BinData Chilkat2 Perl Reference Documentation
Chilkat2::BinData
Current Version: 11.7.0
Markdown version of this page for AI tools (v 11.7.0) · all AI docs
Chilkat.BinData
Load data from files, byte arrays, strings, encoded strings, or other
Chilkat objects that produce binary output.
Append bytes, strings, integers, BOMs, counted strings, padded fields,
encoded data, and other
Convert binary data to and from text encodings such as Base64, hex, URL
encoding, and other supported binary encodings.
Interpret bytes as text, append strings using a specified charset,
convert character encodings, and validate UTF-8 content.
Get byte counts, extract chunks, remove ranges, compare data, and work
with specific portions of a binary buffer.
Compute hashes for the contained data and write the resulting bytes to
files or pass them to other Chilkat classes.
For an extended overview, see
BinData Class Overview.
Build, transform, encode, decode, inspect, and save binary data.
Chilkat.BinData is a general-purpose mutable byte container used
throughout Chilkat for working with binary content in memory. It can load
bytes from files, byte arrays, strings, and encoded text; append additional
data in many forms; retrieve content as raw bytes, chunks, text, or encoded
strings; compute hashes; convert character encodings; validate UTF-8; remove
byte ranges; and write the final result to files.
Load binary content
Append and build data
BinData objects.
Encode and decode
Text and charset handling
Inspect and modify bytes
Hash and save output
BinData whenever a
Chilkat method needs a mutable in-memory binary buffer.
Object Creation
use Chilkat2;
my $bd = Chilkat2::BinData->new;
# or set properties (and RaiseError) at creation:
# my $bd = Chilkat2::BinData->new(VerboseLogging => 1, RaiseError => 1);Creates the object. The optional pairs set writable properties (and RaiseError) in order, as if set one by one; an unknown or read-only name croaks. use Chilkat2; loads every class; the Chilkat2/BinData.pm file holds only this class's documentation (perldoc Chilkat2::BinData).
Perl frees the object when its last reference goes (undef $bd, or the variable going out of scope); there is nothing to close. Objects returned by methods are independent and freed the same way. The class may be subclassed (use parent -norequire, 'Chilkat2::BinData';): an object is a blessed hash reference whose hash is free for the subclass's own fields.
When false (the default), a method that fails returns false (or undef), and the reason is in LastErrorText. When true, it dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead, as DBI does with its RaiseError. Objects returned by a method inherit the value of the object that returned them.
Errors
A Chilkat2::Error stringifies to the failed call's full LastErrorText, and has the methods text, class ('Chilkat2::BinData'), method (the method name) and object. Methods that look something up and find nothing return undef without dying (each such method says so), methods that answer a question (HasMember, IsUnlocked, ...) return a plain boolean, and property reads and writes never fail for Chilkat reasons.
Misuse always croaks, with your file and line, whatever RaiseError is: a wrong number of arguments, a reference or undef where a string or number is expected, an object of the wrong class, an out-of-range integer, a string containing a NUL character, a wide character in a byte string, or a write to a read-only property.
Strings are Perl character strings in both directions (length, regexes and :encoding layers see characters); binary data (BinData) is a byte string. Unlocking: call Chilkat2::Global->new->UnlockBundle('...') once at startup.
Properties
DebugLogFilePath
my $strVal = $bd->DebugLogFilePath;
$bd->DebugLogFilePath($strVal);
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
LastErrorHtml
my $strVal = $bd->LastErrorHtml;
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
my $strVal = $bd->LastErrorText;
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
my $strVal = $bd->LastErrorXml;
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
my $boolVal = $bd->LastMethodSuccess;
$bd->LastMethodSuccess($boolVal);
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
NumBytes
my $intVal = $bd->NumBytes;
The number of bytes contained within the object.
topVerboseLogging
my $boolVal = $bd->VerboseLogging;
$bd->VerboseLogging($boolVal);
If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
my $strVal = $bd->Version;
Methods
AppendBd
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendBd($binData);
Appends the contents of another BinData to this object.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendBom
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendBom($charset);
Appends the appropriate BOM (byte order mark), also known as a preamble, for the given charset. If the $charset has no defined BOM, then nothing is appended. An application would typically call this to append the utf-8, utf-16, or utf-32 BOM.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendByte
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendByte($byteValue);
Appends a single byte. The $byteValue should be a value from 0 to 255.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendCountedString
# $bigEndian is a boolean
# $str is a string
# $charset is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendCountedString($numCountBytes, $bigEndian, $str, $charset);
Appends a byte count followed by the string in the desired character encoding, such as utf-8. The $numCountBytes is the size in bytes of the integer to represent the byte count. If 0, then a minimal number of bytes is used. If $bigEndian is 1, the byte count is appended in big endian byte ordering, otherwise little-ending byte ordering. The $str is the string to be appended. The $charset is the character encoding, such as utf-8, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendData
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendData($data);
Appends binary data to the current contents.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendEncoded
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendEncoded($encData, $encoding);
Appends encoded binary data to the current data. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendEncodedSb
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendEncodedSb($sb, $encoding);
Decodes the contents of $sb and appends the decoded bytes to this object. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendInt2
# $littleEndian is a boolean
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendInt2($value, $littleEndian);
Appends a 16-bit integer (2 bytes). If $littleEndian is 1, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendInt4
# $littleEndian is a boolean
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendInt4($value, $littleEndian);
Appends a 32-bit integer (4 bytes). If $littleEndian is 1, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendPadded
# $charset is a string
# $padWithSpace is a boolean
# $fieldLen is an integer
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendPadded($str, $charset, $padWithSpace, $fieldLen);
Appends a string to this object, padded to the $fieldLen with NULL or SPACE chars. If $padWithSpace is 1, then SPACE chars are used and the string is not null-terminated. If $fieldLen is 0, then null bytes are used. The $charset controls the byte representation to use, such as utf-8.
Note: This call will always append a total number of bytes equal to $fieldLen. If the $str is longer than $fieldLen, the method returns 0 to indicate failure and nothing is appended.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendSb
# $charset is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendSb($sb, $charset);
Appends the contents of a StringBuilder to this object.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendString
# $charset is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->AppendString($str, $charset);
Appends a string to this object. (This does not append the BOM. If a BOM is required, the AppendBom method can be called to append the appropriate BOM.)
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
ByteSwap
$bd->ByteSwap($size);
Does either 16-bit or 32-bit byte swapping of the entire contents. If $size equals 16, then swaps in 2 bytes (e.g., 0x1234 → 0x3412). If $size equals 32, then swaps 4 bytes (e.g., 0x12345678 → 0x78563412)
Returns the object, so calls can be chained.
topCharsetConvert
# $toCharset is a string
# $allOrNone is a boolean
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->CharsetConvert($fromCharset, $toCharset, $allOrNone);
This method converts the character encoding of an object's contents from one format to another, such as from Windows-1252 to UTF-8. The $allOrNone parameter determines error handling for unrepresentable bytes. If $allOrNone is 1, the object's contents remain unchanged when errors occur. If 0, error bytes are discarded. The method returns 1 if successful and 0 if errors occur.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
Clear
my $success = $bd->Clear();
Clears the contents.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
ContentsEqual
# $flag is true or false
my $flag = $bd->ContentsEqual($binData);
Return 1 if the contents of this object equals the contents of $binData.
Never dies: false is an answer, not a failure.
topFindString
# $startIdx is an integer
# $charset is a string
# $n is an integer
my $n = $bd->FindString($str, $startIdx, $charset);
Return the index where the first occurrence of $str is found. Return -1 if not found. The $startIdx indicates the byte index where the search begins. The $charset specifies the byte representation of $str that is to be searched. For example, it can be utf-8, windows-1252, ansi, utf-16, etc.
GetByte
# $n is an integer
my $n = $bd->GetByte($index);
Returns the value of the byte at the given $index. The returned value is an integer from 0 to 255.
GetData
my $bytes = $bd->GetData();
Retrieves the binary data contained within the object.
Returns the bytes as a byte string (empty if there is no data).
topGetDataChunk
# $numBytes is an integer
# $bytes is a byte string
my $bytes = $bd->GetDataChunk($offset, $numBytes);
Retrieves a chunk of the binary data contained within the object.
Returns the bytes as a byte string (empty if there is no data).
topGetEncoded
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $bd->GetEncoded($encoding);
Retrieves the binary data as an encoded string. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetEncodedChunk
# $numBytes is an integer
# $encoding is a string
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $bd->GetEncodedChunk($offset, $numBytes, $encoding);
Retrieves a chunk of the binary data and returns it in encoded form. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetEncodedSb
# $sb is a Chilkat2::StringBuilder
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->GetEncodedSb($encoding, $sb);
Writes the encoded data to a StringBuilder. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetHash
# $encoding is a string
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $bd->GetHash($algorithm, $encoding);
Returns the hash of the contents of this object. The $algorithm is the hash algorithm, and can be sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, sha3-224, sha3-256, sha3-384, sha3-512, md2, md5, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320.
The $encoding can be base64, modBase64, base64Url, base32, base58, qp (for quoted-printable), url (for url-encoding), hex, hexLower, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetInt2
# $littleEndian is a boolean
# $n is an integer
my $n = $bd->GetInt2($index, $littleEndian);
Returns the value of the 16-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetInt4
# $littleEndian is a boolean
# $n is an integer
my $n = $bd->GetInt4($index, $littleEndian);
Returns the value of the 32-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetString
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $bd->GetString($charset);
Interprets the bytes according to $charset and returns the string. The $charset can be utf-8, utf-16, ansi, iso-8859-*, windows-125*, or any of the supported character encodings listed in the link below.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetTextChunk
# $numBytes is an integer
# $charset is a string
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $bd->GetTextChunk($startIdx, $numBytes, $charset);
Returns $numBytes bytes starting at $startIdx. The bytes are interpreted according to $charset (for example, utf-8, ansi, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.)
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetUInt2
# $littleEndian is a boolean
# $n is an integer
my $n = $bd->GetUInt2($index, $littleEndian);
Returns the value of the 16-bit unsigned integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetUInt4
# $littleEndian is a boolean
# $n is an integer
my $n = $bd->GetUInt4($index, $littleEndian);
Returns the value of the 32-bit unsigned integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topIsValidUtf8
my $flag = $bd->IsValidUtf8();
Returns 1 if this object contains valid utf-8 byte sequences. Any invalid byte sequence that is not valid utf-8 will cause this function to return 0.
Never dies: false is an answer, not a failure.
topLoadEncoded
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->LoadEncoded($encData, $encoding);
Loads binary data from an encoded string, replacing the current contents, if any. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
LoadFile
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->LoadFile($path);
Loads data from a file.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
RemoveByteVal
$bd->RemoveByteVal($value);
Removes bytes having a specified value (0-255). For example, to remove all null bytes, pass 0 in $value.
Returns the object, so calls can be chained.
topRemoveChunk
# $numBytes is an integer
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->RemoveChunk($offset, $numBytes);
Removes a chunk of bytes from the binary data.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
SecureClear
my $success = $bd->SecureClear();
Securely clears the contents by writing 0 bytes to the memory prior to deallocating the internal memory.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
WriteAppendFile
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->WriteAppendFile($path);
Appends the contents of this object to a file.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
WriteFile
# $success is true or false
my $success = $bd->WriteFile($path);
Writes the contents to a file.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.