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Framework Object Context Space

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Object context space is extra, nonpageable, memory space that a driver can allocate and assign to an object. Each framework-based driver can create one or more object-specific context spaces for every framework object that the driver receives or creates.

Framework-based drivers should store all object-specific data, either by value or by pointer, within the context space of the object to which the data belongs.

For example, a driver for USB devices might create context space for its framework device objects. In the context space, the driver might store such device-specific information as the device's USB_DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR and USB_CONFIGURATION_DESCRIPTOR structures, plus a handle to a collection object that represents a device interface's pipes.

The framework does not pass framework objects from one driver to another, so you cannot use an object's context space to pass data between two drivers.

To define an object's context space, you must create one or more structures. Each structure represents a separate context space. Your driver will use each structure member to store a piece of object-specific information. Additionally, your driver must ask the framework to generate an accessor method for each structure. This accessor method accepts an object handle as input and returns the address of the object's context space.

Whenever your driver calls an object creation method, such as WdfDeviceCreate, the method optionally allocates context space. All object creation methods accept an optional WDF_OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES structure as input. This structure describes the context space that you want the framework to allocate for the object.

To add additional context space to an object after the driver has called the object's creation method, the driver can call the WdfObjectAllocateContext method--which, like the object creation methods, accepts a WDF_OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES structure as input.

When the framework allocates context space for an object, it also zero-initializes the context space.

When either the framework or a driver deletes a framework object, the framework deletes all of the object's context space.

If your driver uses context space to store pointers to buffers that the driver allocates when it creates an object, the driver should provide an EvtCleanupCallback function that deallocates the buffers when the object is deleted.

To define an object's context space structure and accessor method for the objects that your driver creates, your driver must use the following steps:

  1. Define a structure that describes the data that you want to store. For example, if you want to create context data for your driver's device objects, your driver might define a structure called MY_DEVICE_CONTEXT.

  2. Use either the WDF_DECLARE_CONTEXT_TYPE macro or the WDF_DECLARE_CONTEXT_TYPE_WITH_NAME macro. Both of these macros do the following:

    • Create and initialize a WDF_OBJECT_CONTEXT_TYPE_INFO structure.
    • Define an accessor method that your driver will later use to access an object's context space. The accessor method's return value is a pointer to the object's context space.

    The WDF_DECLARE_CONTEXT_TYPE macro creates the accessor method's name from your structure's name. For example, if your context structure's name is MY_DEVICE_CONTEXT, the macro creates an accessor method that is named WdfObjectGet_MY_DEVICE_CONTEXT.

    The WDF_DECLARE_CONTEXT_TYPE_WITH_NAME macro lets you specify the accessor method's name. For example, you might specify GetMyDeviceContext as the name for your context accessor method for device objects.

  3. Call WDF_OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES_INIT to initialize the object's WDF_OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES structure.

  4. Use the WDF_OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES_SET_CONTEXT_TYPE macro to set the ContextTypeInfo member of the WDF_OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES structure to the address of the WDF_OBJECT_CONTEXT_TYPE_INFO structure.

  5. Call an object creation method, such as WdfDeviceCreate.

After your driver has created an object, the driver can call WdfObjectAllocateContext at any time to add additional context space to the object.

Because steps 1 and 2 define global data structures and create a driver-callable routine, your driver must complete these steps in an area of the driver that declares global data--typically a header file. These steps must not be completed from within your driver's routines.

Your driver must complete steps 3, 4, and 5 from within a driver routine that creates an object, such as an EvtDriverDeviceAdd callback function that calls WdfDeviceCreate.

The framework can create two types of objects -- framework request objects and framework file objects -- on behalf of your driver. Your driver can register context space for these objects by calling WdfDeviceInitSetRequestAttributes and WdfDeviceInitSetFileObjectConfig, respectively. Your driver can also call WdfObjectAllocateContext to allocate context space for these objects.

After an object has been created, the driver can obtain a pointer to the object's context space by using either of the following techniques:

If your driver has a context space pointer, it can find the object that the context space belongs to by calling WdfObjectContextGetObject.