VC.NET 2005 and ^

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Maileen - 02 Nov 2005 07:38 GMT

Hi,

I have a RC version of VC.NET 2005 for testing purpose and i would like to
understand the purpose of ^ character.

Now instead to write :

String strTest="";

we need to write :
String^ strTest= "";

why and what are the implications of this changes ?
i did not find any information in help about it except few words and without
any real detail.

Precision : i'm working under Windows.Forms.

thanks a lot,
Maileen

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Arnaud Debaene - 02 Nov 2005 08:20 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> String strTest="";

You mean instead of String* strTest="" (old C++ Managed syntax).

> we need to write :
> String^ strTest= "";
>
> why and what are the implications of this changes ?

The purpose is to make clearer the difference between pointers (pointing to
native objects) and handles (referencing managed objects). The latter ones
were called "__gc pointers" in managed C++.

> i did not find any information in help about it except few words and
> without any real detail.

You didn't search strong enough ;-)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yk97tc08 (&mong many other articles
on the subject).

Arnaud
MVP - VC

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Tom Serface - 02 Nov 2005 17:38 GMT

I think this is one of the best extensions they did and it looks like C++ in
a way. It is also very clear to see the difference between * and ^
pointers.

Tom

> The purpose is to make clearer the difference between pointers (pointing
> to native objects) and handles (referencing managed objects). The latter
> ones were called "__gc pointers" in managed C++.

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Nishant Sivakumar - 02 Nov 2005 16:02 GMT

http://www.voidnish.com/articles/ShowArticle.aspx?code=cppcliintro01

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Regards,
Nish [VC++ MVP]

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> thanks a lot,
> Maileen

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Peter Oliphant - 09 Nov 2005 23:31 GMT

OK, now I'm worried. If I upgrade to 2005 from 2003 does this mean all my
managed pointers (*) must now be changed to handles (^), that all my managed
new's must be changed to gcnew, etc.? Or is it backwards compatible and
these are new addtional features?

[==P==]

> http://www.voidnish.com/articles/ShowArticle.aspx?code=cppcliintro01
>
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>> thanks a lot,
>> Maileen

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Jochen Kalmbach [MVP] - 10 Nov 2005 06:55 GMT

Hi Peter!

> OK, now I'm worried. If I upgrade to 2005 from 2003 does this mean all my
> managed pointers (*) must now be changed to handles (^), that all my managed
> new's must be changed to gcnew, etc.? Or is it backwards compatible and
> these are new addtional features?

You can use the "/clr:oldsyntax" switch to be (mostly) compatible with
VC2003.

Signature

Greetings
Jochen

My blog about Win32 and .NET
http://blog.kalmbachnet.de/

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VC.NET 2005 and ^

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