MSDN Magazine - January 2008 - (Page 25)

Figure 11 P/Invoke Interop Assistant GUI Tool—SigExp three tabs: SigExp, SigImp Search, and SigImp Translate Snippet. SigExp converts managed signature to an unmanaged signature. It reflects over man aged assemblies to find all P/Invoke declara tions and COM imported types. From this input it produces the corresponding native C signatures (see Figure 11). SigImp Search and SigImp Translate Snip pet convert unmanaged signatures to man aged signatures. They generate managed signatures and definitions in either C# or Visual Basic from native types, functions, constants, and snippets of manually entered native function signatures. SigImp Search allows users to choose the managed code language in which they want code generated and then select a native type, procedure, or constant to perform the gen eration from. The tool will display a list of supported types, methods, and constants collected from Windows SDK header files (see Figure 12). SigImp Translate Snippet allows users to write their own native code snippet in the tool. The tool will then generate and display the managed code equivalent in the main window, as you see in Figure 13. For details of the GUI tool or the com mandline tools in the P/Invoke Interop Assistant, please refer to the documentation packed with the tool. Give It a Try Figure 12 P/Invoke Interop Assistant GUI Tool—SigImp Search As you know, marshaling is a complex topic, and there are many techniques you can use to change the marshaling process to adapt to your own needs. We suggest you try some of the ideas presented here. They’re sure to help you find your way through the maze we know as marshaling. Send your questions and comments to clrinout@microsoft.com. Yi Zhang is a Software Development Engineer on the Silverlight Shanghai team, which is part of the Server and Tool Business in China. He is currently focusing on interop and the CLR. Xiaoying Guo is the Program Manager on the Silverlight Shanghai team, which is part of the Server and Tools Business in China. She is currently focusing on the areas of unmanaged/ managed Interop within the CLR, as well as the CoreCLR on the Mac. Xiaoying is also engaged in Silverlight local customer connection. Figure 13 P/Invoke Interop Assistant GUI Tool—SigImp Translate Snippet CLR Inside Out january2008 25

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - January 2008

MSDN Magazine - January 2008 Contents Toolbox CLR Inside Out Data Points Advanced Basics Cutting Edge IIS 7.0 - Enhance Your Apps with the Integrated ASP.NET Pipeline World Ready - Around the World with ASP.NET AJAX Applications WCF Syndication - HTTP Programming with WCF and the .NET Framework 3.5 Wicked Code Foundations Extreme ASP.NET {End Bracket}

MSDN Magazine - January 2008

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