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ICorDebugSymbolProvider2::GetGenericDictionaryInfo Method

  • Article

Retrieves a generic dictionary map.

Syntax

HRESULT GetGenericDictionaryInfo(
   [out] ICorDebugMemoryBuffer** ppMemoryBuffer
);

Parameters

ppMemoryBuffer
[out] A pointer to the address of an ICorDebugMemoryBuffer object containing the generic dictionary map. See the Remarks section for more information.

Remarks

Note

This method is available with .NET Native only.

The map consists of two top-level sections:

  • A directory containing the relative virtual addresses (RVA) of all dictionaries included in this map.

  • A byte-aligned heap that contains object instantiation information. It starts immediately after the last directory entry.

The Directory

Each entry in the directory refers to an offset inside the heap; that is, it is an offset that is relative to the start of the heap. The value of individual entries is not necessarily unique; it is possible for multiple directory entries to point to the same offset in the heap.

The directory portion of the generic dictionary map has the following structure:

  • The first 4 bytes contains the number of dictionary entries (that is, the number of relative virtual addresses in the dictionary). We will refer to this value as N. If the high bit is set, the entries are sorted by relative virtual address in ascending order.

  • The N directory entries follow. Each entry consists of 8 bytes, in two 4-byte segments:

    • Bytes 0-3: RVA; the dictionary's relative virtual address.

    • Bytes 4-7: Offset; an offset relative to the start of the heap.

The Heap

The heap’s size can be computed by a stream reader by subtracting the length of the stream from the directory size + 4. In other words:

Heap Size = Stream.Length – (Directory Size + 4)

where the directory size is N * 8.

The format for each instantiation information item on the heap is:

  • The length of this instantiation information item in bytes in compressed ECMA metadata format. The value excludes this length information.

  • The number of generic instantiation types, or T, in compressed ECMA metadata format.

  • T types, each represented in ECMA type signature format.

The inclusion of the length for each heap element enables simple sorting of the directory section without affecting the heap.

Requirements

Platforms: See System Requirements.

Header: CorDebug.idl, CorDebug.h

Library: CorGuids.lib

.NET Framework Versions: Available since 4.6, .NET Native only

See also