CA2018: The count
argument to Buffer.BlockCopy
should specify the number of bytes to copy
Property | Value |
---|---|
Rule ID | CA2018 |
Title | The count argument to Buffer.BlockCopy should specify the number of bytes to copy |
Category | Reliability |
Fix is breaking or non-breaking | Non-breaking |
Enabled by default in .NET 9 | As warning |
Cause
This rule fires when Array.Length
is used for the count
argument of Buffer.BlockCopy
on arrays whose elements are larger than one byte in size.
Rule description
When using Buffer.BlockCopy
, the count
argument specifies the number of bytes to copy. You should only use Array.Length
for the count
argument on arrays whose elements are exactly one byte in size. byte
, sbyte
, and bool
arrays have elements that are one byte in size.
How to fix violations
Specify the number of bytes that you intend to copy for the count
argument.
Example
Violation:
using System;
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
int[] src = new int[] {1, 2, 3, 4};
int[] dst = new int[] {0, 0, 0, 0};
Buffer.BlockCopy(src, 0, dst, 0, src.Length);
}
}
Fix:
If your array's elements are larger than one byte in size, you can multiply the length of the array by the element size to get the number of bytes.
using System;
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
int[] src = new int[] {1, 2, 3, 4};
int[] dst = new int[] {0, 0, 0, 0};
Buffer.BlockCopy(src, 0, dst, 0, src.Length * sizeof(int));
}
}
When to suppress warnings
It is generally NOT safe to suppress a warning from this rule.