binary: efficient, pure binary serialisation using lazy ByteStrings
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 'binary' package provides Data.Binary, containing the Binary class,
and associated methods, for serialising values to and from lazy
ByteStrings.
A key feature of 'binary' is that the interface is both pure, and efficient.
The 'binary' package is portable to GHC and Hugs.
Building:
runhaskell Setup.lhs configure
runhaskell Setup.lhs build
runhaskell Setup.lhs install
First:
import Data.Binary
and then write an instance of Binary for the type you wish to serialise.
More information in the haddock documentation.
Deriving:
It is possible to mechanically derive new instances of Binary for your
types, if they support the Data and Typeable classes. A script is
provided in tools/derive. Here's an example of its use.
$ cd binary
$ cd tools/derive
$ ghci -fglasgow-exts BinaryDerive.hs
*BinaryDerive> :l Example.hs
*Main> deriveM (undefined :: Drinks)
instance Binary Main.Drinks where
put (Beer a) = putWord8 0 >> put a
put Coffee = putWord8 1
put Tea = putWord8 2
put EnergyDrink = putWord8 3
put Water = putWord8 4
put Wine = putWord8 5
put Whisky = putWord8 6
get = do
tag_ <- getWord8
case tag_ of
0 -> get >>= \a -> return (Beer a)
1 -> return Coffee
2 -> return Tea
3 -> return EnergyDrink
4 -> return Water
5 -> return Wine
6 -> return Whisky
Contributors:
Lennart Kolmodin
Duncan Coutts
Don Stewart
Spencer Janssen
David Himmelstrup
Björn Bringert
Ross Paterson
Einar Karttunen
John Meacham
Ulf Norell
Tomasz Zielonka
Stefan Karrmann
Bryan O'Sullivan
Florian Weimer