How to Convert C# Structures to Byte Arrays for Socket Communication?

Conversion between structure and byte array in C#

When performing socket communication in C#, you need to convert the structure into a byte array. This is achieved through the Marshaling mechanism.

Structure definition

Consider the following structure:

public struct CIFSPacket
{
    // 字段定义...
    public string Buffer;
}

Marshaling (Serialization)

The Marshal class provides methods for marshaling data between managed and unmanaged code. Convert structure to byte array:

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

public static byte[] GetBytes(CIFSPacket str)
{
    int size = Marshal.SizeOf(str);
    byte[] arr = new byte[size];

    IntPtr ptr = IntPtr.Zero;
    try
    {
        ptr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(size);
        Marshal.StructureToPtr(str, ptr, true);
        Marshal.Copy(ptr, arr, 0, size);
    }
    finally
    {
        Marshal.FreeHGlobal(ptr);
    }
    return arr;
}

Unmarshalling (deserialization)

Convert byte array back to structure:

public static CIFSPacket FromBytes(byte[] arr)
{
    CIFSPacket str = new CIFSPacket();

    int size = Marshal.SizeOf(str);
    IntPtr ptr = IntPtr.Zero;
    try
    {
        ptr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(size);

        Marshal.Copy(arr, 0, ptr, size);

        str = (CIFSPacket)Marshal.PtrToStructure(ptr, str.GetType());
    }
    finally
    {
        Marshal.FreeHGlobal(ptr);
    }
    return str;
}

Marshaling of string

When marshaling a string in a structure, be sure to specify the representation of the string using the [MarshalAs] attribute. For fixed-length strings like Buffer in the example struct, use:

[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 100)]
public string Buffer;

Where 100 is replaced by the maximum string length.

Summary

By using Marshaling, you can easily convert the structure into a byte array for data transmission. This technique is commonly used in network applications, such as sending and receiving messages over sockets.

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