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-rw-r--r--doc/binary.n560
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diff --git a/doc/binary.n b/doc/binary.n
index 7968d77..ff800f0 100644
--- a/doc/binary.n
+++ b/doc/binary.n
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
'\"
-'\" Copyright (c) 1997 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
-'\" Copyright (c) 2008 Donal K. Fellows
+'\" Copyright (c) 1997 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
'\"
'\" See the file "license.terms" for information on usage and redistribution
'\" of this file, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES.
-'\"
+'\"
.TH binary n 8.0 Tcl "Tcl Built-In Commands"
.so man.macros
.BS
@@ -12,10 +11,6 @@
.SH NAME
binary \- Insert and extract fields from binary strings
.SH SYNOPSIS
-\fBbinary decode \fIformat\fR ?\fI\-option value ...\fR? \fIdata\fR
-.br
-\fBbinary encode \fIformat\fR ?\fI\-option value ...\fR? \fIdata\fR
-.br
\fBbinary format \fIformatString \fR?\fIarg arg ...\fR?
.br
\fBbinary scan \fIstring formatString \fR?\fIvarName varName ...\fR?
@@ -23,115 +18,12 @@ binary \- Insert and extract fields from binary strings
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
This command provides facilities for manipulating binary data. The
-subcommand \fBbinary format\fR creates a binary string from normal
+first form, \fBbinary format\fR, creates a binary string from normal
Tcl values. For example, given the values 16 and 22, on a 32-bit
architecture, it might produce an 8-byte binary string consisting of
-two 4-byte integers, one for each of the numbers. The subcommand
-\fBbinary scan\fR, does the opposite: it extracts data
+two 4-byte integers, one for each of the numbers. The second form of
+the command, \fBbinary scan\fR, does the opposite: it extracts data
from a binary string and returns it as ordinary Tcl string values.
-The \fBbinary encode\fR and \fBbinary decode\fR subcommands convert
-binary data to or from string encodings such as base64 (used in MIME
-messages for example).
-.PP
-Note that other operations on binary data, such as taking a subsequence of it,
-getting its length, or reinterpreting it as a string in some encoding, are
-done by other Tcl commands (respectively \fBstring range\fR,
-\fBstring length\fR and \fBencoding convertfrom\fR in the example cases). A
-binary string in Tcl is merely one where all the characters it contains are in
-the range \eu0000\-\eu00FF.
-.SH "BINARY ENCODE AND DECODE"
-.PP
-When encoding binary data as a readable string, the starting binary data is
-passed to the \fBbinary encode\fR command, together with the name of the
-encoding to use and any encoding-specific options desired. Data which has been
-encoded can be converted back to binary form using \fBbinary decode\fR. The
-following formats and options are supported.
-.TP
-\fBbase64\fR
-.
-The \fBbase64\fR binary encoding is commonly used in mail messages and XML
-documents, and uses mostly upper and lower case letters and digits. It has the
-distinction of being able to be rewrapped arbitrarily without losing
-information.
-.RS
-.PP
-During encoding, the following options are supported:
-.TP
-\fB\-maxlen \fIlength\fR
-.
-Indicates that the output should be split into lines of no more than
-\fIlength\fR characters. By default, lines are not split.
-.TP
-\fB\-wrapchar \fIcharacter\fR
-.
-Indicates that, when lines are split because of the \fB\-maxlen\fR option,
-\fIcharacter\fR should be used to separate lines. By default, this is a
-newline character,
-.QW \en .
-.PP
-During decoding, the following options are supported:
-.TP
-\fB\-strict\fR
-.
-Instructs the decoder to throw an error if it encounters any characters
-that are not strictly part of the encoding itself. Otherwise it ignores them.
-RFC 2045 calls for base64 decoders to be non-strict.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBhex\fR
-.
-The \fBhex\fR binary encoding converts each byte to a pair of hexadecimal
-digits that represent the byte value as a hexadecimal integer.
-When encoding, lower characters are used.
-When decoding, upper and lower characters are accepted.
-.RS
-.PP
-No options are supported during encoding. During decoding, the following
-options are supported:
-.TP
-\fB\-strict\fR
-.
-Instructs the decoder to throw an error if it encounters whitespace characters.
-Otherwise it ignores them.
-.RE
-.TP
-\fBuuencode\fR
-.
-The \fBuuencode\fR binary encoding used to be common for transfer of data
-between Unix systems and on USENET, but is less common these days, having been
-largely superseded by the \fBbase64\fR binary encoding.
-.RS
-.PP
-During encoding, the following options are supported (though changing them may
-produce files that other implementations of decoders cannot process):
-.TP
-\fB\-maxlen \fIlength\fR
-.
-Indicates the maximum number of characters to produce for each encoded line.
-The valid range is 5 to 85. Line lengths outside that range cannot be
-accommodated by the encoding format. The default value is 61.
-.TP
-\fB\-wrapchar \fIcharacter\fR
-.
-Indicates the character(s) to use to mark the end of each encoded line.
-Acceptable values are a sequence of zero or more characters from the
-set { \\x09 (TAB), \\x0B (VT), \\x0C (FF), \\x0D (CR) } followed
-by zero or one newline \\x0A (LF). Any other values are rejected because
-they would generate encoded text that could not be decoded. The default value
-is a single newline.
-.PP
-During decoding, the following options are supported:
-.TP
-\fB\-strict\fR
-.
-Instructs the decoder to throw an error if it encounters anything
-outside of the standard encoding format. Without this option, the
-decoder tolerates some deviations, mostly to forgive reflows of lines
-between the encoder and decoder.
-.PP
-Note that neither the encoder nor the decoder handle the header and footer of
-the uuencode format.
-.RE
.SH "BINARY FORMAT"
.PP
The \fBbinary format\fR command generates a binary string whose layout
@@ -146,17 +38,14 @@ Most field specifiers consume one argument to obtain the value to be
formatted. The type character specifies how the value is to be
formatted. The \fIcount\fR typically indicates how many items of the
specified type are taken from the value. If present, the \fIcount\fR
-is a non-negative decimal integer or
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-which normally indicates
+is a non-negative decimal integer or \fB*\fR, which normally indicates
that all of the items in the value are to be used. If the number of
arguments does not match the number of fields in the format string
that consume arguments, then an error is generated. The flag character
-is ignored for \fBbinary format\fR.
+is ignored for for \fBbinary format\fR.
.PP
Here is a small example to clarify the relation between the field
specifiers and the arguments:
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR d3d {1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0} 0.1
.CE
@@ -184,63 +73,29 @@ not part of the ISO 8859\-1 character set.)
If \fIarg\fR has fewer than \fIcount\fR bytes, then additional zero
bytes are used to pad out the field. If \fIarg\fR is longer than the
specified length, the extra characters will be ignored. If
-\fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the bytes in \fIarg\fR will be
+\fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then all of the bytes in \fIarg\fR will be
formatted. If \fIcount\fR is omitted, then one character will be
-formatted. For example, the command:
+formatted. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a7a*a alpha bravo charlie
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fBalpha\e000\e000bravoc\fR
-.CE
-.PP
-the command:
-.PP
+will return a string equivalent to \fBalpha\e000\e000bravoc\fR,
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a* [encoding convertto utf-8 \eu20ac]
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\e342\e202\e254\fR
-.CE
-.PP
-(which is the
-UTF-8 byte sequence for a Euro-currency character), and the command:
-.PP
+will return a string equivalent to \fB\e342\e202\e254\fR (which is the
+UTF-8 byte sequence for a Euro-currency character) and
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a* [encoding convertto iso8859-15 \eu20ac]
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\e244\fR
-.CE
-.PP
-(which is the ISO
+will return a string equivalent to \fB\e244\fR (which is the ISO
8859\-15 byte sequence for a Euro-currency character). Contrast these
last two with:
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a* \eu20ac
.CE
-.PP
-which returns a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\e254\fR
-.CE
-.PP
-(i.e. \fB\exAC\fR) by
+which returns a string equivalent to \fB\e254\fR (i.e. \fB\exac\fR) by
truncating the high-bits of the character, and which is probably not
what is desired.
.RE
@@ -248,62 +103,42 @@ what is desired.
This form is the same as \fBa\fR except that spaces are used for
padding instead of nulls. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR A6A*A alpha bravo charlie
.CE
-.PP
-will return
-.PP
-.CS
-\fBalpha bravoc\fR
-.CE
+will return \fBalpha bravoc\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBb\fR 5
Stores a string of \fIcount\fR binary digits in low-to-high order
-within each byte in the output binary string. \fIArg\fR must contain a
+within each byte in the output string. \fIArg\fR must contain a
sequence of \fB1\fR and \fB0\fR characters. The resulting bytes are
emitted in first to last order with the bits being formatted in
low-to-high order within each byte. If \fIarg\fR has fewer than
\fIcount\fR digits, then zeros will be used for the remaining bits.
If \fIarg\fR has more than the specified number of digits, the extra
-digits will be ignored. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the
+digits will be ignored. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then all of the
digits in \fIarg\fR will be formatted. If \fIcount\fR is omitted,
then one digit will be formatted. If the number of bits formatted
does not end at a byte boundary, the remaining bits of the last byte
will be zeros. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR b5b* 11100 111000011010
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex07\ex87\ex05\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to \fB\ex07\ex87\ex05\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBB\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBb\fR except that the bits are stored in
high-to-low order within each byte. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR B5B* 11100 111000011010
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\exE0\exE1\exA0\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to \fB\exe0\exe1\exa0\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBH\fR 5
Stores a string of \fIcount\fR hexadecimal digits in high-to-low
-within each byte in the output binary string. \fIArg\fR must contain a
+within each byte in the output string. \fIArg\fR must contain a
sequence of characters in the set
.QW 0123456789abcdefABCDEF .
The resulting bytes are emitted in first to last order with the hex digits
@@ -311,66 +146,43 @@ being formatted in high-to-low order within each byte. If \fIarg\fR
has fewer than \fIcount\fR digits, then zeros will be used for the
remaining digits. If \fIarg\fR has more than the specified number of
digits, the extra digits will be ignored. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the digits in \fIarg\fR will be formatted. If
+\fB*\fR, then all of the digits in \fIarg\fR will be formatted. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then one digit will be formatted. If the
number of digits formatted does not end at a byte boundary, the
remaining bits of the last byte will be zeros. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR H3H*H2 ab DEF 987
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\exAB\ex00\exDE\exF0\ex98\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to \fB\exab\ex00\exde\exf0\ex98\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBh\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBH\fR except that the digits are stored in
low-to-high order within each byte. This is seldom required. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR h3h*h2 AB def 987
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\exBA\ex00\exED\ex0F\ex89\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to \fB\exba\ex00\exed\ex0f\ex89\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBc\fR 5
Stores one or more 8-bit integer values in the output string. If no
\fIcount\fR is specified, then \fIarg\fR must consist of an integer
value. If \fIcount\fR is specified, \fIarg\fR must consist of a list
containing at least that many integers. The low-order 8 bits of each integer
-are stored as a one-byte value at the cursor position. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the integers in the list are formatted. If the
+are stored as a one-byte value at the cursor position. If \fIcount\fR
+is \fB*\fR, then all of the integers in the list are formatted. If the
number of elements in the list is greater
than \fIcount\fR, then the extra elements are ignored. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR c3cc* {3 -3 128 1} 260 {2 5}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex03\exFD\ex80\ex04\ex02\ex05\fR
-.CE
-.PP
-whereas:
-.PP
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\ex03\exfd\ex80\ex04\ex02\ex05\fR, whereas
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR c {2 5}
.CE
-.PP
will generate an error.
.RE
.IP \fBs\fR 5
@@ -380,39 +192,31 @@ low-order 16-bits of each integer are stored as a two-byte value at
the cursor position with the least significant byte stored first. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR s3 {3 -3 258 1}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex03\ex00\exFD\exFF\ex02\ex01\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\ex03\ex00\exfd\exff\ex02\ex01\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBS\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBs\fR except that it stores one or more
16-bit integers in big-endian byte order in the output string. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR S3 {3 -3 258 1}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex00\ex03\exFF\exFD\ex01\ex02\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\ex00\ex03\exff\exfd\ex01\ex02\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBt\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form (mnemonically \fItiny\fR) is the same as \fBs\fR and \fBS\fR
except that it stores the 16-bit integers in the output string in the
native byte order of the machine where the Tcl script is running.
To determine what the native byte order of the machine is, refer to
the \fBbyteOrder\fR element of the \fBtcl_platform\fR array.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBi\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBc\fR except that it stores one or more
32-bit integers in little-endian byte order in the output string. The
@@ -420,40 +224,32 @@ low-order 32-bits of each integer are stored as a four-byte value at
the cursor position with the least significant byte stored first. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR i3 {3 -3 65536 1}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex03\ex00\ex00\ex00\exFD\exFF\exFF\exFF\ex00\ex00\ex01\ex00\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\ex03\ex00\ex00\ex00\exfd\exff\exff\exff\ex00\ex00\ex01\ex00\fR
.RE
.IP \fBI\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBi\fR except that it stores one or more one
or more 32-bit integers in big-endian byte order in the output string.
For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR I3 {3 -3 65536 1}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex03\exFF\exFF\exFF\exFD\ex00\ex01\ex00\ex00\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex03\exff\exff\exff\exfd\ex00\ex01\ex00\ex00\fR
.RE
.IP \fBn\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form (mnemonically \fInumber\fR or \fInormal\fR) is the same as
\fBi\fR and \fBI\fR except that it stores the 32-bit integers in the
output string in the native byte order of the machine where the Tcl
script is running.
To determine what the native byte order of the machine is, refer to
the \fBbyteOrder\fR element of the \fBtcl_platform\fR array.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBw\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBc\fR except that it stores one or more
64-bit integers in little-endian byte order in the output string. The
@@ -461,32 +257,30 @@ low-order 64-bits of each integer are stored as an eight-byte value at
the cursor position with the least significant byte stored first. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR w 7810179016327718216
.CE
-.PP
-will return the binary string \fBHelloTcl\fR.
+will return the string \fBHelloTcl\fR
.RE
.IP \fBW\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBw\fR except that it stores one or more one
or more 64-bit integers in big-endian byte order in the output string.
For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR Wc 4785469626960341345 110
.CE
-.PP
-will return the binary string \fBBigEndian\fR
+will return the string \fBBigEndian\fR
.RE
.IP \fBm\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form (mnemonically the mirror of \fBw\fR) is the same as \fBw\fR
and \fBW\fR except that it stores the 64-bit integers in the output
string in the native byte order of the machine where the Tcl script is
running.
To determine what the native byte order of the machine is, refer to
the \fBbyteOrder\fR element of the \fBtcl_platform\fR array.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBf\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBc\fR except that it stores one or more one
or more single-precision floating point numbers in the machine's native
@@ -501,85 +295,72 @@ double-precision floating point numbers internally, there may be some
loss of precision in the conversion to single-precision. For example,
on a Windows system running on an Intel Pentium processor,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR f2 {1.6 3.4}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\exCD\exCC\exCC\ex3F\ex9A\ex99\ex59\ex40\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\excd\excc\excc\ex3f\ex9a\ex99\ex59\ex40\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBr\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form (mnemonically \fIreal\fR) is the same as \fBf\fR except that
it stores the single-precision floating point numbers in little-endian
order. This conversion only produces meaningful output when used on
machines which use the IEEE floating point representation (very
common, but not universal.)
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBR\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form is the same as \fBr\fR except that it stores the
single-precision floating point numbers in big-endian order.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBd\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBf\fR except that it stores one or more one
or more double-precision floating point numbers in the machine's native
representation in the output string. For example, on a
Windows system running on an Intel Pentium processor,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR d1 {1.6}
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fB\ex9A\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\exF9\ex3F\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to
+\fB\ex9a\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\exf9\ex3f\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBq\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form (mnemonically the mirror of \fBd\fR) is the same as \fBd\fR
except that it stores the double-precision floating point numbers in
little-endian order. This conversion only produces meaningful output
when used on machines which use the IEEE floating point representation
(very common, but not universal.)
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBQ\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form is the same as \fBq\fR except that it stores the
double-precision floating point numbers in big-endian order.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBx\fR 5
Stores \fIcount\fR null bytes in the output string. If \fIcount\fR is
-not specified, stores one null byte. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
+not specified, stores one null byte. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR,
generates an error. This type does not consume an argument. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a3xa3x2a3 abc def ghi
.CE
-.PP
-will return a binary string equivalent to:
-.PP
-.CS
-\fBabc\e000def\e000\e000ghi\fR
-.CE
+will return a string equivalent to \fBabc\e000def\e000\e000ghi\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBX\fR 5
Moves the cursor back \fIcount\fR bytes in the output string. If
-\fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR
-or is larger than the current cursor position,
+\fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR or is larger than the current cursor position,
then the cursor is positioned at location 0 so that the next byte
stored will be the first byte in the result string. If \fIcount\fR is
omitted then the cursor is moved back one byte. This type does not
consume an argument. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a3X*a3X2a3 abc def ghi
.CE
-.PP
will return \fBdghi\fR.
.RE
.IP \fB@\fR 5
@@ -588,22 +369,14 @@ specified by \fIcount\fR. Position 0 refers to the first byte in the
output string. If \fIcount\fR refers to a position beyond the last
byte stored so far, then null bytes will be placed in the uninitialized
locations and the cursor will be placed at the specified location. If
-\fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then the cursor is moved to the current end of
+\fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then the cursor is moved to the current end of
the output string. If \fIcount\fR is omitted, then an error will be
generated. This type does not consume an argument. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary format\fR a5@2a1@*a3@10a1 abcde f ghi j
.CE
-.PP
-will return
-.PP
-.CS
-\fBabfdeghi\e000\e000j\fR
-.CE
+will return \fBabfdeghi\e000\e000j\fR.
.RE
.SH "BINARY SCAN"
.PP
@@ -625,9 +398,8 @@ argument to obtain the variable into which the scanned values should
be placed. The type character specifies how the binary data is to be
interpreted. The \fIcount\fR typically indicates how many items of
the specified type are taken from the data. If present, the
-\fIcount\fR is a non-negative decimal integer or
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-which normally indicates that all of the remaining items in the data are to
+\fIcount\fR is a non-negative decimal integer or \fB*\fR, which
+normally indicates that all of the remaining items in the data are to
be used. If there are not enough bytes left after the current cursor
position to satisfy the current field specifier, then the
corresponding variable is left untouched and \fBbinary scan\fR returns
@@ -641,7 +413,6 @@ is accepted for all field types but is ignored for non-integer fields.
A similar example as with \fBbinary format\fR should explain the
relation between field specifiers and arguments in case of the binary
scan subcommand:
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR $bytes s3s first second
.CE
@@ -653,15 +424,12 @@ If \fIbytes\fR contains fewer than 8 bytes (i.e. four 2-byte
integers), no assignment to \fIsecond\fR will be made, and if
\fIbytes\fR contains fewer than 6 bytes (i.e. three 2-byte integers),
no assignment to \fIfirst\fR will be made. Hence:
-.PP
.CS
puts [\fBbinary scan\fR abcdefg s3s first second]
puts $first
puts $second
.CE
-.PP
will print (assuming neither variable is set previously):
-.PP
.CS
1
25185 25699 26213
@@ -673,17 +441,14 @@ It is \fIimportant\fR to note that the \fBc\fR, \fBs\fR, and \fBS\fR
long data size values. In doing this, values that have their high
bit set (0x80 for chars, 0x8000 for shorts, 0x80000000 for ints),
will be sign extended. Thus the following will occur:
-.PP
.CS
set signShort [\fBbinary format\fR s1 0x8000]
\fBbinary scan\fR $signShort s1 val; \fI# val == 0xFFFF8000\fR
.CE
-.PP
If you require unsigned values you can include the
.QW u
flag character following
the field type. For example, to read an unsigned short value:
-.PP
.CS
set signShort [\fBbinary format\fR s1 0x8000]
\fBbinary scan\fR $signShort su1 val; \fI# val == 0x00008000\fR
@@ -694,9 +459,8 @@ reading bytes from the current position. The cursor is initially
at position 0 at the beginning of the data. The type may be any one of
the following characters:
.IP \fBa\fR 5
-The data is a byte string of length \fIcount\fR. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be
+The data is a byte string of length \fIcount\fR. If \fIcount\fR
+is \fB*\fR, then all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be
scanned into the variable. If \fIcount\fR is omitted, then one
byte will be scanned.
All bytes scanned will be interpreted as being characters in the
@@ -705,30 +469,24 @@ needed if the string is not a binary string or a string encoded in ISO
8859\-1.
For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR abcde\e000fghi a6a10 var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB1\fR with the string equivalent to \fBabcde\e000\fR
stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fIvar2\fR left unmodified, and
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \e342\e202\e254 a* var1
set var2 [encoding convertfrom utf-8 $var1]
.CE
-.PP
will store a Euro-currency character in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBA\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBa\fR, except trailing blanks and nulls are stripped from
the scanned value before it is stored in the variable. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR "abc efghi \e000" A* var1
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB1\fR with \fBabc efghi\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBb\fR 5
@@ -739,16 +497,13 @@ and
.QW 0
characters. The data bytes are scanned in first to last order with
the bits being taken in low-to-high order within each byte. Any extra
-bits in the last byte are ignored. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining bits in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
+bits in the last byte are ignored. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then
+all of the remaining bits in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then one bit will be scanned. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex07\ex87\ex05 b5b* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB11100\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
\fB1110000110100000\fR stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
@@ -756,23 +511,12 @@ will return \fB2\fR with \fB11100\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
This form is the same as \fBb\fR, except the bits are taken in
high-to-low order within each byte. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex70\ex87\ex05 B5B* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB01110\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
\fB1000011100000101\fR stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
-.IP \fBC\fR 5
-This form is similar to \fBA\fR, except that it scans the data from start
-and terminates at the first null (C string semantics). For example,
-.RS
-.CS
-\fBbinary scan\fR "abc\e000efghi" C* var1
-.CE
-will return \fB1\fR with \fBabc\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR.
-.RE
.IP \fBH\fR 5
The data is turned into a string of \fIcount\fR hexadecimal digits in
high-to-low order represented as a sequence of characters in the set
@@ -780,16 +524,13 @@ high-to-low order represented as a sequence of characters in the set
The data bytes are scanned in first to last
order with the hex digits being taken in high-to-low order within each
byte. Any extra bits in the last byte are ignored. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining hex digits in \fIstring\fR will be
+\fB*\fR, then all of the remaining hex digits in \fIstring\fR will be
scanned. If \fIcount\fR is omitted, then one hex digit will be
scanned. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-\fBbinary scan\fR \ex07\exC6\ex05\ex1F\ex34 H3H* var1 var2
+\fBbinary scan\fR \ex07\exC6\ex05\ex1f\ex34 H3H* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB07c\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
\fB051f34\fR stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
@@ -797,164 +538,151 @@ will return \fB2\fR with \fB07c\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
This form is the same as \fBH\fR, except the digits are taken in
reverse (low-to-high) order within each byte. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex07\ex86\ex05\ex12\ex34 h3h* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB706\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
\fB502143\fR stored in \fIvar2\fR.
-.PP
+.RE
Note that most code that wishes to parse the hexadecimal digits from
multiple bytes in order should use the \fBH\fR format.
-.RE
.IP \fBc\fR 5
The data is turned into \fIcount\fR 8-bit signed integers and stored
-in the corresponding variable as a list, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBc\fR. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
+in the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR,
then all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then one 8-bit integer will be scanned. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex07\ex86\ex05 c2c* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB7 -122\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB5\fR
-stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are signed unless
-\fBcu\fR in place of \fBc\fR.
+stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are signed, but
+they can be converted to unsigned 8-bit quantities using an expression
+like:
+.CS
+set num [expr { $num & 0xff }]
+.CE
.RE
.IP \fBs\fR 5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR 16-bit signed integers
-represented in little-endian byte order, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBs\fR. The integers are stored in
-the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
+represented in little-endian byte order. The integers are stored in
+the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then
+all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then one 16-bit integer will be scanned. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-\fBbinary scan\fR \ex05\ex00\ex07\ex00\exF0\exFF s2s* var1 var2
+\fBbinary scan\fR \ex05\ex00\ex07\ex00\exf0\exff s2s* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB5 7\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB\-16\fR
-stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are signed unless
-\fBsu\fR is used in place of \fBs\fR.
+stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are signed, but
+they can be converted to unsigned 16-bit quantities using an expression
+like:
+.CS
+set num [expr { $num & 0xffff }]
+.CE
.RE
.IP \fBS\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBs\fR except that the data is interpreted
-as \fIcount\fR 16-bit integers represented in big-endian byte
+as \fIcount\fR 16-bit signed integers represented in big-endian byte
order. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-\fBbinary scan\fR \ex00\ex05\ex00\ex07\exFF\exF0 S2S* var1 var2
+\fBbinary scan\fR \ex00\ex05\ex00\ex07\exff\exf0 S2S* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB5 7\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB\-16\fR
-stored in \fIvar2\fR.
+stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBt\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR 16-bit signed integers
represented in the native byte order of the machine running the Tcl
-script, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBt\fR. It is otherwise identical to \fBs\fR and \fBS\fR.
+script. It is otherwise identical to \fBs\fR and \fBS\fR.
To determine what the native byte order of the machine is, refer to
the \fBbyteOrder\fR element of the \fBtcl_platform\fR array.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBi\fR 5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR 32-bit signed integers
-represented in little-endian byte order, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBi\fR. The integers are stored in
-the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
+represented in little-endian byte order. The integers are stored in
+the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then
+all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then one 32-bit integer will be scanned. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-set str \ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\ex00\ex00\ex00\exF0\exFF\exFF\exFF
+set str \ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\ex00\ex00\ex00\exf0\exff\exff\exff
\fBbinary scan\fR $str i2i* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB5 7\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB\-16\fR
-stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are signed unless
-\fBiu\fR is used in place of \fBi\fR.
+stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are signed, but
+they can be converted to unsigned 32-bit quantities using an expression
+like:
+.CS
+set num [expr { $num & 0xffffffff }]
+.CE
.RE
.IP \fBI\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBI\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR 32-bit signed integers represented in big-endian byte
-order, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBI\fR. For example,
+order. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-set str \ex00\ex00\ex00\ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\exFF\exFF\exFF\exF0
+set str \ex00\ex00\ex00\ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\exff\exff\exff\exf0
\fBbinary scan\fR $str I2I* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB5 7\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB\-16\fR
stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBn\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR 32-bit signed integers
represented in the native byte order of the machine running the Tcl
-script, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBn\fR. It is otherwise identical to \fBi\fR and \fBI\fR.
+script. It is otherwise identical to \fBi\fR and \fBI\fR.
To determine what the native byte order of the machine is, refer to
the \fBbyteOrder\fR element of the \fBtcl_platform\fR array.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBw\fR 5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR 64-bit signed integers
-represented in little-endian byte order, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBw\fR. The integers are stored in
-the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
+represented in little-endian byte order. The integers are stored in
+the corresponding variable as a list. If \fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then
+all of the remaining bytes in \fIstring\fR will be scanned. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then one 64-bit integer will be scanned. For
example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-set str \ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\ex00\ex00\ex00\exF0\exFF\exFF\exFF
+set str \ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\ex00\ex00\ex00\exf0\exff\exff\exff
\fBbinary scan\fR $str wi* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB30064771077\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and
-\fB\-16\fR stored in \fIvar2\fR.
+\fB\-16\fR stored in \fIvar2\fR. Note that the integers returned are
+signed and cannot be represented by Tcl as unsigned values.
.RE
.IP \fBW\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBw\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR 64-bit signed integers represented in big-endian byte
-order, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBW\fR. For example,
+order. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-set str \ex00\ex00\ex00\ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\exFF\exFF\exFF\exF0
+set str \ex00\ex00\ex00\ex05\ex00\ex00\ex00\ex07\exff\exff\exff\exf0
\fBbinary scan\fR $str WI* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB21474836487\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB\-16\fR
stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBm\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR 64-bit signed integers
represented in the native byte order of the machine running the Tcl
-script, or as unsigned if \fBu\fR is placed
-immediately after the \fBm\fR. It is otherwise identical to \fBw\fR and \fBW\fR.
+script. It is otherwise identical to \fBw\fR and \fBW\fR.
To determine what the native byte order of the machine is, refer to
the \fBbyteOrder\fR element of the \fBtcl_platform\fR array.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBf\fR 5
The data is interpreted as \fIcount\fR single-precision floating point
numbers in the machine's native representation. The floating point
numbers are stored in the corresponding variable as a list. If
-\fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR ,
-then all of the remaining bytes in
+\fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR, then all of the remaining bytes in
\fIstring\fR will be scanned. If \fIcount\fR is omitted, then one
single-precision floating point number will be scanned. The size of a
floating point number may vary across architectures, so the number of
@@ -963,80 +691,76 @@ valid floating point number, the resulting value is undefined and
compiler dependent. For example, on a Windows system running on an
Intel Pentium processor,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-\fBbinary scan\fR \ex3F\exCC\exCC\exCD f var1
+\fBbinary scan\fR \ex3f\excc\excc\excd f var1
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB1\fR with \fB1.6000000238418579\fR stored in
\fIvar1\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBr\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form is the same as \fBf\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR single-precision floating point number in little-endian
order. This conversion is not portable to the minority of systems not
using IEEE floating point representations.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBR\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form is the same as \fBf\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR single-precision floating point number in big-endian
order. This conversion is not portable to the minority of systems not
using IEEE floating point representations.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBd\fR 5
This form is the same as \fBf\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR double-precision floating point numbers in the
machine's native representation. For example, on a Windows system
running on an Intel Pentium processor,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
-\fBbinary scan\fR \ex9A\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\exF9\ex3F d var1
+\fBbinary scan\fR \ex9a\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\ex99\exf9\ex3f d var1
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB1\fR with \fB1.6000000000000001\fR
stored in \fIvar1\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBq\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form is the same as \fBd\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR double-precision floating point number in little-endian
order. This conversion is not portable to the minority of systems not
using IEEE floating point representations.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBQ\fR 5
+.VS 8.5
This form is the same as \fBd\fR except that the data is interpreted
as \fIcount\fR double-precision floating point number in big-endian
order. This conversion is not portable to the minority of systems not
using IEEE floating point representations.
+.VE 8.5
.IP \fBx\fR 5
Moves the cursor forward \fIcount\fR bytes in \fIstring\fR. If
-\fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR
-or is larger than the number of bytes after the
+\fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR or is larger than the number of bytes after the
current cursor position, then the cursor is positioned after
the last byte in \fIstring\fR. If \fIcount\fR is omitted, then the
cursor is moved forward one byte. Note that this type does not
consume an argument. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex01\ex02\ex03\ex04 x2H* var1
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB1\fR with \fB0304\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR.
.RE
.IP \fBX\fR 5
Moves the cursor back \fIcount\fR bytes in \fIstring\fR. If
-\fIcount\fR is
-.QW \fB*\fR
-or is larger than the current cursor position,
+\fIcount\fR is \fB*\fR or is larger than the current cursor position,
then the cursor is positioned at location 0 so that the next byte
scanned will be the first byte in \fIstring\fR. If \fIcount\fR
is omitted then the cursor is moved back one byte. Note that this
type does not consume an argument. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex01\ex02\ex03\ex04 c2XH* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB1 2\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB020304\fR
stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
@@ -1047,16 +771,13 @@ by \fIcount\fR. Note that position 0 refers to the first byte in
\fIstring\fR, then the cursor is positioned after the last byte. If
\fIcount\fR is omitted, then an error will be generated. For example,
.RS
-.PP
.CS
\fBbinary scan\fR \ex01\ex02\ex03\ex04 c2@1H* var1 var2
.CE
-.PP
will return \fB2\fR with \fB1 2\fR stored in \fIvar1\fR and \fB020304\fR
stored in \fIvar2\fR.
.RE
.SH "PORTABILITY ISSUES"
-.PP
The \fBr\fR, \fBR\fR, \fBq\fR and \fBQ\fR conversions will only work
reliably for transferring data between computers which are all using
IEEE floating point representations. This is very common, but not
@@ -1064,10 +785,8 @@ universal. To transfer floating-point numbers portably between all
architectures, use their textual representation (as produced by
\fBformat\fR) instead.
.SH EXAMPLES
-.PP
This is a procedure to write a Tcl string to a binary-encoded channel as
UTF-8 data preceded by a length word:
-.PP
.CS
proc \fIwriteString\fR {channel string} {
set data [encoding convertto utf-8 $string]
@@ -1078,7 +797,6 @@ proc \fIwriteString\fR {channel string} {
.PP
This procedure reads a string from a channel that was written by the
previously presented \fIwriteString\fR procedure:
-.PP
.CS
proc \fIreadString\fR {channel} {
if {![\fBbinary scan\fR [read $channel 4] I length]} {
@@ -1088,21 +806,7 @@ proc \fIreadString\fR {channel} {
return [encoding convertfrom utf-8 $data]
}
.CE
-.PP
-This converts the contents of a file (named in the variable \fIfilename\fR) to
-base64 and prints them:
-.PP
-.CS
-set f [open $filename rb]
-set data [read $f]
-close $f
-puts [\fBbinary encode\fR base64 \-maxlen 64 $data]
-.CE
.SH "SEE ALSO"
-encoding(n), format(n), scan(n), string(n), tcl_platform(n)
+format(n), scan(n), tclvars(n)
.SH KEYWORDS
binary, format, scan
-'\" Local Variables:
-'\" mode: nroff
-'\" fill-column: 78
-'\" End: