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Module
Module type
Parameter
Class
Class type
Data type interface.
Types that implement this interface have a concrete representation, that can be serialized and deserialized.
The only requirement is to provide a version value, that represents a version number of the representation. Every time the representation changes, the version should be incremented.
The interface allows to implement more than one format and several versions of the same format. By default, the OCaml Marshal format is used.
All Regular modules include this interface. The Regular modules provide sexp and bin_io formats in addition to the Marshal. They may provide more formats.
Example
Given a module Bil that implements Regular interface, it is possible to read a value of type Bil.t as simple, as:
let prog = Bil.Io.read filename
type t
type constructor
type info = string * [ `Ver of string ] * string option
name,Ver v,desc information attached to a particular reader or writer.
val version : string
Data representation version. After any change in data representation the version should be increased.
Serializers that are derived from a data representation must have the same version as a version of the data structure, from which it is derived. This kind of serializers can only read and write data of the same version.
Other serializers can actually read and write data independent on its representation version. A serializer, that can't store data of current version simply shouldn't be added to a set of serializers.
It is assumed, that if a reader and a writer has the same name and version, then whatever was written by the writer should be readable by the reader. The round-trip equality is not required, thus it is acceptable if some information is lost.
It is also possible, that a reader and a writer that has the same name are compatible. In that case it is recommended to use semantic versioning.
val size_in_bytes : ?ver:string ->?fmt:string ->t-> int
size_in_bytes ?ver ?fmt datum returns the amount of bytes that is needed to represent datum in the given format and version
val of_bytes : ?ver:string ->?fmt:string ->bytes->t
of_bytes ?ver ?fmt bytes deserializes a value from bytes.
val to_bytes : ?ver:string ->?fmt:string ->t->bytes
to_bytes ?ver ?fmt datum serializes a datum to a sequence of bytes.
val blit_to_bytes : ?ver:string ->?fmt:string ->bytes->t->int -> unit
blit_to_bytes ?ver ?fmt buffer datum offset copies a serialized representation of datum into a buffer, starting from the offset.
default_reader returns information about default reader
val set_default_reader : ?ver:string ->string -> unit
set_default_reader ?ver name sets new default reader. If version is not specified then the latest available version is used. Raises an exception if a reader with a given name doesn't exist.
val with_reader : ?ver:string ->string ->(unit ->'a)->'a
with_reader ?ver name operation temporary sets a default reader to a reader with a specified name and version. The default reader is restored after operation is finished.
default_writer returns information about the default writer
val set_default_writer : ?ver:string ->string -> unit
set_default_writer ?ver name sets new default writer. If version is not specified then the latest available version is used. Raises an exception if a writer with a given name doesn't exist.
val with_writer : ?ver:string ->string ->(unit ->'a)->'a
with_writer ?ver name operation temporary sets a default writer to a writer with a specified name and version. The default writer is restored after operation is finished.
default_writer optionally returns an information about default printer
val set_default_printer : ?ver:string ->string -> unit
set_default_printer ?ver name sets new default printer. If version is not specified then the latest available version is used. Raises an exception if a printer with a given name doesn't exist.
val with_printer : ?ver:string ->string ->(unit ->'a)->'a
with_printer ?ver name operation temporary sets a default printer to a printer with a specified name and version. The default printer is restored after operation is finished.
Low level access to serializers
val find_reader : ?ver:string ->string ->treader option
find_reader ?ver name lookups a reader with a given name. If version is not specified, then a reader with maximum version is returned.
val find_writer : ?ver:string ->string ->twriter option
find_writer ?ver name lookups a writer with a given name. If version is not specified, then a writer with maximum version is returned.