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Memory<T> API documentation and samples

This document describes the APIs of Memory<T>, IMemoryOwner<T>, and MemoryManager<T> and their relationships to each other.

See also the Memory<T> usage guidelines document for background information.

First, a brief summary of the basic types

• Memory<T> is the basic type that represents a contiguous buffer. This type is a struct, which means that developers cannot subclass it and override the implementation. The basic implementation of the type is aware of contigious memory buffers backed by T[] and System.String (in the case of ReadOnlyMemory<char>).

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Memory<T> usage guidelines

This document describes the relationship between Memory<T> and its related classes (MemoryPool<T>, IMemoryOwner<T>, etc.). It also describes best practices when accepting Memory<T> instances in public API surface. Following these guidelines will help developers write clear, bug-free code.

First, a tour of the basic exchange types

• Span<T> is the basic exchange type that represents contiguous buffers. These buffers may be backed by managed memory (such as T[] or System.String). They may also be backed by unmanaged memory (such as via stackalloc or a raw void*). The Span<T> type is not heapable, meaning that it cannot appear as a field in classes, and it cannot be used across yield or await boundaries.

• Memory is a wrapper around an object that can generate a Span. For instance, Memory instances can be backed by T[], System.String (readonly), and even SafeHandle instances. Memory cannot be backed by "transient" unmanaged me