From: peterjohannsen@... (pj)
Date: 2003-03-09T08:39:41+09:00
Subject: Re: WIN32OLE: Passing an Array

> my program crashes with a segmentation fault.
> I guess the problem lies in the arrays being passed to the method. I 
> searched the web/usenet for any hints on how to pass an array to an ole 
> object but found absolutely nothing.

I am a clueless newbie in Ruby, knowing nearly less than nothing, but
arrays in COM (ie, OLE, ie, ActiveX, whichever name of the week you
like) are often passed as type SAFEARRAY. This is a structure holding
a dynamically allocated array (a traditional array of consecutive
bytes), but, and this is important, it is allocated using a task
allocator. That is, you cannot make one from your heap manager, unless
your heap manager is cooperating with the task allocator.

There is a caveat: there are rules about memory ownership across COM
calls. If you are the caller, and you pass the ARRAY as a top-level IN
parameter only, then you own the memory, and the callee isn't allowed
to change it, and in this case, I believe you can get away with it not
being allocated from the task allocator.