Name
Buffer
Synopsis
The Buffer class provides static
methods used to manipulate a region of unmanaged memory as
though it were an array of
Bytes. Byte arrays are
traditionally used in unmanaged code to represent
blocks of contiguous memory. This class includes the
ByteLength() method, which
indicates the total number of bytes in an array, and the
GetByte() and
SetByte() methods, which
allow you to retrieve or set a specific Byte
object in an array by specifying a zero-based index. Additionally, the
BlockCopy() method can be used
to move contiguous groups of bytes from one position in a
buffer to another.
Note that Buffer ignores types when conducting its
byte-shuffling operations. If you use Buffer to insert
an otherwise incompatible type into the buffer, the copy goes through,
but unpredictable results will arise later when you try to work with the
buffer as its original type. For example, if you use the Buffer
method to insert an Int32 into an array of
String objects, the copy goes through, but the next
time the array is accessed, there is no longer a String
reference. It is an Int32, and what the CLR will do at that point is undocumented.
public sealed class Buffer { // Public Static Methods public static method void BlockCopy(Array src, int srcOffset, Array dst, int dstOffset, int count); public static method int ByteLength(Array array); public static method byte GetByte(Array array, int index); public static method void SetByte(Array array, int index, byte value); }