What do these operators mean in visual C++-generated code snippet?

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What do ^>^ (line 1) and "%" (line 6) mean in below code snippet:

void main(array<String^>^ args)
{
	Application::EnableVisualStyles();
	Application::SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
	Proj03122::stanForm form;
	Application::Run(% form);
}

What does '^' mean in below code snippet:

private: System::Void btnOk_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ e) {
	String^ firstname = this->tbFirstName->Text;
	String^ lastname = this->tbLastName->Text;

	this->Greeting->Text = "hello, " + firstname + " " + lastname;
}

What I have tried:

I googled it but unfortunately, nobody talked about it. I even studied some tutorials about C++, but the questions were not addressed.

Posted 11-Mar-24 21:42pm

Stan Huang

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2 solutions

Solution 2

If you're searching for '^>^', it's no surprise you're not finding anything.

The operator is '^', which means the preceding type is garbage collectable in C++ CLI.

The '< >' characters are part of the array declaration, denoting a type the array contains. In your case, it's defining an array of Strings, or (incorrectly), 'array<string>'.

Put the '^' characters back in, and you have array<String^>^, which means a collectable array of collectable Strings.

Posted 12-Mar-24 3:18am

Dave Kreskowiak

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Pete O'Hanlon · Accepted Answer · 2024-03-11T22:07:00

That's known as the hat pointer and it indicates that this resource is garbage collected. What you are looking at there is a Visual C++ CLI symbol. Microsoft calls this the Handle to Object Operator (^)[^]. You can think of this as a form of smart pointer (albeit one that relies on a garbage collection mentality), where the object is removed when the runtime decides that the object is no longer active.

[Edit]I missed your question about the % operator. This is the managed equivalent of a reference using C++/CLI. In general, if you think of ^ being equivalent to * in this world, then % is the equivalent of &.