CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++c++-cli
user2381422
user2381422

Reputation: 5805

Common pattern when using arrays in C++/CLI

I am experienced with C++, but I only began to learn C++/CLI. I notice the following pattern a lot:

array<String^>^ x;

How do you guys think about this? The way I interpret this is, this is array of strings and we want them all to be on the managed heap and that is why we use String^, but we also want the vector to be on the managed heap and that is why we have

array<something>^.

Correct?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 141

Answers (1)

Yakk - Adam Nevraumont
Yakk - Adam Nevraumont

Reputation: 275415

C++cli ref class must live on the managed heap. Actual non-managed heap instances are blocked.

Both String and array are ref class types, so they must live on the managed heap.

C++, in order to remind the user that these are garbage-collected pointer types, and not literals or traditional pointer types, requires that you end the types with a ^.

While this is redundant (all instances of array<> are array<>^ -- hence in C# where there is no such ^ token), the reminder that this is a managed type and not a normal type probably helps when you mix managed and unmanaged code.

Upvotes: 3

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