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Encoding.GetCharCount Method (Byte*, Int32)

When overridden in a derived class, calculates the number of characters produced by decoding a sequence of bytes starting at the specified byte pointer.

This API is not CLS-compliant. 

Namespace:  System.Text
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

abstract GetCharCount : 
        bytes:nativeptr<byte> * 
        count:int -> int 
override GetCharCount : 
        bytes:nativeptr<byte> * 
        count:int -> int


Type: System.Byte*

A pointer to the first byte to decode.

Type: System.Int32

The number of bytes to decode.

Return Value

Type: System.Int32
The number of characters produced by decoding the specified sequence of bytes.


bytes is a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).


count is less than zero.




DecoderFallback is set to DecoderExceptionFallback.

To calculate the exact array size that GetChars requires to store the resulting characters, the application should use GetCharCount. To calculate the maximum array size, the application should use GetMaxCharCount. The GetCharCount method generally allows allocation of less memory, while the GetMaxCharCount method generally executes faster.

The GetCharCount method determines how many characters result in decoding a sequence of bytes, and the GetChars method performs the actual decoding. The GetChars method expects discrete conversions, in contrast to the Decoder.GetChars method, which handles multiple passes on a single input stream.

Several versions of GetCharCount and GetChars are supported. The following are some programming considerations for use of these methods:

  • The application might need to decode multiple input bytes from a code page and process the bytes using multiple calls. In this case, your application probably needs to maintain state between calls.

  • If the application handles string outputs, it is recommended to use the GetString method. Since this method must check string length and allocate a buffer, it is slightly slower, but the resulting String type is to be preferred.

  • The byte version of GetChars(Byte*, Int32, Char*, Int32) allows some fast techniques, particularly with multiple calls to large buffers. Bear in mind, however, that this method version is sometimes unsafe, since pointers are required.

  • If your application must convert a large amount of data, it should reuse the output buffer. In this case, the GetChars(Byte[], Int32, Int32, Char[], Int32) version that supports output character buffers is the best choice.

  • Consider using the Decoder.Convert method instead of GetCharCount. The conversion method converts as much data as possible and throws an exception if the output buffer is too small. For continuous decoding of a stream, this method is often the best choice.

.NET Framework


.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Portable Class Library

Supported in: Portable Class Library

  • SecurityCriticalAttribute 




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