The mi_get_vardata_align() function

The mi_get_vardata_align() accessor function obtains a pointer to the data in a varying-length structure (such as mi_lvarchar) and adjusts for any initial padding required to align the data.

Syntax

char *mi_get_vardata_align(varlen_ptr, align)
   mi_lvarchar *varlen_ptr,
   mi_integer align;
varlen_ptr
A pointer to a variable-length structure.
align
The alignment boundary value.
Valid in client LIBMI application? Valid in user-defined routine?
Yes Yes

Usage

The mi_get_vardata_align() function aligns the data on the nearest align-byte boundary. The mi_get_vardata_align() function is useful for data types whose alignment is not on a 4-byte boundary, such as arrays that are stored in varying-length structures. Array elements might have more stringent alignment requirements than the 4-byte alignment guaranteed by the varying-length structure. For opaque data types, this value must match the align column of the sysxtdtypes system catalog table.
Important: The varying-length structure that varlen_ptr references is an opaque structure. Do not access the fields of this structure directly. Instead, use mi_get_vardata_align() to obtain the data from this structure in an aligned format.

The data in a varying-length structure is not null terminated. Do not use null termination to determine end of the data that the mi_get_vardata_align() returns. Instead, use the mi_get_varlen() function to obtain the actual data length, which you can then use to access the varying-length data.

Although the varlen_ptr argument is declared as a pointer to an mi_lvarchar, you can also use the mi_get_vardata_align() function to obtain aligned data from other varying-length data types, such as mi_sendrecv.

Return values

A char pointer
A pointer to the data in the varying-length structure.
NULL
The function was not successful.