Converting Union Fields to Go Types in Golang CGo

When working with C structures in Golang CGo, accessing union fields can be a challenge. A common scenario involves accessing the ui32v field in a value union within a C struct, as in the following example:

struct _GNetSnmpVarBind {
  guint32       *oid;       /* name of the variable */
  gsize     oid_len;    /* length of the name */
  GNetSnmpVarBindType   type;       /* variable type / exception */
  union {
    gint32   i32;           /* 32 bit signed   */
    guint32  ui32;          /* 32 bit unsigned */
    gint64   i64;           /* 64 bit signed   */
    guint64  ui64;          /* 64 bit unsigned */
    guint8  *ui8v;          /*  8 bit unsigned vector */
    guint32 *ui32v;         /* 32 bit unsigned vector */
  }         value;      /* value of the variable */
  gsize     value_len;  /* length of a vector in bytes */
};

Note: In this example, we are on a 64-bit platform.

Failed Approach: Converting to uint64 and Casting

An initial approach might involve converting the union field's contents to a uint64, assuming it represents a memory address, and then casting that uint64 to a *_Ctype_guint32. However, this approach will result in a type conversion error.

Correct Approach: Using the Address of the Union

Instead, the correct approach involves using the address of the union itself. In CGo, a union is exposed as a byte array large enough to hold its largest member. In this case, that array is eight bytes ([8]byte). By using the address of this array, we can directly cast it to the desired type.

For a C._GNetSnmpVarBind named data, the following code demonstrates this approach:

guint32_star := *(**C.guint32)(unsafe.Pointer(&data.value[0]))

Breakdown of the Code:

• &data.value[0] obtains the address of the first byte in the value union.
• unsafe.Pointer(&data.value[0]) converts this address to a pointer of type unsafe.Pointer.
• (**C.guint32)(unsafe.Pointer(&data.value[0])) interprets the memory pointed to by unsafe.Pointer(&data.value[0]) as a **C.guint32, effectively accessing the ui32v field as a pointer to a guint32.

This simplified approach allows for direct access to union fields in Go code.