Binary Data
JavaScript does not have a binary data type. However, in server-side scenarios, binary data needs to be often processed. That is why we need some working Binary() class.
Binary() object proposition
This is an interface of my proposed Binary object. I also created a sample implementation, see http://tmp.zarovi.cz/binary.js.
/**
* Creates a new variable holding binary data.
* @param {number} initialData Variable amount if initial arguments.
Every number represents a byte.
* @returns {Binary}
*/
function Binary(initialData) {};
/**
* Returns the number of bytes stored in this structure.
* This is intentionally named "getLength" instead of "length" to indicate a method (and not a property).
* @returns {number}
*/
Binary.prototype.getLength = function() {};
/**
* Converts the binary variable to string by UTF-8 encoding its contents.
* @returns {string}
*/
Binary.prototype.toString = function() {};
/**
* Returns a byte value from a given index.
* @param {number} index
* @returns {number}
*/
Binary.prototype.getByte = function(index) {};
/**
* Sets a byte value at given index.
* @param {number} index
*/
Binary.prototype.setByte = function(index, value) {};
/**
* These are essentialy copied from the Array class.
*/
Binary.prototype.pop = function() {};
Binary.prototype.push = function() {};
Binary.prototype.shift = function() {};
Binary.prototype.unshift = function() {};
/**
* Encodes the data in Base64
* @returns {string}
*/
Binary.prototype.base64encode = function() {};
/**
* Calculates MD5 hash
* @returns {string}
*/
Binary.prototype.md5 = function() {};
/**
* Calculates SHA1 hash
* @returns {string}
*/
Binary.prototype.sha1 = function() {};
/**
* Decodes the Base64 encoded string
* @returns {Binary}
*/
String.prototype.base64decode = function() {};
/**
* Converts an UTF-8 encoded string into its binary (one byte per item) variant
* @returns {Binary}
*/
String.prototype.toBinary = function() {};
Ondras 08:24, 5 February 2009 (UTC)