How to set Byte array to Max

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I want to declare a Byte array like this

Dim buffer() As Byte

But I don't know the size of the array SO how can I set it to take the max?
and I Need to set something since it give me it need to be assigned later on.

Posted 17-Nov-11 21:07pm

Member 8317792

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Mehdi Gholam 18-Nov-11 3:09am

Setting byte arrays to max will consume memory, just reallocate the buffer when you know the size.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 18-Nov-11 3:22am

You are right, but then it's much better to not use array at all, please see my solution.
--SA

2 solutions

Solution 2

It looks like you don't know the array size at the moment of its creation. That said, you should not use array. Instead, use the generic class System.Collections.Generic.List, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6sh2ey19.aspx[^]. Yes, you can use array, too, but reallocation is not a very good thing. Due to performance and other reason, using array and not list cannot be justified.

—SA

Posted 17-Nov-11 21:21pm

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov

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Mehdi Gholam 18-Nov-11 3:31am

I would agree for any array of other than byte ( int, object, etc.) but for bytes especially for things like packets and files, List of bytes is not very good.

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OriginalGriff · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-17T21:17:00

Solution 1

As Mehdi says, never assign a buffer to the maximum size!
In .NET the maximum size of any single object is 2Gb, so the Max size of a bytes array is 2147483648 bytes. If you keep on allocating this much memory without actually needing it, you will slow your computer to a crawl very, very quickly...
Initially, define it as

VB

Dim buffer() As Byte = nothing

And then re-assign it when you know how many bytes you need.

Posted 17-Nov-11 21:17pm

OriginalGriff

Comments

Mehdi Gholam 18-Nov-11 3:18am

5'ed

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 18-Nov-11 3:24am

Basically correct, but using generic list is better, see my solution.
4'ed.
--SA

JBoada 14-May-12 16:13pm

Hi everyone,

I'm having an issue using an array. I require to load a large file into an array for a third-platform, it requires that way, later serialize it to an Base64 string.

For large files, .Net shows "System.OutOfMemoryException: Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown." due to it can't create the required array.

So far, I haven't be able to load large files. Then I would need to deserialize Base64 strings (this is the response from the third-system for a request) to bytes, I assume that it is liked load a large file in an array.

so, is it possible to create large array like "dim mybytes(max.integer-1) as byte"?

Best Regards,

Juan Boada

OriginalGriff 15-May-12 3:23am

You need to raise this as a separate question - it's rude to tack it on to somebody elses.
You also need to give us better information - how big are the files, what code is giving the exception, and so forth.