes Console.Write("{0:X2} ", byt) Next Console.WriteLine() Dim guid2 As New Guid(bytes) Console.WriteLine("Guid: {0} (Same as First Guid: {1})", guid2, guid2.Equals(guid)) End Sub End Module ' The example displays the following output: ' Guid: 35918bc9-196d-40ea-9779-889d79b753f0 ' C9 8B 91 35 6D 19 EA 40 97 79 88 9D 79 B7 53 F0 ' Guid: 35918bc9-196d-40ea-9779-889d79b753f0 (Same as First Guid: True)
Available since 8
.NET Framework
Available since 1.1
Portable Class Library
Supported in: portable .NET platforms
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
Windows Phone Silverlight
Available since 7.0
Windows Phone
Available since 8.1