How to: Get a Specific Instance of a Class (C/C++)

This topic provides step-by-step instructions for getting a specific (keyed) instance of a specified CIM class using the Windows Management Infrastructure (MI) native API. In addition to the steps, a full source code example is provided at the end of the topic.

Note

To see the MI .NET API and Microsoft Visual C# version of this topic, refer to How to: Get a Specific Instance of a Class (C)

 

Step-by-step Instructions

  1. Insert an include directive for the MI header file. (This file ships as part of the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8.)

    #include <mi.h>
    
  2. Add the MI import library (mi.lib) to the project's linker dependencies. (This file ships as part of the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8.)

  3. Initialize the application via MI_Application_Initialize. It is recommended to have only one MI_Application per process. The MI_Application returned from this function should always be closed, or de-initialized, via MI_Application_Close.

    MI_RESULT miResult = MI_Application_Initialize(0,               // Flags - Must be 0
                                                   NULL,            // Application ID
                                                   NULL,            // Extended error
                                                   &amp;miApplication); // Application 
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    { /* Handle error */ }
    
  4. Create an MI session against the specified destination (computer) with the specified protocol (WinRM, in this example) via MI_Application_NewSession. The session must be closed via MI_Session_Close.

    MI_RESULT miResult = MI_Application_NewSession(&amp;miApplication, // Application 
                                                   L"WINRM",       // WimRM Protocol
                                                   L"localhost",   // Machine destination
                                                   NULL,           // Options
                                                   NULL,           // Callbacks
                                                   NULL,           // Extended error
                                                   &amp;miSession);    // Session 
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    { /* Handle error */ }  
    
  5. Create an MI_Instance that represents the class name and keys of the instance to be retrieved from the server via MI_Session_GetInstance. The following example function creates an instance with a hard-coded element (property) name of Handle and a value of 0. For the Win32_Process class (the class being used in this example), the Handle property is the process ID (PID) and the process with a PID of 0 is the System Idle Process. In a real-world scenario, you will want to specify the appropriate elements and values pursuant to the class you are attempting to obtain.

    MI_Result CreateSearchInstance(MI_Session *miSession, 
                                   _In_z_ const wchar_t *namespaceName, 
                                   _In_z_ const wchar_t *className, 
                                   MI_Boolean keysOnly, 
                                   MI_Instance **inboundInstance)
    {
        MI_Result miResult;
    
        MI_Operation miOperation = MI_OPERATION_NULL;
        MI_Class *miClass = NULL;
        MI_Boolean moreResults;
        MI_Char *errorMessage = NULL;
        MI_Instance *completionDetails = NULL;
        MI_Instance *miInstance = NULL;
    
        *inboundInstance = NULL;
    
        MI_Session_GetClass(miSession, 0, NULL, namespaceName, className, NULL, &amp;miOperation);
        MI_Operation_GetClass(&amp;miOperation, 
                              (const MI_Class**)&amp;miClass, 
                              &amp;moreResults, 
                              &amp;miResult, 
                              (const MI_Char**)&amp;errorMessage, 
                              (const MI_Instance**)&amp;completionDetails);
    
        if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
        {
            MI_Application miApplication = MI_APPLICATION_NULL;
            miResult = MI_Session_GetApplication(miSession, &amp;miApplication);
            if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
            {
                miResult = MI_Application_NewInstanceFromClass(&amp;miApplication, 
                                                               className, 
                                                               miClass, 
                                                               &amp;miInstance);
                if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
                {
                    MI_Value miValue;
                    miValue.string = L"0";
                    miResult = MI_Instance_SetElement(miInstance, 
                                                      L"Handle", 
                                                      &amp;miValue, 
                                                      MI_STRING, 
                                                      0);
                }
            }
        }
    
        // Cleanup in case of error
        if ((miResult != MI_RESULT_OK) &amp;&amp; miInstance)
        {
            MI_Result _tmpResult = MI_Instance_Delete(miInstance);
            if (_tmpResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
            {
                wprintf(L"Failed to delete key instance. MI_Result: %ld\n", _tmpResult);
            }
        }
    
        {
            MI_Result _tmpResult = MI_Operation_Close(&amp;miOperation);
            if (_tmpResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
            {
                wprintf(L"MI_Operation_Close failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", _tmpResult);
            }
        }
    
        if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
        {
            *inboundInstance = miInstance;
        }
        return miResult;
    }
    
  6. Call MI_Session_GetInstance passing the key, or search, instance from the previous step.

    Note

    The following code uses a loop to enumerate the results of the MI_Session_GetInstance function. While not technically necessary for this particular example - as this example will always return one instance - it's included to illustrate how you would enumerate the results of a call to MI_Session_GetInstance that returns multiple instances.

     

    void GetInstance(MI_Session* miSession, 
                     _In_z_ const wchar_t* namespaceName, 
                     const wchar_t* className,
                     MI_Instance* searchInstance)
    {
        MI_Result miResult = MI_RESULT_OK;
    
        MI_Operation miOperation = MI_OPERATION_NULL;
        MI_Session_GetInstance(miSession, 
                               0, 
                               NULL, 
                               namespaceName, 
                               searchInstance, 
                               NULL, 
                               &amp;miOperation);
    
        MI_Instance *miInstance = NULL;
        MI_Boolean moreResults;
        MI_Char *errorMessage = NULL;
        MI_Instance *completionDetails = NULL;
        do
        {
            miResult = MI_Operation_GetInstance(&amp;miOperation, 
                                                (const MI_Instance**)&amp;miInstance, 
                                                &amp;moreResults, 
                                                &amp;miResult, 
                                                (const MI_Char**)&amp;errorMessage, 
                                                (const MI_Instance**)&amp;completionDetails);
            if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
            {
                wprintf(L"MI_Operation_GetInstance failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", miResult);
            }
            else
            {
                if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
                {
                    wprintf(L"Operation failed: MI_Result=%ld, errorString=%s, errorDetails=\n", 
                            miResult, errorMessage);
                }
                else if (miInstance)
                {
                    MI_Value value;
                    MI_Type type;
                    MI_Uint32 flags;
    
                    miResult = MI_Instance_GetElement(miInstance,  // Instance
                                                      L"Name",     // Element (property) name
                                                      &amp;value,      // Element value
                                                      &amp;type,       // Element type
                                                      &amp;flags,      // Flags
                                                      NULL);       // Index
                    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
                    {
                        wprintf(L"MI_Instance_GetElement failed. MI_RESULT: %ld)\n", miResult);
                        return;
                    }
                    wprintf(L"Process Name: %s\n", value.string);
                }
                else if (moreResults == MI_TRUE)
                {
                    wprintf(L"More results are due and we have no instance, we will keep trying!\n");
                }
            }
        } while (moreResults == MI_TRUE);
    
        miResult = MI_Operation_Close(&amp;miOperation);
        if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
        {
            wprintf(L"MI_Operation_Close failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", miResult);
        }
    }
    
  7. Delete key, or search, instance created earlier.

    miResult = MI_Instance_Delete(searchInstance);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    { /* Handle error */ }
    
  8. Close the operation via MI_Operation_Close. All operations must be closed. If an operation is not closed, MI_Session_Close will block until all of its operations are closed. Also note that MI_Operation_Close will cancel an operation if it is still running. However, results must be consumed before MI_Operation_Close can complete. For synchronous operations (such as the example in this topic), MI_Operation_Close is blocked until the final result has been consumed (i.e., until the moreResults output parameters is set to MI_FALSE).

    miResult = MI_Operation_Close(&amp;miOperation);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    { /* Handle error */ }
    
  9. Close the MI session via MI_Session_Close. If this function fails (reflected in the MI_Result return code), it is likely due to an invalid parameter, out of memory errors, or access denied. Invalid parameter means a programming error happened. When an out of memory error happens, the session will shut down as best it can. Access denied means the security context while calling the MI_Session_Close function is different than the one used when the session was created. This could happen if closing from a different thread and neglecting to impersonate.

    MI_RESULT miResult = MI_Session_Close(&amp;miSession, // Session
                                          NULL,       // Completion context
                                          NULL);      // Completion callback
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    { /* Handle error */ }
    
  10. The last MI call that should be made is a call to MI_Application_Close. Note that this call will block until all operations and sessions are fully closed.

    MI_RESULT miResult = MI_Application_Close(&amp;miApplication);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    { /* Handle error */ }
    

Example

The following code sample attempts to get the instance of the Win32_Process class (which represents active processes) with a PID of 0 on the local machine, and if found, prints the name of process.

Note

In a real application you would define as parameters the computer name ("localhost"), CIM namespace ("root\cimv2"), and class name ("Win32_Process"). For purposes of simplicity, these have been hardcoded in this example.

 

#include "stdafx.h"
#include <mi.h>

MI_Result CreateSearchInstance(MI_Session *miSession, 
                               _In_z_ const wchar_t *namespaceName, 
                               _In_z_ const wchar_t *className, 
                               MI_Boolean keysOnly, 
                               MI_Instance **inboundInstance)
{
    MI_Result miResult;

    MI_Operation miOperation = MI_OPERATION_NULL;
    MI_Class *miClass = NULL;
    MI_Boolean moreResults;
    MI_Char *errorMessage = NULL;
    MI_Instance *completionDetails = NULL;
    MI_Instance *miInstance = NULL;

    *inboundInstance = NULL;

    MI_Session_GetClass(miSession, 0, NULL, namespaceName, className, NULL, &amp;miOperation);
    MI_Operation_GetClass(&amp;miOperation, 
                          (const MI_Class**)&amp;miClass, 
                          &amp;moreResults, 
                          &amp;miResult, 
                          (const MI_Char**)&amp;errorMessage, 
                          (const MI_Instance**)&amp;completionDetails);

    if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        MI_Application miApplication = MI_APPLICATION_NULL;
        miResult = MI_Session_GetApplication(miSession, &amp;miApplication);
        if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
        {
            miResult = MI_Application_NewInstanceFromClass(&amp;miApplication, 
                                                           className, 
                                                           miClass, 
                                                           &amp;miInstance);
            if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
            {
                MI_Value miValue;
                miValue.string = L"0";
                miResult = MI_Instance_SetElement(miInstance, 
                                                  L"Handle", 
                                                  &amp;miValue, 
                                                  MI_STRING, 
                                                  0);
            }
        }
    }

    // Cleanup in case of error
    if ((miResult != MI_RESULT_OK) &amp;&amp; miInstance)
    {
        MI_Result _tmpResult = MI_Instance_Delete(miInstance);
        if (_tmpResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
        {
            wprintf(L"Failed to delete key instance. MI_Result: %ld\n", _tmpResult);
        }
    }

    {
        MI_Result _tmpResult = MI_Operation_Close(&amp;miOperation);
        if (_tmpResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
        {
            wprintf(L"MI_Operation_Close failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", _tmpResult);
        }
    }
        
    if (miResult == MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        *inboundInstance = miInstance;
    }
    return miResult;
}

void GetInstanceAndPrintProperty(MI_Session* miSession, 
                 _In_z_ const wchar_t* namespaceName, 
                 const wchar_t* className,
                 MI_Instance* searchInstance)
{
    MI_Result miResult = MI_RESULT_OK;

    MI_Operation miOperation = MI_OPERATION_NULL;
    MI_Session_GetInstance(miSession, 
                           0, 
                           NULL, 
                           namespaceName, 
                           searchInstance, 
                           NULL, 
                           &amp;miOperation);

    MI_Instance *miInstance = NULL;
    MI_Boolean moreResults;
    MI_Char *errorMessage = NULL;
    MI_Instance *completionDetails = NULL;
    do
    {
        miResult = MI_Operation_GetInstance(&amp;miOperation, 
                                            (const MI_Instance**)&amp;miInstance, 
                                            &amp;moreResults, 
                                            &amp;miResult, 
                                            (const MI_Char**)&amp;errorMessage, 
                                            (const MI_Instance**)&amp;completionDetails);

            if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
            {
                wprintf(L"Operation failed: MI_Result=%ld, errorString=%s, errorDetails=\n", 
                        miResult, errorMessage);
            }
            else if (miInstance)
            {
                MI_Value value;
                MI_Type type;
                MI_Uint32 flags;

                miResult = MI_Instance_GetElement(miInstance,  // Instance
                                                  L"Name",     // Element (property) name
                                                  &amp;value,      // Element value
                                                  &amp;type,       // Element type
                                                  &amp;flags,      // Flags
                                                  NULL);       // Index
                if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
                {
                    wprintf(L"MI_Instance_GetElement failed. MI_RESULT: %ld)\n", miResult);
                    return;
                }
                wprintf(L"Process Name: %s\n", value.string);
            }
            else if (moreResults == MI_TRUE)
            {
                wprintf(L"More results are due and we have no instance, we will keep trying!\n");
            }
    } while (moreResults == MI_TRUE);

    miResult = MI_Operation_Close(&amp;miOperation); 
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        wprintf(L"MI_Operation_Close failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", miResult);
    }
}

int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
    MI_Result miResult = MI_RESULT_OK;

    MI_Application miApplication = MI_APPLICATION_NULL;
    miResult = MI_Application_Initialize(0,                   // Flags - Must be 0
                                         NULL,                // Application ID
                                         NULL,                // Extended error
                                         &amp;miApplication);     // Application
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        wprintf(L"MI_Application_Initialize failed. MI_RESULT: %ld\n", miResult);
        return -1;
    }

    MI_Session miSession = MI_SESSION_NULL;
    miResult = MI_Application_NewSession(&amp;miApplication, // Application 
                                         L"WINRM",       // WimRM Protocol
                                         L"localhost",   // Machine destination
                                         NULL,           // Options
                                         NULL,           // Callbacks
                                         NULL,           // Extended error
                                         &amp;miSession);    // Session 
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        wprintf(L"MI_Application_NewSession failed. MI_RESULT: %ld\n", miResult);
        return -1;
    }

    MI_Instance* searchInstance = NULL;
    miResult = CreateSearchInstance(&amp;miSession, L"root\\cimv2", L"Win32_Process", MI_TRUE, &amp;searchInstance);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        wprintf(L"Failed to create a keyed instance for the operation. MI_Result: %ld\n", miResult);
        return -1;
    }

    GetInstance(&amp;miSession, L"root\\cimv2", L"Win32_Process", searchInstance);    

    miResult = MI_Instance_Delete(searchInstance);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        wprintf(L"MI_Instance_Delete failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", miResult);
        return -1;
    }

    miResult = MI_Session_Close(&amp;miSession, NULL, NULL);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK)
    {
        wprintf(L"MI_Session_Close failed. MI_Result: %ld\n", miResult);
        return -1;
    }

    miResult = MI_Application_Close(&amp;miApplication);
    if (miResult != MI_RESULT_OK) 
    {
        wprintf(L"MI_Application_Close failed. MI_RESULT: %ld\n", miResult);
        return -1;
    }

    return 0;
}