Cast int to byte[4] in .NET

I was wondering if anyone here knows an efficient way to cast an integer to a byte[4]? I'm trying to write an int into MemoryStream, and this thing wants me to give it bytes

From stackoverflow

• Use a BinaryWriter (constructed with your memory stream); it has a write method that takes an Int32.

  BinaryWriter bw = new BinaryWriter(someStream);
  bw.Write(intValue);
  bw.Write((Int32)1);
  // ...
  

  galets : Good idea! Thank you

• You can use BitConverter.GetBytes if you want to convert a primitive type to its byte representation. Just remember to make sure the endianness is correct for your scenario.

  galets : Thanks! I knew there's an easy way to do this :)

• byte[] bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(42);

• • BinaryWriter will be the simplest solution to write to a stream
  • BitConverter.GetBytes is most appropriate if you really want an array
  • My own versions in MiscUtil (EndianBitConverter and EndianBinaryWriter) give you more control over the endianness, and also allow you to convert directly into an existing array.

• You could also do your own shifting! Although i'd use the built in methods figured i'd throw this out there for fun.

  byte[] getBytesFromInt(int i){
      return new byte[]{
          (byte)i,
          (byte)(i >> 8),
          (byte)(i >> 16),
          (byte)(i >> 24)
      };
  }
  

  Of course then you have to worry about endian.

  Gareth Davis : also happens to be cross platform, the above also works in Java :)

  Quintin Robinson : Yeah lol, had to implement a utility class with similar code in Java so I could control byte conversion =P