2022-07-09 15:52:19 +03:00
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## Description
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`encoding.binary` contains utility functions for converting between an array of bytes (`[]u8`)
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and unsigned integers of various widths (`u16`, `u32`, and `u64`).
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There are two ways in which bytes can be encoded:
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1. Little endian: The least significant bytes are stored first, followed by the most
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significant bytes.
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2. Big endian: The most significant bytes are stored first, opposite to the little endian
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convention.
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For example, let us take the number `0x12345678`. In little endian, the bytes are extracted as
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`0x78`, `0x56`, `0x34`, and `0x12`. In big endian, the bytes are `0x12`, `0x34`, `0x56`,
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and `0x78`.
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We follow a similar procedure when we want to go the other way around. Consider the second
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sequence of bytes in the previous example: `0x12`, `0x34`, `0x56`, and `0x78`. If we encode
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this sequence in little endian format, we get the integer `0x78563412`. If we encode this
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sequence in big endian, we get `0x12345678`.
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2023-02-13 11:29:02 +03:00
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> **Note**
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> The functions in this module assume appropriately sized u8 arrays. If the sizes
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> are not valid, the functions will panic.
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