bindata 1.1.0 → 1.2.0

data/ChangeLog

@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 = BinData Changelog
 
+== Version 1.2.0 (2010-07-09)
+
+* Deprecated Base#register. Use #register_self or #register_subclasses instead.
+* Syntax improvement.  Array, Structs and Choices can now use blocks to
+  specify fields.
+* Reduced startup time (suggestion courtesy of Mike Ryan).
+
 == Version 1.1.0 (2009-11-24)
 
 * Allow anonymous fields in Records and Primitives.

data/README

@@ -1,1185 +1,50 @@
-Title: BinData Reference Manual
-
-{:ruby: lang=ruby html_use_syntax=true}
-
-# BinData
-
-A declarative way to read and write structured binary data.
-
-## What is it for?
+= What is BinData?
 
 Do you ever find yourself writing code like this?
 
-    io = File.open(...)
-    len = io.read(2).unpack("v")[0]
-    name = io.read(len)
-    width, height = io.read(8).unpack("VV")
-    puts "Rectangle #{name} is #{width} x #{height}"
-{:ruby}
-
-It's ugly, violates DRY and feels like you're writing Perl, not Ruby.
-
-There is a better way.
-
-    class Rectangle < BinData::Record
-      endian :little
-      uint16 :len
-      string :name, :read_length => :len
-      uint32 :width
-      uint32 :height
-    end
-
-    io = File.open(...)
-    r = Rectangle.read(io)
-    puts "Rectangle #{r.name} is #{r.width} x #{r.height}"
-{:ruby}
-
-BinData makes it easy to specify the structure of the data you are
-manipulating.
-
-Read on for the tutorial, or go straight to the
-[download](http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=3252) page.
-
-## License
-
-BinData is released under the same license as Ruby.
-
-Copyright &copy; 2007 - 2009 [Dion Mendel](mailto:dion@lostrealm.com)
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Installation
-
-You can install BinData via rubygems.
-
-    gem install bindata
-
-Alternatively, visit the 
-[download](http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=3252) page and download
-BinData as a tar file.
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Overview
-
-BinData declarations are easy to read.  Here's an example.
-
-    class MyFancyFormat < BinData::Record
-      stringz :comment
-      uint8   :num_ints, :check_value => lambda { value.even? }
-      array   :some_ints, :type => :int32be, :initial_length => :num_ints
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-This fancy format describes the following collection of data:
-
-1.  A zero terminated string
-2.  An unsigned 8bit integer which must by even
-3.  A sequence of unsigned 32bit integers in big endian form, the total
-    number of which is determined by the value of the 8bit integer.
-
-The BinData declaration matches the English description closely.
-Compare the above declaration with the equivalent `#unpack` code to read
-such a data record.
-
-    def read_fancy_format(io)
-      comment, num_ints, rest = io.read.unpack("Z*Ca*")
-      raise ArgumentError, "ints must be even" unless num_ints.even?
-      some_ints = rest.unpack("N#{num_ints}")
-      {:comment => comment, :num_ints => num_ints, :some_ints => *some_ints}
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-The BinData declaration clearly shows the structure of the record.  The
-`#unpack` code makes this structure opaque.
-
-The general usage of BinData is to declare a structured collection of
-data as a user defined record.  This record can be instantiated, read,
-written and manipulated without the user having to be concerned with the
-underlying binary representation of the data.
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Common Operations
-
-There are operations common to all BinData types, including user defined
-ones.  These are summarised here.
-
-## Reading and writing
-
-`::read(io)`
-
-:   Creates a BinData object and reads its value from the given string
-    or `IO`.  The newly created object is returned.
-
-        str = BinData::Stringz::read("string1\0string2")
-        str.snapshot #=> "string1"
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#read(io)`
-
-:   Reads and assigns binary data read from `io`.
-
-        obj = BinData::Uint16be.new
-        obj.read("\022\064")
-        obj.value #=> 4660
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#write(io)`
-
-:   Writes the binary representation of the object to `io`.
-
-        File.open("...", "wb") do |io|
-          obj = BinData::Uint64be.new
-          obj.value = 568290145640170
-          obj.write(io)
-        end
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#to_binary_s`
-
-:   Returns the binary representation of this object as a string.
-
-        obj = BinData::Uint16be.new
-        obj.assign(4660)
-        obj.to_binary_s #=> "\022\064"
-    {:ruby}
-
-## Manipulating
-
-`#assign(value)`
-
-:   Assigns the given value to this object.  `value` can be of the same
-    format as produced by `#snapshot`, or it can be a compatible data
-    object.
-  
-        arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => :uint8)
-        arr.assign([1, 2, 3, 4])
-        arr.snapshot #=> [1, 2, 3, 4]
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#clear`
-
-:   Resets this object to its initial state.
-
-        obj = BinData::Int32be.new(:initial_value => 42)
-        obj.assign(50)
-        obj.clear
-        obj.value #=> 42
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#clear?`
-
-:   Returns whether this object is in its initial state.
-
-        arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => :uint16be, :initial_length => 5)
-        arr[3] = 42
-        arr.clear? #=> false
-
-        arr[3].clear
-        arr.clear? #=> true
-    {:ruby}
-
-## Inspecting
-
-`#num_bytes`
-
-:   Returns the number of bytes required for the binary representation
-    of this object.
-
-        arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => :uint16be, :initial_length => 5)
-        arr[0].num_bytes #=> 2
-        arr.num_bytes #=> 10
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#snapshot`
-
-:   Returns the value of this object as primitive Ruby objects
-    (numerics, strings, arrays and hashs).  The output of `#snapshot`
-    may be useful for serialization or as a reduced memory usage
-    representation.
-
-        obj = BinData::Uint8.new
-        obj.assign(3)
-        obj + 3 #=> 6
-
-        obj.snapshot #=> 3
-        obj.snapshot.class #=> Fixnum
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#offset`
-
-:   Returns the offset of this object with respect to the most distant
-    ancestor structure it is contained within.  This is most likely to
-    be used with arrays and records.
-
-        class Tuple < BinData::Record
-          int8 :a
-          int8 :b
-        end
-
-        arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => :tuple, :initial_length => 3)
-        arr[2].b.offset #=> 5
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#rel_offset`
-
-:   Returns the offset of this object with respect to the parent
-    structure it is contained within.  Compare this to `#offset`.
-
-        class Tuple < BinData::Record
-          int8 :a
-          int8 :b
-        end
-
-        arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => :tuple, :initial_length => 3)
-        arr[2].b.rel_offset #=> 1
-    {:ruby}
-
-`#inspect`
-
-:   Returns a human readable representation of this object.  This is a
-    shortcut to #snapshot.inspect.
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Records
-
-The general format of a BinData record declaration is a class containing
-one or more fields.
-
-    class MyName < BinData::Record
-      type field_name, :param1 => "foo", :param2 => bar, ...
-      ...
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-`type`
-:   is the name of a supplied type (e.g. `uint32be`, `string`, `array`)
-    or a user defined type.  For user defined types, the class name is
-    converted from `CamelCase` to lowercased `underscore_style`.
-
-`field_name`
-:   is the name by which you can access the field.  Use either a
-    `String` or a `Symbol`.  If name is nil or the empty string, then
-    this particular field is anonymous.  An anonymous field is still
-    read and written, but will not appear in `#snapshot`.
-
-Each field may have optional *parameters* for how to process the data.
-The parameters are passed as a `Hash` with `Symbols` for keys.
-Parameters are designed to be lazily evaluated, possibly multiple times.
-This means that any parameter value must not have side effects.
-
-Here are some examples of legal values for parameters.
-
-*   `:param => 5`
-*   `:param => lambda { 5 + 2 }`
-*   `:param => lambda { foo + 2 }`
-*   `:param => :foo`
-
-The simplest case is when the value is a literal value, such as `5`.
-
-If the value is not a literal, it is expected to be a lambda.  The
-lambda will be evaluated in the context of the parent, in this case the
-parent is an instance of `MyName`.
-
-If the value is a symbol, it is taken as syntactic sugar for a lambda
-containing the value of the symbol.
-e.g `:param => :foo` is `:param => lambda { foo }`
-
-## Specifying default endian
-
-The endianess of numeric types must be explicitly defined so that the
-code produced is independent of architecture.  However, explicitly
-specifying the endian for each numeric field can result in a bloated
-declaration that can be difficult to read.
-
-    class A < BinData::Record
-      int16be  :a
-      int32be  :b
-      int16le  :c  # <-- Note little endian!
-      int32be  :d
-      float_be :e
-      array    :f, :type => :uint32be
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-The `endian` keyword can be used to set the default endian.  This makes
-the declaration easier to read.  Any numeric field that doesn't use the
-default endian can explicitly override it.
-
-    class A < BinData::Record
-      endian :big
-
-      int16   :a
-      int32   :b
-      int16le :c   # <-- Note how this little endian now stands out
-      int32   :d
-      float   :e
-      array   :f, :type => :uint32
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-The increase in clarity can be seen with the above example.  The
-`endian` keyword will cascade to nested types, as illustrated with the
-array in the above example.
-
-## Optional fields
-
-A record may contain optional fields.  The optional state of a field is
-decided by the `:onlyif` parameter.  If the value of this parameter is
-`false`, then the field will be as if it didn't exist in the record.
-
-    class RecordWithOptionalField < BinData::Record
-      ...
-      uint8  :comment_flag
-      string :comment, :length => 20, :onlyif => :has_comment?
-
-      def has_comment?
-        comment_flag.nonzero?
-      end
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-In the above example, the `comment` field is only included in the record
-if the value of the `comment_flag` field is non zero.
-
-## Handling dependencies between fields
-
-A common occurence in binary file formats is one field depending upon
-the value of another.  e.g. A string preceded by its length.
-
-As an example, let's assume a Pascal style string where the byte
-preceding the string contains the string's length.
-
-    # reading
-    io = File.open(...)
-    len = io.getc
-    str = io.read(len)
-    puts "string is " + str
-
-    # writing
-    io = File.open(...)
-    str = "this is a string"
-    io.putc(str.length)
-    io.write(str)
-{:ruby}
-
-Here's how we'd implement the same example with BinData.
-
-    class PascalString < BinData::Record
-      uint8  :len,  :value => lambda { data.length }
-      string :data, :read_length => :len
-    end
-
-    # reading
-    io = File.open(...)
-    ps = PascalString.new
-    ps.read(io)
-    puts "string is " + ps.data
-
-    # writing
-    io = File.open(...)
-    ps = PascalString.new
-    ps.data = "this is a string"
-    ps.write(io)
-{:ruby}
-
-This syntax needs explaining.  Let's simplify by examining reading and
-writing separately.
-
-    class PascalStringReader < BinData::Record
-      uint8  :len
-      string :data, :read_length => :len
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-This states that when reading the string, the initial length of the
-string (and hence the number of bytes to read) is determined by the
-value of the `len` field.
-
-Note that `:read_length => :len` is syntactic sugar for
-`:read_length => lambda { len }`, as described previously.
-
-    class PascalStringWriter < BinData::Record
-      uint8  :len, :value => lambda { data.length }
-      string :data
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-This states that the value of `len` is always equal to the length of
-`data`.  `len` may not be manually modified.
-
-Combining these two definitions gives the definition for `PascalString`
-as previously defined.
-
-It is important to note with dependencies, that a field can only depend
-on one before it.  You can't have a string which has the characters
-first and the length afterwards.
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Primitive Types
-
-BinData provides support for the most commonly used primitive types that
-are used when working with binary data.  Namely:
-
-*   fixed size strings
-*   zero terminated strings
-*   byte based integers - signed or unsigned, big or little endian and
-    of any size
-*   bit based integers - unsigned big or little endian integers of any
-    size
-*   floating point numbers - single or double precision floats in either
-    big or little endian
-
-Primitives may be manipulated individually, but is more common to work
-with them as part of a record.
-
-Examples of individual usage:
-
-    int16 = BinData::Int16be.new
-    int16.value = 941
-    int16.to_binary_s #=> "\003\255"
-
-    fl = BinData::FloatBe.read("\100\055\370\124") #=> 2.71828174591064
-    fl.num_bytes #=> 4
-
-    fl * int16 #=> 2557.90320057996
-{:ruby}
-
-There are several parameters that are specific to primitives.
-
-`:initial_value`
-
-:   This contains the initial value that the primitive will contain
-    after initialization.  This is useful for setting default values.
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:initial_value => "hello ")
-        obj + "world" #=> "hello world"
-
-        obj.assign("good-bye " )
-        obj + "world" #=> "good-bye world"
-    {:ruby}
-
-`:value`
-
-:   The primitive will always contain this value.  Reading or assigning
-    will not change the value.  This parameter is used to define
-    constants or dependent fields.
-
-        pi = BinData::FloatLe.new(:value => Math::PI)
-        pi.assign(3)
-        puts pi #=> 3.14159265358979
-    {:ruby}
-
-`:check_value`
-
-:   When reading, will raise a `ValidityError` if the value read does
-    not match the value of this parameter.
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:check_value => lambda { /aaa/ =~ value })
-        obj.read("baaa!") #=> "baaa!"
-        obj.read("bbb") #=> raises ValidityError
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:check_value => "foo")
-        obj.read("foo") #=> "foo"
-        obj.read("bar") #=> raises ValidityError
-    {:ruby}
-
-## Numerics
-
-There are three kinds of numeric types that are supported by BinData.
-
-### Byte based integers
-
-These are the common integers that are used in most low level
-programming languages (C, C++, Java etc).  These integers can be signed
-or unsigned.  The endian must be specified so that the conversion is
-independent of architecture.  The bit size of these integers must be a
-multiple of 8.  Examples of byte based integers are:
-
-`uint16be`
-:   unsigned 16 bit big endian integer
-
-`int8`
-:   signed 8 bit integer
-
-`int32le`
-:   signed 32 bit little endian integer
-
-`uint40be`
-:   unsigned 40 bit big endian integer
-
-The `be` | `le` suffix may be omitted if the `endian` keyword is in use.
-
-### Bit based integers
-
-These unsigned integers are used to define bitfields in records.
-Bitfields are big endian by default but little endian may be specified
-explicitly.  Little endian bitfields are rare, but do occur in older
-file formats (e.g.  The file allocation table for FAT12 filesystems is
-stored as an array of 12bit little endian integers).
-
-An array of bit based integers will be packed according to their endian.
-
-In a record, adjacent bitfields will be packed according to their
-endian.  All other fields are byte aligned.
-
-Examples of bit based integers are:
-
-`bit1`
-:   1 bit big endian integer (may be used as boolean)
-
-`bit4_le`
-:   4 bit little endian integer
-
-`bit32`
-:   32 bit big endian integer
-
-The difference between byte and bit base integers of the same number of
-bits (e.g. `uint8` vs `bit8`) is one of alignment.
-
-This example is packed as 3 bytes
-
-    class A < BinData::Record
-      bit4  :a
-      uint8 :b
-      bit4  :c
-    end
-
-    Data is stored as: AAAA0000 BBBBBBBB CCCC0000
-{:ruby}
-
-Whereas this example is packed into only 2 bytes
-
-    class B < BinData::Record
-      bit4 :a
-      bit8 :b
-      bit4 :c
-    end
-
-    Data is stored as: AAAABBBB BBBBCCCC
-{:ruby}
-
-### Floating point numbers
-
-BinData supports 32 and 64 bit floating point numbers, in both big and
-little endian format.  These types are:
-
-`float_le`
-:   single precision 32 bit little endian float
-
-`float_be`
-:   single precision 32 bit big endian float
-
-`double_le`
-:   double precision 64 bit little endian float
-
-`double_be`
-:   double precision 64 bit big endian float
-
-The `_be` | `_le` suffix may be omitted if the `endian` keyword is in use.
-
-### Example
-
-Here is an example declaration for an Internet Protocol network packet.
-
-    class IP_PDU < BinData::Record
-      endian :big
-
-      bit4   :version, :value => 4
-      bit4   :header_length
-      uint8  :tos
-      uint16 :total_length
-      uint16 :ident
-      bit3   :flags
-      bit13  :frag_offset
-      uint8  :ttl
-      uint8  :protocol
-      uint16 :checksum
-      uint32 :src_addr
-      uint32 :dest_addr
-      string :options, :read_length => :options_length_in_bytes
-      string :data, :read_length => lambda { total_length - header_length_in_bytes }
-
-      def header_length_in_bytes
-        header_length * 4
-      end
-
-      def options_length_in_bytes
-        header_length_in_bytes - 20
-      end
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-Three of the fields have parameters.
-*   The version field always has the value 4, as per the standard.
-*   The options field is read as a raw string, but not processed.
-*   The data field contains the payload of the packet.  Its length is
-    calculated as the total length of the packet minus the length of
-    the header.
-
-## Strings
-
-BinData supports two types of strings - fixed size and zero terminated.
-Strings are treated as a sequence of 8bit bytes.  This is the same as
-strings in Ruby 1.8.  The issue of character encoding is ignored by
-BinData.
-
-### Fixed Sized Strings
-
-Fixed sized strings may have a set length.  If an assigned value is
-shorter than this length, it will be padded to this length.  If no
-length is set, the length is taken to be the length of the assigned
-value.
-
-There are several parameters that are specific to fixed sized strings.
-
-`:read_length`
-
-:   The length to use when reading a value.
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:read_length => 5)
-        obj.read("abcdefghij")
-        obj.value #=> "abcde"
-    {:ruby}
-
-`:length`
-
-:   The fixed length of the string.  If a shorter string is set, it
-    will be padded to this length.  Longer strings will be truncated.
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:length => 6)
-        obj.read("abcdefghij")
-        obj.value #=> "abcdef"
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:length => 6)
-        obj.value = "abcd"
-        obj.value #=> "abcd\000\000"
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:length => 6)
-        obj.value = "abcdefghij"
-        obj.value #=> "abcdef"
-    {:ruby}
-
-`:pad_char`
-
-:   The character to use when padding a string to a set length.  Valid
-    values are `Integers` and `Strings` of length 1.
-    `"\0"` is the default.
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:length => 6, :pad_char => 'A')
-        obj.value = "abcd"
-        obj.value #=> "abcdAA"
-        obj.to_binary_s #=> "abcdAA"
-    {:ruby}
-
-`:trim_padding`
-
-:   Boolean, default `false`.  If set, the value of this string will
-    have all pad_chars trimmed from the end of the string.  The value
-    will not be trimmed when writing.
-
-        obj = BinData::String.new(:length => 6, :trim_value => true)
-        obj.value = "abcd"
-        obj.value #=> "abcd"
-        obj.to_binary_s #=> "abcd\000\000"
-    {:ruby}
-
-### Zero Terminated Strings
-
-These strings are modelled on the C style of string - a sequence of
-bytes terminated by a null (`"\0"`) character.
-
-    obj = BinData::Stringz.new
-    obj.read("abcd\000efgh")
-    obj.value #=> "abcd"
-    obj.num_bytes #=> 5
-    obj.to_binary_s #=> "abcd\000"
-{:ruby}
-
-## User Defined Primitive Types
-
-Most user defined types will be Records, but occasionally we'd like to
-create a custom type of primitive.
-
-Let us revisit the Pascal String example.
-
-    class PascalString < BinData::Record
-      uint8  :len,  :value => lambda { data.length }
-      string :data, :read_length => :len
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-We'd like to make `PascalString` a user defined type that behaves like a
-`BinData::BasePrimitive` object so we can use `:initial_value` etc.
-Here's an example usage of what we'd like:
-
-    class Favourites < BinData::Record
-      pascal_string :language, :initial_value => "ruby"
-      pascal_string :os,       :initial_value => "unix"
-    end
-
-    f = Favourites.new
-    f.os = "freebsd"
-    f.to_binary_s #=> "\004ruby\007freebsd"
-{:ruby}
-
-We create this type of custom string by inheriting from
-`BinData::Primitive` (instead of `BinData::Record`) and implementing the
-`#get` and `#set` methods.
-
-    class PascalString < BinData::Primitive
-      uint8  :len,  :value => lambda { data.length }
-      string :data, :read_length => :len
-
-      def get;   self.data; end
-      def set(v) self.data = v; end
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-### Advanced User Defined Primitive Types
-
-Sometimes a user defined primitive type can not easily be declaratively
-defined.  In this case you should inherit from `BinData::BasePrimitive`
-and implement the following three methods:
-
-*   `value_to_binary_string(value)`
-*   `read_and_return_value(io)`
-*   `sensible_default()`
-
-Here is an example of a big integer implementation.
-
-    # A custom big integer format.  Binary format is:
-    #   1 byte  : 0 for positive, non zero for negative
-    #   x bytes : Little endian stream of 7 bit bytes representing the
-    #             positive form of the integer.  The upper bit of each byte
-    #             is set when there are more bytes in the stream.
-    class BigInteger < BinData::BasePrimitive
-      def value_to_binary_string(value)
-        negative = (value < 0) ? 1 : 0
-        value = value.abs
-        bytes = [negative]
-        loop do
-          seven_bit_byte = value & 0x7f
-          value >>= 7
-          has_more = value.nonzero? ? 0x80 : 0
-          byte = has_more | seven_bit_byte
-          bytes.push(byte)
-
-          break if has_more.zero?
-        end
-
-        bytes.collect { |b| b.chr }.join
-      end
-
-      def read_and_return_value(io)
-        negative = read_uint8(io).nonzero?
-        value = 0
-        bit_shift = 0
-        loop do
-          byte = read_uint8(io)
-          has_more = byte & 0x80
-          seven_bit_byte = byte & 0x7f
-          value |= seven_bit_byte << bit_shift
-          bit_shift += 7
-
-          break if has_more.zero?
-        end
-
-        negative ? -value : value
-      end
-
-      def sensible_default
-        0
-      end
-
-      def read_uint8(io)
-        io.readbytes(1).unpack("C").at(0)
-      end
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Arrays
-
-A BinData array is a list of data objects of the same type.  It behaves
-much the same as the standard Ruby array, supporting most of the common
-methods.
-
-When instantiating an array, the type of object it contains must be
-specified.
-
-    arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => :uint8)
-    arr[3] = 5
-    arr.snapshot #=> [0, 0, 0, 5]
-{:ruby}
-
-Parameters can be passed to this object with a slightly clumsy syntax.
-
-    arr = BinData::Array.new(:type => [:uint8, {:initial_value => :index}])
-    arr[3] = 5
-    arr.snapshot #=> [0, 1, 2, 5]
-{:ruby}
-
-There are two different parameters that specify the length of the array.
-
-`:initial_length`
-
-:    Specifies the initial length of a newly instantiated array.
-     The array may grow as elements are inserted.
-
-        obj = BinData::Array.new(:type => :int8, :initial_length => 4)
-        obj.read("\002\003\004\005\006\007")
-        obj.snapshot #=> [2, 3, 4, 5]
-    {:ruby}
-
-`:read_until`
-
-:   While reading, elements are read until this condition is true.  This
-    is typically used to read an array until a sentinel value is found.
-    The variables `index`, `element` and `array` are made available to
-    any lambda assigned to this parameter.  If the value of this
-    parameter is the symbol `:eof`, then the array will read as much
-    data from the stream as possible.
-  
-        obj = BinData::Array.new(:type => :int8,
-                                 :read_until => lambda { index == 1 })
-        obj.read("\002\003\004\005\006\007")
-        obj.snapshot #=> [2, 3]
-
-        obj = BinData::Array.new(:type => :int8,
-                                 :read_until => lambda { element >= 3.5 })
-        obj.read("\002\003\004\005\006\007")
-        obj.snapshot #=> [2, 3, 4]
-
-        obj = BinData::Array.new(:type => :int8,
-                :read_until => lambda { array[index] + array[index - 1] == 9 })
-        obj.read("\002\003\004\005\006\007")
-        obj.snapshot #=> [2, 3, 4, 5]
-
-        obj = BinData::Array.new(:type => :int8, :read_until => :eof)
-        obj.read("\002\003\004\005\006\007")
-        obj.snapshot #=> [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
-    {:ruby}
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Choices
-
-A Choice is a collection of data objects of which only one is active at
-any particular time.  Method calls will be delegated to the active
-choice.  The possible types of objects that a choice contains is
-controlled by the `:choices` parameter, while the `:selection` parameter
-specifies the active choice.
-
-`:choices`
-
-:   Either an array or a hash specifying the possible data objects.  The
-    format of the array/hash.values is a list of symbols representing
-    the data object type.  If a choice is to have params passed to it,
-    then it should be provided as `[type_symbol, hash_params]`.  An
-    implementation constraint is that the hash may not contain symbols
-    as keys.
-
-`:selection`
-
-:   An index/key into the `:choices` array/hash which specifies the
-    currently active choice.
-
-`:copy_on_change`
-
-:   If set to `true`, copy the value of the previous selection to the
-    current selection whenever the selection changes.  Default is
-    `false`.
-
-Examples
-
-    type1 = [:string, {:value => "Type1"}]
-    type2 = [:string, {:value => "Type2"}]
-    
-    choices = {5 => type1, 17 => type2}
-    obj = BinData::Choice.new(:choices => choices, :selection => 5)
-    obj.value # => "Type1"
-
-    choices = [ type1, type2 ]
-    obj = BinData::Choice.new(:choices => choices, :selection => 1)
-    obj.value # => "Type2"
-
-    choices = [ nil, nil, nil, type1, nil, type2 ]
-    obj = BinData::Choice.new(:choices => choices, :selection => 3)
-    obj.value # => "Type1"
-
-    class MyNumber < BinData::Record
-      int8 :is_big_endian
-      choice :data, :choices => { true => :int32be, false => :int32le },
-                    :selection => lambda { is_big_endian != 0 },
-                    :copy_on_change => true
-    end
-
-    obj = MyNumber.new
-    obj.is_big_endian = 1
-    obj.data = 5
-    obj.to_binary_s #=> "\001\000\000\000\005"
-
-    obj.is_big_endian = 0
-    obj.to_binary_s #=> "\000\005\000\000\000"
-{:ruby}
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Advanced Topics
-
-## Skipping over unused data
-
-Some binary structures contain data that is irrelevant to your purposes.  
-
-Say you are interested in 50 bytes of data located 10 megabytes into the
-stream.  One way of accessing this useful data is:
-
-    class MyData < BinData::Record
-      string :length => 10 * 1024 * 1024
-      string :data, :length => 50
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-The advantage of this method is that the irrelevant data is preserved
-when writing the record.  The disadvantage is that even if you don't care
-about preserving this irrelevant data, it still occupies memory.
-
-If you don't need to preserve this data, an alternative is to use
-`skip` instead of `string`.  When reading it will seek over the irrelevant
-data and won't consume space in memory.  When writing it will write
-`:length` number of zero bytes.
-
-    class MyData < BinData::Record
-      skip :length => 10 * 1024 * 1024
-      string :data, :length => 50
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-## Wrappers
-
-Sometimes you wish to create a new type that is simply an existing type
-with some predefined parameters.  Examples could be an array with a
-specified type, or an integer with an initial value.
-
-This can be achieved with a wrapper.  A wrapper creates a new type based
-on an existing type which has predefined parameters.  These parameters
-can of course be overridden at initialisation time.
-
-Here we define an array that contains big endian 16 bit integers.  The
-array has a preferred initial length.
-
-    class IntArray < BinData::Wrapper
-      endian :big
-      array :type => :uint16, :initial_length => 5
-    end
-
-    arr = IntArray.new
-    arr.size #=> 5
-{:ruby}
-
-The initial length can be overridden at initialisation time.
-
-    arr = IntArray.new(:initial_length => 8)
-    arr.size #=> 8
-{:ruby}
-
-## Parameterizing User Defined Types
-
-All BinData types have parameters that allow the behaviour of an object
-to be specified at initialization time.  User defined types may also
-specify parameters.  There are two types of parameters: mandatory and
-default.
-
-### Mandatory Parameters
-
-Mandatory parameters must be specified when creating an instance of the
-type.  The `:type` parameter of `Array` is an example of a mandatory
-type.
-
-    class IntArray < BinData::Wrapper
-      mandatory_parameter :half_count
-
-      array :type => :uint8, :initial_length => lambda { half_count * 2 }
-    end
-
-    arr = IntArray.new
-        #=> raises ArgumentError: parameter 'half_count' must be specified in IntArray
-
-    arr = IntArray.new(:half_count => lambda { 1 + 2 })
-    arr.snapshot #=> [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
-{:ruby}
-
-### Default Parameters
-
-Default parameters are optional.  These parameters have a default value
-that may be overridden when an instance of the type is created.
-
-    class Phrase < BinData::Primitive
-      default_parameter :number => "three"
-      default_parameter :adjective => "blind"
-      default_parameter :noun => "mice"
-
-      stringz :a, :initial_value => :number
-      stringz :b, :initial_value => :adjective
-      stringz :c, :initial_value => :noun
-
-      def get; "#{a} #{b} #{c}"; end
-      def set(v)
-        if /(.*) (.*) (.*)/ =~ v
-          self.a, self.b, self.c = $1, $2, $3
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    obj = Phrase.new(:number => "two", :adjective => "deaf")
-    obj.to_s #=> "two deaf mice"
-{:ruby}
-
-## Debugging
-
-BinData includes several features to make it easier to debug
-declarations.
-
-### Tracing
-
-BinData has the ability to trace the results of reading a data
-structure.
-
-    class A < BinData::Record
-      int8  :a
-      bit4  :b
-      bit2  :c
-      array :d, :initial_length => 6, :type => :bit1
-    end
-
-    BinData::trace_reading do
-      A.read("\373\225\220")
-    end
-{:ruby}
-
-Results in the following being written to `STDERR`.
-
-    obj.a => -5
-    obj.b => 9
-    obj.c => 1
-    obj.d[0] => 0
-    obj.d[1] => 1
-    obj.d[2] => 1
-    obj.d[3] => 0
-    obj.d[4] => 0
-    obj.d[5] => 1
-{:ruby}
-
-### Rest
-
-The rest keyword will consume the input stream from the current position
-to the end of the stream.
-
-    class A < BinData::Record
-      string :a, :read_length => 5
-      rest   :rest
-    end
-
-    obj = A.read("abcdefghij")
-    obj.a #=> "abcde"
-    obj.rest #=" "fghij"
-{:ruby}
-
-### Hidden fields
-
-The typical way to view the contents of a BinData record is to call
-`#snapshot` or `#inspect`.  This gives all fields and their values.  The
-`hide` keyword can be used to prevent certain fields from appearing in
-this output.  This removes clutter and allows the developer to focus on
-what they are currently interested in.
-
-    class Testing < BinData::Record
-      hide :a, :b
-      string :a, :read_length => 10
-      string :b, :read_length => 10
-      string :c, :read_length => 10
-    end
-
-    obj = Testing.read(("a" * 10) + ("b" * 10) + ("c" * 10))
-    obj.snapshot #=> {"c"=>"cccccccccc"}
-    obj.to_binary_s #=> "aaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbcccccccccc"
-{:ruby}
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-# Alternatives
-
-There are several alternatives to BinData.  Below is a comparison
-between BinData and its alternatives.
-
-The short form is that BinData is the best choice for most cases.  If
-decoding / encoding speed is very important and the binary formats are
-simple then BitStruct may be a good choice.  (Though if speed is
-important, perhaps you should investigate a language other than Ruby.)
-
-### [BitStruct](http://rubyforge.org/projects/bit-struct)
-
-BitStruct is the most complete of all the alternatives.  It is
-declarative and supports all the same primitive types as BinData.  In
-addition it includes a self documenting feature to make it easy to write
-reports.
-
-The major limitation of BitStruct is that it does not support variable
-length fields and dependent fields.  The simple PascalString example
-used previously is not possible with BitStruct.  This limitation is due
-to the design choice to favour speed over flexibility.
+  io = File.open(...)
+  len = io.read(2).unpack("v")
+  name = io.read(len)
+  width, height = io.read(8).unpack("VV")
+  puts "Rectangle #{name} is #{width} x #{height}"
 
-Most non trivial file formats rely on dependent and variable length
-fields.  It is difficult to use BitStruct with these formats as code
-must be written to explicitly handle the dependencies.
+It’s ugly, violates DRY and feels like you’re writing Perl, not Ruby.
 
-BitStruct does not currently support little endian bit fields, or
-bitfields that span more than 2 bytes.  BitStruct is actively maintained
-so these limitations may be removed in a future release.
+There is a better way. Here’s how you’d write the above using BinData.
 
-If speed is important and you are only dealing with simple binary data
-types then BitStruct is a good choice.  For non trivial data types,
-BinData is the better choice.
+  class Rectangle < BinData::Record
+    endian :little
+    uint16 :len
+    string :name, :read_length => :len
+    uint32 :width
+    uint32 :height
+  end
 
-### [BinaryParse](http://rubyforge.org/projects/binaryparse)
+  io = File.open(...)
+  r  = Rectangle.read(io)
+  puts "Rectangle #{r.name} is #{r.width} x #{r.height}"
 
-BinaryParse is a declarative style packer / unpacker.  It provides the
-same primitives as Ruby's `#pack`, with the addition of date and time.
-Like BitStruct, it doesn't provide dependent or variable length fields.
+BinData makes it easy to create new data types. It supports all the common
+primitive datatypes that are found in structured binary data formats. Support
+for dependent and variable length fields is built in. 
 
-### [BinStruct](http://rubyforge.org/projects/metafuzz)
+= Installation
 
-BinStruct is an imperative approach to unpacking binary data.  It does
-provide some declarative style syntax sugar.  It provides support for
-the most common primitive types, as well as arbitrary length bitfields.
+  $ sudo gem install bindata
 
-It's main focus is as a binary fuzzer, rather than as a generic decoding
-/ encoding library.
+  -or-
 
-### [Packable](http://github.com/marcandre/packable/tree/master)
+  $ sudo ruby setup.rb
 
-Packable makes it much nicer to use Ruby's `#pack` and `#unpack`
-methods.  Instead of having to remember that, for example `"n"` is the
-code to pack a 16 bit big endian integer, packable provides many
-convenient shortcuts.  In the case of `"n"`, `{:bytes => 2, :endian => :big}`
-may be used instead.
+= Documentation
 
-Using Packable improves the readability of `#pack` and `#unpack`
-methods, but explicitly calls to `#pack` and `#unpack` aren't as
-readable as a declarative approach.
+  http://bindata.rubyforge.org/
 
-### [Bitpack](http://rubyforge.org/projects/bitpack)
+  -or-
 
-Bitpack provides methods to extract big endian integers of arbitrary bit
-length from an octet stream.
+  $ rake manual
 
-The extraction code is written in `C`, so if speed is important and bit
-manipulation is all the functionality you require then this may be an
-alternative.
+= Contact
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+If you have any queries / bug reports / suggestions, please contact me
+(Dion Mendel) via email at dion@lostrealm.com