StructLayoutAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Runtime.InteropServices

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

StructLayoutAttribute.cs

Lets you control the physical layout of the data fields of a class or structure in memory.

public ref class StructLayoutAttribute sealed : Attribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Class | System.AttributeTargets.Struct, Inherited=false)]
public sealed class StructLayoutAttribute : Attribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Class | System.AttributeTargets.Struct, Inherited=false)>]
type StructLayoutAttribute = class
    inherit Attribute

Public NotInheritable Class StructLayoutAttribute
Inherits Attribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

StructLayoutAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute

Examples

The following example demonstrates a managed declaration of the GetSystemTime function and defines MySystemTime class with LayoutKind.Explicit layout. GetSystemTime gets the system time and prints to the console.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;


[StructLayout(LayoutKind::Explicit,Size=16,CharSet=CharSet::Ansi)]
value class MySystemTime
{
public:

   [FieldOffset(0)]
   short wYear;

   [FieldOffset(2)]
   short wMonth;

   [FieldOffset(4)]
   short wDayOfWeek;

   [FieldOffset(6)]
   short wDay;

   [FieldOffset(8)]
   short wHour;

   [FieldOffset(10)]
   short wMinute;

   [FieldOffset(12)]
   short wSecond;

   [FieldOffset(14)]
   short wMilliseconds;
};

ref class NativeMethods
{
public:

   [DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
   static void GetSystemTime( MySystemTime * st );
};

int main()
{
   try
   {
      MySystemTime sysTime;
      NativeMethods::GetSystemTime(  &sysTime );
      Console::WriteLine( "The System time is {0}/{1}/{2} {3}:{4}:{5}", sysTime.wDay, sysTime.wMonth, sysTime.wYear, sysTime.wHour, sysTime.wMinute, sysTime.wSecond );
   }
   catch ( TypeLoadException^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "TypeLoadException : {0}", e->Message );
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Exception : {0}", e->Message );
   }

}

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

namespace InteropSample
{

   [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit, Size=16, CharSet=CharSet.Ansi)]
   public class MySystemTime
   {
      [FieldOffset(0)]public ushort wYear;
      [FieldOffset(2)]public ushort wMonth;
      [FieldOffset(4)]public ushort wDayOfWeek;
      [FieldOffset(6)]public ushort wDay;
      [FieldOffset(8)]public ushort wHour;
      [FieldOffset(10)]public ushort wMinute;
      [FieldOffset(12)]public ushort wSecond;
      [FieldOffset(14)]public ushort wMilliseconds;
   }

   internal static class NativeMethods
   {
      [DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
      internal static extern void GetSystemTime([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStruct)]MySystemTime st);
   };

   class TestApplication
   {
      public static void Main()
      {
         try
         {
            MySystemTime sysTime = new MySystemTime();
            NativeMethods.GetSystemTime(sysTime);
            Console.WriteLine("The System time is {0}/{1}/{2} {3}:{4}:{5}", sysTime.wDay,
               sysTime.wMonth, sysTime.wYear, sysTime.wHour, sysTime.wMinute, sysTime.wSecond);
         }
         catch(TypeLoadException e)
         {
            Console.WriteLine("TypeLoadException : " + e.Message);
         }
         catch(Exception e)
         {
            Console.WriteLine("Exception : " + e.Message);
         }
      }
   }
}

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Namespace InteropSample

   <StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit, Size:=16, CharSet:=CharSet.Ansi)> _
   Public Class MySystemTime
      <FieldOffset(0)> Public wYear As Short
      <FieldOffset(2)> Public wMonth As Short
      <FieldOffset(4)> Public wDayOfWeek As Short
      <FieldOffset(6)> Public wDay As Short
      <FieldOffset(8)> Public wHour As Short
      <FieldOffset(10)> Public wMinute As Short
      <FieldOffset(12)> Public wSecond As Short
      <FieldOffset(14)> Public wMilliseconds As Short
   End Class


   Friend Class NativeMethods

      <DllImport("kernel32.dll")> _
      Friend Shared Sub GetSystemTime(<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStruct)> ByVal st As MySystemTime)
      End Sub
   End Class

   Class TestApplication

      Public Shared Sub Main()
         Try
            Dim sysTime As New MySystemTime()
            NativeMethods.GetSystemTime(sysTime)
            Console.WriteLine("The System time is {0}/{1}/{2} {3}:{4}:{5}", sysTime.wDay, sysTime.wMonth, sysTime.wYear, sysTime.wHour, sysTime.wMinute, sysTime.wSecond)
         Catch e As TypeLoadException
            Console.WriteLine(("TypeLoadException : " + e.Message.ToString()))
         Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine(("Exception : " + e.Message.ToString()))
         End Try
      End Sub
   End Class
End Namespace 'InteropSample

Remarks

You can apply this attribute to classes or structures.

The common language runtime controls the physical layout of the data fields of a class or structure in managed memory. However, if you want to pass the type to unmanaged code, you can use the StructLayoutAttribute attribute to control the unmanaged layout of the type. Use the attribute with LayoutKind.Sequential to force the members to be laid out sequentially in the order they appear. For blittable types, LayoutKind.Sequential controls both the layout in managed memory and the layout in unmanaged memory. For non-blittable types, it controls the layout when the class or structure is marshaled to unmanaged code, but does not control the layout in managed memory. Use the attribute with LayoutKind.Explicit to control the precise position of each data member. This affects both managed and unmanaged layout, for both blittable and non-blittable types. Using LayoutKind.Explicit requires that you use the FieldOffsetAttribute attribute to indicate the position of each field within the type.

C#, Visual Basic, and C++ compilers apply the Sequential layout value to structures by default. For classes, you must apply the LayoutKind.Sequential value explicitly. Tlbimp.exe (Type Library Importer) also applies the StructLayoutAttribute attribute; it always applies the LayoutKind.Sequential value when it imports a type library.

Constructors

StructLayoutAttribute(Int16)	Initializes a new instance of the StructLayoutAttribute class with the specified LayoutKind enumeration member.
StructLayoutAttribute(LayoutKind)	Initializes a new instance of the StructLayoutAttribute class with the specified LayoutKind enumeration member.

Fields

CharSet	Indicates whether string data fields within the class should be marshaled as LPWSTR or LPSTR by default.
Pack	Controls the alignment of data fields of a class or structure in memory.
Size	Indicates the absolute size of the class or structure.

Properties

TypeId	When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute)
Value	Gets the LayoutKind value that specifies how the class or structure is arranged.

Methods

Equals(Object)	Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetHashCode()	Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()	When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute)
Match(Object)	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• Tlbimp.exe (Type Library Importer)