OutAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Runtime.InteropServices

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

OutAttribute.cs

Indicates that data should be marshaled from callee back to caller.

public ref class OutAttribute sealed : Attribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Parameter, Inherited=false)]
public sealed class OutAttribute : Attribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Parameter, Inherited=false)>]
type OutAttribute = class
    inherit Attribute

Public NotInheritable Class OutAttribute
Inherits Attribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

OutAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute

Examples

The following example shows how to apply the InAttribute and OutAttribute to a platform invoke prototype that passes an array as a parameter. The combination of directional attributes allows the caller to see the changes made by the callee.

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

// Declare a class member for each structure element.

[StructLayout(LayoutKind::Sequential, CharSet = CharSet::Unicode)]
public ref class OpenFileName
{
public:
    int structSize;
    String^ filter;
    String^ file;
    // ...
};

private ref class NativeMethods
{
public:

    // Declare a managed prototype for the unmanaged function.

    [DllImport("Comdlg32.dll", CharSet = CharSet::Unicode)]
    static bool GetOpenFileName([In, Out]OpenFileName^ ofn);
};

void main() {}

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System;

// Declare a class member for each structure element.
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public class OpenFileName
{
    public int structSize = 0;
    public string filter = null;
    public string file = null;
    // ...
}

internal static class NativeMethods
{
    // Declare a managed prototype for the unmanaged function.
    [DllImport("Comdlg32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
    internal static extern bool GetOpenFileName([In, Out] OpenFileName ofn);
}

public class MainMethod
{
    static void Main()
    { }
}

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

' Declare a class member for each structure element.
<StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet:=CharSet.Unicode)>
Public Class OpenFileName

    Public structSize As Integer = 0
    Public filter As String = Nothing
    Public file As String = Nothing
    ' ...

End Class

Friend Class NativeMethods
    ' Declare managed prototype for the unmanaged function.
    Friend Declare Unicode Function GetOpenFileName Lib "Comdlg32.dll" (
       <[In](), Out()> ByVal ofn As OpenFileName) As Boolean
End Class

Public Class App
    Public Shared Sub Main()

    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

You can apply this attribute to parameters.

The OutAttribute is optional. The attribute is supported for COM interop and platform invoke only. In the absence of explicit settings, the interop marshaler assumes rules based on the parameter type, whether the parameter is passed by reference or by value, and whether the type is blittable or non-blittable. For example, the StringBuilder class is always assumed to be In/Out and an array of strings passed by value is assumed to be In.

Out-only behavior is never a default marshaling behavior for parameters. You can apply the OutAttribute to value and reference types passed by reference to change In/Out behavior to Out-only behavior, which is equivalent to using the out keyword in C#. For example, arrays passed by value, marshaled as In-only parameters by default, can be changed to Out-only. However, the behavior does not always provide expected semantics when the types include all-blittable elements or fields because the interop marshaler uses pinning. If you do not care about passing data into the callee, Out-only marshaling can provide better performance for non-blittable types.

Combining the InAttribute and OutAttribute is particularly useful when applied to arrays and formatted, non-blittable types. Callers see the changes a callee makes to these types only when you apply both attributes. Since these types require copying during marshaling, you can use InAttribute and OutAttribute to reduce unnecessary copies.

For more information on the effect of OutAttribute on marshaling behavior, see Directional Attributes.

Constructors

OutAttribute()

Initializes a new instance of the OutAttribute class.

Properties

TypeId

When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute)

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

• InAttribute
• StringBuilder
• Blittable and Non-Blittable Types