Inter-Process Communication (IPC) Introduction and Sample Code

/****************************** Module Header ******************************\
* Module Name:	UnmanagedLibrary.cs
* Project:		CSLoadLibrary
* Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
* 
* The source code of UnmanagedLibrary is quoted from Mike Stall's article:
* 
* Type-safe Managed wrappers for kernel32!GetProcAddress
* http://blogs.msdn.com/jmstall/archive/2007/01/06/Typesafe-GetProcAddress.aspx
* 
* This source is subject to the Microsoft Public License.
* See http://www.microsoft.com/opensource/licenses.mspx#Ms-PL.
* All other rights reserved.
* 
* History:
* * 1/21/2009 11:04 PM Jialiang Ge Created
\***************************************************************************/

#region Using directives
using Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles;
using System;
using System.Runtime.ConstrainedExecution;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Security.Permissions;
using System.Text;
#endregion


/// <summary>
/// Utility class to wrap an unmanaged DLL and be responsible for freeing it.
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>
/// This is a managed wrapper over the native LoadLibrary, GetProcAddress, 
/// and FreeLibrary calls.
/// </example>
/// <see cref=
/// "http://blogs.msdn.com/jmstall/archive/2007/01/06/Typesafe-GetProcAddress.aspx"
/// />
public sealed class UnmanagedLibrary : IDisposable
{
    #region Safe Handles and Native imports

    // See http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/10/Reliability/ 
    // for more about safe handles.
    [SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, UnmanagedCode = true)]
    sealed class SafeLibraryHandle : SafeHandleZeroOrMinusOneIsInvalid
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Create safe library handle
        /// </summary>
        private SafeLibraryHandle() : base(true) { } // SafeLibraryHandle

        /// <summary>
        /// Release handle
        /// </summary>
        protected override bool ReleaseHandle()
        {
            return NativeMethods.FreeLibrary(handle);
        } // ReleaseHandle()

    } // class SafeLibraryHandle

    /// <summary>
    /// Native methods
    /// </summary>
    static class NativeMethods
    {
        const string s_kernel = "kernel32";
        [DllImport(s_kernel, CharSet = CharSet.Auto,
            BestFitMapping = false, SetLastError = true)]
        public static extern SafeLibraryHandle LoadLibrary(string fileName);

        [ReliabilityContract(Consistency.WillNotCorruptState, Cer.Success)]
        [DllImport(s_kernel, SetLastError = true)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
        public static extern bool FreeLibrary(IntPtr hModule);

        [DllImport(s_kernel, EntryPoint = "GetProcAddress")]
        public static extern IntPtr GetProcAddress(
            SafeLibraryHandle hModule, String procname);
    } // class NativeMethods

    #endregion // Safe Handles and Native imports

    /// <summary>
    /// Constructor to load a dll and be responible for freeing it.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="fileName">full path name of dll to load</param>
    /// <exception cref="System.IO.FileNotFound">
    /// If fileName can't be found
    /// </exception>
    /// <remarks>
    /// Throws exceptions on failure. Most common failure would be 
    /// file-not-found, or that the file is not a loadable image.
    /// </remarks>
    public UnmanagedLibrary(string fileName)
    {
        m_hLibrary = NativeMethods.LoadLibrary(fileName);
        if (m_hLibrary.IsInvalid)
        {
            int hr = Marshal.GetHRForLastWin32Error();
            Marshal.ThrowExceptionForHR(hr);
        }
    } // UnmanagedLibrary(fileName)

    /// <summary>
    /// Dynamically lookup a function in the dll via kernel32!GetProcAddress.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="functionName">
    /// raw name of the function in the export table.
    /// </param>
    /// <returns>
    /// null if function is not found. Else a delegate to the unmanaged 
    /// function.
    /// </returns>
    /// <remarks>
    /// GetProcAddress results are valid as long as the dll is not yet 
    /// unloaded. This is very very dangerous to use since you need to 
    /// ensure that the dll is not unloaded until after you're done with any 
    /// objects implemented by the dll. For example, if you get a delegate 
    /// that then gets an IUnknown implemented by this dll, you can not 
    /// dispose this library until that IUnknown is collected. Else, you may 
    /// free the library and then the CLR may call release on that IUnknown 
    /// and it will crash.
    /// </remarks>
    public TDelegate GetUnmanagedFunction<TDelegate>(string functionName)
        where TDelegate : class
    {
        IntPtr p = NativeMethods.GetProcAddress(m_hLibrary, functionName);

        // Failure is a common case, especially for adaptive code.
        if (p == IntPtr.Zero)
        {
            return null;
        }

        Delegate function = Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(
            p, typeof(TDelegate));

        // Ideally, we'd just make the constraint on TDelegate be
        // System.Delegate, but compiler error CS0702 
        // (constrained can't be System.Delegate)
        // prevents that. So we make the constraint system.object and do the
        // cast from object-->TDelegate.
        object o = function;

        return (TDelegate)o;
    } // GetUnmanagedFunction(, functionName)

    #region IDisposable Members

    /// <summary>
    /// Call FreeLibrary on the unmanaged dll. All function pointers handed 
    /// out from this class become invalid after this.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>
    /// This is very dangerous because it suddenly invalidate everything
    /// retrieved from this dll. This includes any functions handed out via 
    /// GetProcAddress, and potentially any objects returned from those 
    /// functions (which may have an implemention in the dll).
    /// </remarks>
    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (!m_hLibrary.IsClosed)
        {
            m_hLibrary.Close();
        }
    } // Dispose()

    // Unmanaged resource. CLR will ensure SafeHandles get freed, without 
    // requiring a finalizer on this class.
    SafeLibraryHandle m_hLibrary;

    #endregion
}