# CoReleaseMarshalData

Destroys a previously marshaled data packet.

STDAPI CoReleaseMarshalData(

IStream * pStm | //Pointer to stream containing data packet
); |

Parameter

pStm
  [in] Pointer to the stream that contains the data packet to be destroyed.

Return Values

This function supports the standard return values E_FAIL, E_INVALIDARG,

E_OUTOFMEMORY, and E_UNEXPECTED, as well as the following:

S_OK
  The data packet was successfully destroyed.
STG_E_INVALIDPOINTER
  An IStream error dealing with the pStm parameter.
CO_E_NOTINITIALIZED
  The CoInitialize or OleInitialize function was not called on the current thread before this function was called.

Remarks

The CoReleaseMarshalData function performs the following tasks:

1. The function reads a CLSID from the stream.

2. If COM’s default marshaling implementation is being used, the function gets an IMarshal pointer to an instance of the standard unmarshaler. If custom marshaling is being used, the function creates a proxy by calling the CoCreateInstance function, passing the CLSID it read from the stream, and requesings an IMarshal interface pointer to the newly created proxy.

3. Using whichever IMarshal interface pointer it has acquired, the function calls IMarshal::ReleaseMarshalData.

You typically do not call this function. The only situation in which you might need to call this function is if you use custom marshaling (write and use your own implementation of IMarshal). Examples of when CoReleaseMarshalData should be called include the following situations:

- An attempt was made to unmarshal the data packet, but it failed.

- A marshaled data packet was removed from a global table.

As an analogy, the data packet can be thought of as a reference to the original object, just as if it were another interface pointer being held on the object. Like a real interface pointer, that data packet must be released at some point. The use of IMarshal::ReleaseMarshalData to release data packets is analogous to the use of IUnknown::Release to release interface pointers.

Note that you do not need to call CoReleaseMarshalData after a successful call of the CoUnmarshalInterface function; that function releases the marshal data as part of the processing that it does.

See Also

IMarshal::ReleaseMarshalData