In a C++/CLI project I have a method in a native C++ class where I would like to check a gcroot
reference for NULL
or nullptr
. How do I do this? None of the following seems to work:
void Foo::doIt(gcroot<System::String^> aString)
{
// This seems straightforward, but does not work
if (aString == nullptr)
{
// compiler error C2088: '==': illegal for struct
}
// Worth a try, but does not work either
if (aString == NULL)
{
// compiler error C2678: binary '==' : no operator found
// which takes a left-hand operand of type 'gcroot<T>'
// (or there is no acceptable conversion)
}
// Desperate, but same result as above
if (aString == gcroot<System::String^>(nullptr))
{
// compiler error C2678: binary '==' : no operator found
// which takes a left-hand operand of type 'gcroot<T>'
// (or there is no acceptable conversion)
}
}
EDIT
The above is just a simplified example. I am actually working on a wrapper library that "translates" between managed and native code. The class I am working on is a native C++ class that wraps a managed object. In the constructor of the native C++ class I get a gcroot
reference which I want to check for null.
Use a static_cast
to convert the gcroot
to the managed type, and then compare that to nullptr
.
My test program:
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
gcroot<System::String^> aString;
if (static_cast<String^>(aString) == nullptr)
{
Debug::WriteLine("aString == nullptr");
}
aString = "foo";
if (static_cast<String^>(aString) != nullptr)
{
Debug::WriteLine("aString != nullptr");
}
return 0;
}
Results:
aString == nullptr aString != nullptr