Question

in my C# code I want to import a C++ DLL. I use the dllimport and it works fine with a some of the functions. But in one function I get a HANDLE which I need later to call another function.

   [DllImport("SiUSBXp.dll")]
   public static extern int SI_Open(UInt32 deviceNum,ref IntPtr devHandle );   // this function gets the HANDLE
   [DllImport("SiUSBXp.dll")]
   public static extern int SI_Write([In]IntPtr devHandle, [In, Out] byte[] inputByte, UInt32 size,ref UInt32 bytesWritten); // this function needs the HANDLE

In my code these functions are called like this:

   IntPtr devHandle = new IntPtr();
   UInt32 bytesWritten = new UInt32();
   byte[] byteArr = new byte[] { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 };
   SI_Open(0, ref devHandle);
   SI_Write(devHandle, byteArr, 10, ref bytesWritten);

If I do it like this I get an “System.AccessViolationException”. I searched here and in the internet but didnt find a specific answer. How do I use the IntPtr correctly, so it works?
Best Regards

Toby

Answer 1

Your SI_Write function looks quite like Windows Kernel32’s WriteFile.

So, I would do this:

[DllImport("SiUSBXp.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern int SI_Open(uint dwDevice, ref IntPtr cyHandle);  

[DllImport("SiUSBXp.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern int SI_Write(IntPtr cyHandle, byte[] lpBuffer,
   uint dwBytesToWrite, out uint lpdwBytesWritten);

EDIT: I found this documentation USBXPRESS® PROGRAMMER’S GUIDE on the web, and it states that the SI_Write prototype looks actually much closer to WriteFile than I thought. The doc states this:

SI_STATUS SI_Write (HANDLE Handle, LPVOID Buffer, DWORD NumBytesToWrite,
DWORD *NumBytesWritten, OVERLAPPED* o = NULL)

It means the .NET prototype should be this instead:

[DllImport("SiUSBXp.dll")]
static extern int SI_Write(IntPtr Handle, byte[] Buffer,
   uint NumBytesToWrite, out uint NumBytesWritten, IntPtr o);

o is optional so you can pass IntPtr.Zero.