查找指向本机字节数组c＃的不安全字节*的长度

Question

How can I find the length of byte* in c#?

It's pointing to a native byte array in an unmanaged c++ library. I need to convert it to ac# byte[], but in order to do so, I need the length. .Length doesn't work.

byte* ETC = //Stuff from unmanaged c++ DLL;
int ETCLength = ????

Answer 1

You cannot know the length of something just from a pointer; the pointer is just the start. Usually, a pointer and a length are passed together . In the future, this may be improved by Span<T> - or maybe it won't! Time will tell.

You need to already know the length. This could be via an API, or it could be via documentation. There may be a pattern to the data that implies the end ( nul terminators, for example, or the length being encoded in the first few bytes), but: that approach is how most buffer attacks start. You should always know the length if you're talking about pointers.