Bit fields in C#

I have a structure which I need to populate and write to disk (several actually).

An example is:

byte-6    
bit0 - original_or_copy  
bit1 - copyright  
bit2 - data_alignment_indicator  
bit3 - PES_priority  
bit4-bit5 - PES_scrambling control.  
bit6-bit7 - reserved  

In C I might do something like the following:

struct PESHeader  {
    unsigned reserved:2;
    unsigned scrambling_control:2;
    unsigned priority:1;
    unsigned data_alignment_indicator:1;
    unsigned copyright:1;
    unsigned original_or_copy:1;
};

Is there any way to do this in C# that would enable me to access the bits using the struct dereferencing dot operator?

For a couple of structures, I can just do bit shifting wrapped in an accessor function.

I have loads of structures to handle in this way, so I'm looking for something that's easier to read and quicker to write.

Solution 1:

I'd probably knock together something using attributes, then a conversion class to convert suitably attributed structures to the bitfield primitives. Something like...

using System;

namespace BitfieldTest
{
    [global::System.AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Field, AllowMultiple = false)]
    sealed class BitfieldLengthAttribute : Attribute
    {
        uint length;

        public BitfieldLengthAttribute(uint length)
        {
            this.length = length;
        }

        public uint Length { get { return length; } }
    }

    static class PrimitiveConversion
    {
        public static long ToLong<T>(T t) where T : struct
        {
            long r = 0;
            int offset = 0;

            // For every field suitably attributed with a BitfieldLength
            foreach (System.Reflection.FieldInfo f in t.GetType().GetFields())
            {
                object[] attrs = f.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(BitfieldLengthAttribute), false);
                if (attrs.Length == 1)
                {
                    uint fieldLength  = ((BitfieldLengthAttribute)attrs[0]).Length;

                    // Calculate a bitmask of the desired length
                    long mask = 0;
                    for (int i = 0; i < fieldLength; i++)
                        mask |= 1 << i;

                    r |= ((UInt32)f.GetValue(t) & mask) << offset;

                    offset += (int)fieldLength;
                }
            }

            return r;
        }
    }

    struct PESHeader
    {
        [BitfieldLength(2)]
        public uint reserved;
        [BitfieldLength(2)]
        public uint scrambling_control;
        [BitfieldLength(1)]
        public uint priority;
        [BitfieldLength(1)]
        public uint data_alignment_indicator;
        [BitfieldLength(1)]
        public uint copyright;
        [BitfieldLength(1)]
        public uint original_or_copy;
    };

    public class MainClass
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            PESHeader p = new PESHeader();

            p.reserved = 3;
            p.scrambling_control = 2;
            p.data_alignment_indicator = 1;

            long l = PrimitiveConversion.ToLong(p);


            for (int i = 63; i >= 0; i--)
            {
                Console.Write( ((l & (1l << i)) > 0) ? "1" : "0");
            }

            Console.WriteLine();

            return;
        }
    }
}

Which produces the expected ...000101011. Of course, it needs more error checking and a slightly saner typing, but the concept is (I think) sound, reusable, and lets you knock out easily maintained structures by the dozen.

adamw

Solution 2:

By using an enum you can do this, but will look awkward.

[Flags]
public enum PESHeaderFlags
{
    IsCopy = 1, // implied that if not present, then it is an original
    IsCopyrighted = 2,
    IsDataAligned = 4,
    Priority = 8,
    ScramblingControlType1 = 0,
    ScramblingControlType2 = 16,
    ScramblingControlType3 = 32,
    ScramblingControlType4 = 16+32,
    ScramblingControlFlags = ScramblingControlType1 | ScramblingControlType2 | ... ype4
    etc.
}

Solution 3:

You want StructLayoutAttribute

[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit, Size=1, CharSet=CharSet.Ansi)]
public struct Foo 
{ [FieldOffset(0)]public byte original_or_copy; 
  [FieldOffset(0)]public byte copyright;
  [FieldOffset(0)]public byte data_alignment_indicator; 
  [FieldOffset(0)]public byte PES_priority; 
  [FieldOffset(0)]public byte PES_scrambling_control; 
  [FieldOffset(0)]public byte reserved; 
}

This is really a union but you can use it as a bitfield--you just have to be conscious of where in the byte the bits for each field are supposed to be. Utility functions and/or constants to AND against can help.

const byte _original_or_copy = 1;
const byte _copyright        = 2;

//bool ooo = foo.original_or_copy();
static bool original_or_copy(this Foo foo) 
{ return  (foo.original_or_copy & _original_or_copy)  == original_or_copy;
}    

There is also LayoutKind.Sequential which will allow you to do it the C way.