GCHandle Struct

Definition

Namespace:

System.Runtime.InteropServices

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

GCHandle.cs

Provides a way to access a managed object from unmanaged memory.

public value class GCHandle : IEquatable<System::Runtime::InteropServices::GCHandle>

public struct GCHandle : IEquatable<System.Runtime.InteropServices.GCHandle>

type GCHandle = struct

Public Structure GCHandle
Implements IEquatable(Of GCHandle)

Inheritance

Object

ValueType

GCHandle

Implements

IEquatable<GCHandle>

Examples

The following example shows an App class that creates a handle to a managed object using the GCHandle.Alloc method, which prevents the managed object from being collected. A call to the EnumWindows method passes a delegate and a managed object (both declared as managed types, but not shown), and casts the handle to an IntPtr. The unmanaged function passes the type back to the caller as a parameter of the callback function.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

public delegate bool CallBack(int handle, IntPtr param);

internal static class NativeMethods
{
    // passing managed object as LPARAM
    // BOOL EnumWindows(WNDENUMPROC lpEnumFunc, LPARAM lParam);

    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    internal static extern bool EnumWindows(CallBack cb, IntPtr param);
}

public class App
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Run();
    }

    public static void Run()
    {
        TextWriter tw = Console.Out;
        GCHandle gch = GCHandle.Alloc(tw);

        CallBack cewp = new CallBack(CaptureEnumWindowsProc);

        // platform invoke will prevent delegate to be garbage collected
        // before call ends

        NativeMethods.EnumWindows(cewp, GCHandle.ToIntPtr(gch));
        gch.Free();
    }

    private static bool CaptureEnumWindowsProc(int handle, IntPtr param)
    {
        GCHandle gch = GCHandle.FromIntPtr(param);
        TextWriter tw = (TextWriter)gch.Target;
        tw.WriteLine(handle);
        return true;
    }
}

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports System.Security.Permissions

Public Delegate Function CallBack(ByVal handle As Integer, ByVal param As IntPtr) As Boolean


Friend Module NativeMethods

    ' passing managed object as LPARAM
    ' BOOL EnumWindows(WNDENUMPROC lpEnumFunc, LPARAM lParam);
    <DllImport("user32.dll")>
    Friend Function EnumWindows(ByVal cb As CallBack, ByVal param As IntPtr) As Boolean
    End Function
End Module


Module App

    Sub Main()

        Run()

    End Sub

    <SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, UnmanagedCode:=True)>
    Sub Run()

        Dim tw As TextWriter = Console.Out
        Dim gch As GCHandle = GCHandle.Alloc(tw)

        Dim cewp As CallBack
        cewp = AddressOf CaptureEnumWindowsProc

        ' platform invoke will prevent delegate to be garbage collected
        ' before call ends
        NativeMethods.EnumWindows(cewp, GCHandle.ToIntPtr(gch))
        gch.Free()

    End Sub


    Function CaptureEnumWindowsProc(ByVal handle As Integer, ByVal param As IntPtr) As Boolean
        Dim gch As GCHandle = GCHandle.FromIntPtr(param)
        Dim tw As TextWriter = CType(gch.Target, TextWriter)
        tw.WriteLine(handle)
        Return True

    End Function
End Module

Remarks

The GCHandle structure is used with the GCHandleType enumeration to create a handle corresponding to any managed object. This handle can be one of four types: Weak, WeakTrackResurrection, Normal, or Pinned. When the handle has been allocated, you can use it to prevent the managed object from being collected by the garbage collector when an unmanaged client holds the only reference. Without such a handle, the object can be collected by the garbage collector before completing its work on behalf of the unmanaged client.

You can also use GCHandle to create a pinned object that returns a memory address to prevent the garbage collector from moving the object in memory.

When the handle goes out of scope you must explicitly release it by calling the Free method; otherwise, memory leaks may occur. When you free a pinned handle, the associated object will be unpinned and will become eligible for garbage collection, if there are no other references to it.

Properties

IsAllocated	Gets a value indicating whether the handle is allocated.
Target	Gets or sets the object this handle represents.

Methods

AddrOfPinnedObject()	Retrieves the address of object data in a Pinned handle.
Alloc(Object)	Allocates a Normal handle for the specified object.
Alloc(Object, GCHandleType)	Allocates a handle of the specified type for the specified object.
Equals(GCHandle)	Indicates whether the current instance is equal to another instance of the same type.
Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified GCHandle object is equal to the current GCHandle object.
Free()	Releases a GCHandle.
FromIntPtr(IntPtr)	Returns a new GCHandle object created from a handle to a managed object.
GetHashCode()	Returns an identifier for the current GCHandle object.
ToIntPtr(GCHandle)	Returns the internal integer representation of a GCHandle object.

Operators

Equality(GCHandle, GCHandle)	Returns a value indicating whether two GCHandle objects are equal.
Explicit(GCHandle to IntPtr)	A GCHandle is stored using an internal integer representation.
Explicit(IntPtr to GCHandle)	A GCHandle is stored using an internal integer representation.
Inequality(GCHandle, GCHandle)	Returns a value indicating whether two GCHandle objects are not equal.

See also

• GCHandleType