@var{form} can access and update these dynamically bound variables:
@table @code
-@item raw-data
+@item bindat-raw
The data as a byte array.
-@item pos
-Current position of the unpacking or packing operation.
+@item bindat-idx
+Current index into bindat-raw of the unpacking or packing operation.
@item struct
Alist.
@var{tag} matches unconditionally if it is @code{t}.
@end itemize
-@item repeat @var{count} @var{field-spec}@dots{}
-@var{count} may be an integer, or a list of one element naming a
-previous field. For correct operation, each @var{field-spec} must
-include a name.
-@c ??? What does it MEAN?
+@item repeat @var{count} @var{field-specs}@dots{}
+Process the @var{field-specs} recursively, in order, then repeat
+starting from the first one, processing all the specs @var{count}
+times overall. @var{count} may be an integer, or a list of one
+element that names a previous field. For correct operation, each spec
+in @var{field-specs} must include a name.
@end table
@node Bindat Functions
@subsection Functions to Unpack and Pack Bytes
In the following documentation, @var{spec} refers to a data layout
-specification, @code{raw-data} to a byte array, and @var{struct} to an
+specification, @code{bindat-raw} to a byte array, and @var{struct} to an
alist representing unpacked field data.
-@defun bindat-unpack spec raw-data &optional pos
-This function unpacks data from the byte array @code{raw-data}
+@defun bindat-unpack spec bindat-raw &optional bindat-idx
+This function unpacks data from the unibyte string or byte
+array @code{bindat-raw}
according to @var{spec}. Normally this starts unpacking at the
-beginning of the byte array, but if @var{pos} is non-@code{nil}, it
+beginning of the byte array, but if @var{bindat-idx} is non-@code{nil}, it
specifies a zero-based starting position to use instead.
The value is an alist or nested alist in which each element describes
@code{a}. (This corresponds to @code{struct.a.b[2].c} in C.)
@end defun
+ Although packing and unpacking operations change the organization of
+data (in memory), they preserve the data's @dfn{total length}, which is
+the sum of all the fields' lengths, in bytes. This value is not
+generally inherent in either the specification or alist alone; instead,
+both pieces of information contribute to its calculation. Likewise, the
+length of a string or array being unpacked may be longer than the data's
+total length as described by the specification.
+
@defun bindat-length spec struct
-@c ??? I don't understand this at all -- rms
-This function returns the length in bytes of @var{struct}, according
-to @var{spec}.
+This function returns the total length of the data in @var{struct},
+according to @var{spec}.
@end defun
-@defun bindat-pack spec struct &optional raw-data pos
+@defun bindat-pack spec struct &optional bindat-raw bindat-idx
This function returns a byte array packed according to @var{spec} from
the data in the alist @var{struct}. Normally it creates and fills a
-new byte array starting at the beginning. However, if @var{raw-data}
-is non-@code{nil}, it specifies a pre-allocated string or vector to
-pack into. If @var{pos} is non-@code{nil}, it specifies the starting
-offset for packing into @code{raw-data}.
+new byte array starting at the beginning. However, if @var{bindat-raw}
+is non-@code{nil}, it specifies a pre-allocated unibyte string or vector to
+pack into. If @var{bindat-idx} is non-@code{nil}, it specifies the starting
+offset for packing into @code{bindat-raw}.
-@c ??? Isn't this a bug? Shouldn't it always be unibyte?
-Note: The result is a multibyte string; use @code{string-make-unibyte}
-on it to make it unibyte if necessary.
+When pre-allocating, you should make sure @code{(length @var{bindat-raw})}
+meets or exceeds the total length to avoid an out-of-range error.
@end defun
@defun bindat-ip-to-string ip
(with-temp-buffer
(set-buffer-multibyte nil)
(insert
- (string-make-unibyte
- (bindat-pack
- fcookie-index-spec
- `((:version . 2)
- (:count . ,count)
- (:longest . ,max)
- (:shortest . ,min)
- (:flags . 0)
- (:delim . ,delim)
- (:offset . ,(mapcar (lambda (o)
- (list (cons :foo o)))
- (nreverse offsets)))))))
+ (bindat-pack
+ fcookie-index-spec
+ `((:version . 2)
+ (:count . ,count)
+ (:longest . ,max)
+ (:shortest . ,min)
+ (:flags . 0)
+ (:delim . ,delim)
+ (:offset . ,(mapcar (lambda (o)
+ (list (cons :foo o)))
+ (nreverse offsets))))))
(let ((coding-system-for-write 'raw-text-unix))
(write-file (or index (concat cookies ".dat")))))))
@end lisp