how to assign pointer in a managed array of pointers c++/cli? - c++-cli

Question

I am new to managed code and i need to pass array of pointers to different structures to windows form using C++/CLI , but it didn`t work !
My problem is in the managed array, how can i correctly access its elements .
The code sequence :
array<void*> ^ ptr;//here ptr value is undefined , type array<void*> ^
ptr = gcnew array<void*> (2);// length 0x2 , 0x0 and 0x1 values are undefined of type void
class1::struct1 structObj1;
class2::struct2 structObj2;
ptr[0] = &structObj1;// value is empty of type void!!
ptr[1] = &structObj2;//value is empty of type void!!
When i watched ptr , i found the above comments.
Notice that repeating code but using unmanaged array works probably
void* ptr[2];//here ptr value is undefined , type void*[]
class1::struct1 structObj1;
class2::struct2 structObj2;
ptr[0] = &structObj1;// value is address1 of type void*
ptr[1] = &structObj2;//value is address2 of type void*
Can anyone see where is the problem??
Do I need to use unmanaged array then convert to managed? If yes, how can I do it ??

Answer 1

Passing unmanaged pointers in a managed array may be valid C++/CLI, but it's definitely not the ideal way to do things. Do consider creating a custom managed class (ref class in C++/CLI) to hold the structures, instead of passing around pointers.
For this, I'm assuming that struct1 and struct2 are unmanged structs. This answer only applies if that is the case.
Your existing code works for me. Here's my version, with some debugging added in.
public struct struct1 { int foo; };
public struct struct2 { float bar; };
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
array<void*> ^ ptr;
ptr = gcnew array<void*> (2);
for(int i = 0; i < ptr->Length; i++)
Debug::WriteLine("ptr[{0}] = {1:X8}", i, reinterpret_cast<int>(ptr[i]));
struct1 structObj1;
struct2 structObj2;
ptr[0] = &structObj1;
ptr[1] = &structObj2;
for(int i = 0; i < ptr->Length; i++)
Debug::WriteLine("ptr[{0}] = {1:X8}", i, reinterpret_cast<int>(ptr[i]));
struct1* pointerToStructObj1 = reinterpret_cast<struct1*>(ptr[0]);
structObj1.foo = 4;
Debug::WriteLine("pointerToStructObj1->foo = {0}", pointerToStructObj1->foo);
}
Output:
ptr[0] = 00000000
ptr[1] = 00000000
ptr[0] = 0013F390
ptr[1] = 0013F394
pointerToStructObj1->foo = 4
Edit
To use Debug::WriteLine, add using namespace System::Diagnostics.
The debugger doesn't know how to display the contents of a void*, so it just displays blank. It does display a null pointer differently, though: null shows up as <undefined value>, non-null shows up as just blank.
My philosophy on C++/CLI is: If you're going to write managed code, write managed code. Consider replacing your vector with a managed List. If you still need unmanaged objects, I strongly urge you to consider writing a managed class with properly typed pointers, rather than a void* array.
To implement such a class, create whatever fields you need, just be sure that they're pointers, not direct. (vector<foo>* instead of vector<foo>.) Create the objects with new in the constructor, and delete them in the destructor (which is called on Dispose) & finalizer.