XDR is an open data format, specified in RFC 4506. This library provides a way to decode and encode XDR data from Elixir. Extend with ease to other XDR types.
Available in Hex, Add elixir_xdr
to your dependencies list in mix.exs
:
def deps do
[
{:elixir_xdr, "~> 0.3.12"}
]
end
The following XDR types are completely implemented in this library:
# Basic types
XDR.Int # Section 4.1
XDR.UInt # Section 4.2
XDR.Bool # Section 4.4
XDR.HyperInt # Section 4.5
XDR.HyperUInt # Section 4.5
XDR.Float # Section 4.6
XDR.DoubleFloat # Section 4.7
XDR.Void # Section 4.16
# Complex types
XDR.Enum # Section 4.3
XDR.FixedOpaque # Section 4.9
XDR.VariableOpaque # Section 4.10
XDR.String # Section 4.11
XDR.FixedArray # Section 4.12
XDR.VariableArray # Section 4.13
XDR.Struct # Section 4.14
XDR.Union # Section 4.15
XDR.Optional # Section 4.19
The following types were not implemented:
XDR.QuadFloat # Section 4.8, not supported for 128-byte size.
XDR.Const # Section 4.17, can be replaced with elixir constants.
XDR.Typedef # Section 4.18, may be implemented with elixir modules. More info bellow in this guide.
It is an Open Source project, not a code that only I understand.
Macros are harder to write than ordinary Elixir functions, implementing them increases the code complexity, which is not good, especially if you plan to build an Open Source code that is easy to understand for everyone. We decided to go without macros, we want to let everyone expand or implement their own XDR types with a clear model based on Elixir functions.
Behaviour is the key. When implementing a new XDR type, follow this Behaviour's Declaration.
We use the function encode_xdr/2
or the bang version encode_xdr!/2
to encode any XDR type to its XDR binary format.
We use the function decode_xdr/2
or the bang version decode_xdr!/2
to decode any XDR type from an XDR binary format.
In most XDR types, we must pass the type specification
, it is a struct (or map) with the XDR type attributes that is expected to decode.
iex(1)> enum_spec = XDR.Enum.new([false: 0, true: 1], nil) # preferred.
%XDR.Enum{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1], identifier: nil}
iex(2)> XDR.Enum.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 1>>, enum_spec)
iex(1)> enum_spec = %{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1]}
iex(2)> XDR.Enum.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 0>>, enum_spec)
{%XDR.Enum{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1], identifier: false}, <<>>}
For all XDR types, encoded binaries may overflow the byte(s) size, that is why the returning value for decoding functions is set to be a tuple. The first element holds the XDR type decoded and the second element holds the remaining binary after decoding.
iex(1)> {decoded_part, remaining_part} = XDR.Int.decode_xdr!(<<127, 255, 255, 255, 5>>)
{{%XDR.Int{datum: 2147483647}, <<5>>}}
# decoded_part = %XDR.Int{datum: 2147483647}
# remaining_part = <<5>>
As mentioned before, all the XDR types follow the same Behaviour's Declaration
An XDR signed integer is a 32-bit datum that encodes an integer in the range [-2_147_483_648, 2_147_483_647]
.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Int.new(1234) |> XDR.Int.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 4, 210>>}
iex(1)> XDR.Int.new(1234) |> XDR.Int.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 4, 210>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Int.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 4, 210>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.Int{datum: 1234}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.Int.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 4, 210>>)
{%XDR.Int{datum: 1234}, <<>>}
More examples here.
An XDR unsigned integer is a 32-bit datum that encodes a non-negative integer in the range [0, 4_294_967_295]
.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.UInt.new(564) |> XDR.UInt.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 2, 52>>}
iex(1)> XDR.UInt.new(564) |> XDR.UInt.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 2, 52>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.UInt.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 2, 52>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.UInt{datum: 564}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.UInt.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 2, 52>>)
{%XDR.UInt{datum: 564}, <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents subsets of integers.
The Enumeration's declarations are a keyword list of integers (E.g. [false: 0, true: 1]
).
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Enum.new([false: 0, true: 1], :false) |> XDR.Enum.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 0>>}
iex(1)> XDR.Enum.new([false: 0, true: 1], :true) |> XDR.Enum.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 1>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> enum_spec = XDR.Enum.new([false: 0, true: 1], nil)
iex(2)> XDR.Enum.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 1>>, enum_spec)
{:ok, {%XDR.Enum{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1], identifier: true}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.Enum.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 0>>, %{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1]})
{%XDR.Enum{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1], identifier: false}, <<>>}
More examples here.
Boolean is an Enumeration implementation that allows us to create boolean types. An XDR Boolean type is an Enumeration with the keyword list [false: 0, true: 1]
as declarations.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Bool.new(true) |> XDR.Bool.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 0>>}
iex(1)> XDR.Bool.new(true) |> XDR.Bool.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Bool.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 1>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.Bool{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1], identifier: true}, ""}}
iex(1)> XDR.Bool.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 1>>)
{%XDR.Bool{declarations: [false: 0, true: 1], identifier: true}, ""}
More examples here.
It is an extension of the Integer type defined above. Represents a 64-bit (8-byte) integer with values in a range of [-9_223_372_036_854_775_808, 9_223_372_036_854_775_807]
.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.HyperInt.new(9_223_372_036_854_775_807) |> XDR.HyperInt.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<127, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255>>}
iex(1)> XDR.HyperInt.new(258963) |> XDR.HyperInt.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 243, 147>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.HyperInt.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 243, 147>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.HyperInt{datum: 258963}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.HyperInt.decode_xdr!(<<127, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255>>)
{%XDR.HyperInt{datum: 9223372036854775807}, <<>>}
More examples here.
It is an extension of the Unsigned Integer type defined above. Represents a 64-bit (8-byte) unsigned integer with values in a range of [0, 18_446_744_073_709_551_615]
.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.HyperUInt.new(258963) |> XDR.HyperUInt.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 243, 147>>}
iex(1)> XDR.HyperUInt.new(18_446_744_073_709_551_615) |> XDR.HyperUInt.encode_xdr!()
<<255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.HyperUInt.decode_xdr(<<255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.HyperUInt{datum: 18446744073709551615}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.HyperUInt.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 243, 147>>)
{%XDR.HyperUInt{datum: 258963}, <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents a single-precision float value (32 bits, 4 bytes).
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Float.new(3.46) |> XDR.Float.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<64, 93, 112, 164>>}
iex(1)> XDR.Float.new(-2589) |> XDR.Float.encode_xdr!()
<<197, 33, 208, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Float.decode_xdr(<<64, 93, 112, 164>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.Float{float: 3.4600000381469727}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.Float.decode_xdr!(<<197, 33, 208, 0>>)
{%XDR.Float{float: -2589.0}, <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents a Double-precision float value (64 bits, 8 bytes).
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.DoubleFloat.new(0.333333333333333314829616256247390992939472198486328125) |> XDR.DoubleFloat.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<63, 213, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85>>}
iex(1)> XDR.DoubleFloat.new(258963) |> XDR.DoubleFloat.encode_xdr!()
<<65, 15, 156, 152, 0, 0, 0, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.DoubleFloat.decode_xdr(<<65, 15, 156, 152, 0, 0, 0, 0>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.DoubleFloat{float: 258963.0}, ""}}
iex(1)> XDR.DoubleFloat.decode_xdr!(<<64, 11, 174, 20, 122, 225, 71, 174>>)
{%XDR.DoubleFloat{float: 3.46}, <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents a fixed-length uninterpreted data (This data is called "opaque") that needs to be passed among machines.
In the following examples we will use an opaque of 12-bytes length:
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.FixedOpaque.new(<<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>, 12) |> XDR.FixedOpaque.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>}
iex(1)> XDR.FixedOpaque.new(<<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>, 12) |> XDR.FixedOpaque.encode_xdr!()
<<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.FixedOpaque.decode_xdr(<<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>, %{length: 12})
{:ok, {%XDR.FixedOpaque{length: 12, opaque: <<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>}, ""}}
iex(1)> opaque_spec = XDR.FixedOpaque.new(nil, 12)
iex(2)> XDR.FixedOpaque.decode_xdr!(<<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>, opaque_spec)
{%XDR.FixedOpaque{length: 12, opaque: <<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 0>>}, ""}
More examples here.
Represents a sequence of n (numbered 0 through n-1) arbitrary bytes to be the number n encoded as an unsigned integer. If the maximum length is not specified, it is assumed to be 232 - 1.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.VariableOpaque.new(<<1, 2, 3, 4, 5>>, 5) |> XDR.VariableOpaque.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 0, 0>>}
iex(1)> XDR.VariableOpaque.new(<<1, 2, 3>>, 3) |> XDR.VariableOpaque.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 3, 1, 2, 3, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.VariableOpaque.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 0, 0>>, %{max_size: 5})
{:ok, {%XDR.VariableOpaque{max_size: 5, opaque: <<1, 2, 3, 4, 5>>}, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.VariableOpaque.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 0, 0>>, %{max_size: 5})
{%XDR.VariableOpaque{max_size: 5, opaque: <<1, 2, 3, 4, 5>>}, <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents a string of n (numbered 0 through n-1) ASCII bytes to be the number n encoded as an unsigned integer (as described above), and followed by the n bytes of the string. If the maximum length is not specified, it is assumed to be 232 - 1.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.String.new("The little prince") |> XDR.String.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0>>}
iex(1)> XDR.String.new("The little prince") |> XDR.String.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.String.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0>>)
{:ok, {%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The little prince"}, ""}}
iex(1)> XDR.String.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0>>)
{%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The little prince"}, ""}
More examples here.
Represents a fixed-length array that contains elements with the same type.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.FixedArray.new([1,2,3], XDR.Int, 3) |> XDR.FixedArray.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3>>}
iex(1)> XDR.FixedArray.new(["The", "little", "prince"], XDR.String, 3) |> XDR.FixedArray.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 3, 84, 104, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 0, 0,
0, 0, 0, 6, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.FixedArray.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3>>, %{type: XDR.Int, length: 3})
{:ok, {[%XDR.Int{datum: 1}, %XDR.Int{datum: 2}, %XDR.Int{datum: 3}], <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.FixedArray.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 3, 84, 104, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108,
101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0>>, %{type: XDR.String, length: 3})
{[
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The"},
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "little"},
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "prince"}
], <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents a variable-length array that contains elements with the same type. If the maximum length is not specified, it is assumed to be 232 - 1.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.VariableArray.new([1,2,3], XDR.Int) |> XDR.VariableArray.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3>>}
iex(1)> XDR.VariableArray.new(["The", "little", "prince"], XDR.String) |> XDR.VariableArray.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 3, 84, 104, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.VariableArray.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3>>,
...> %{type: XDR.Int, max_length: 3})
{:ok, {[%XDR.Int{datum: 1}, %XDR.Int{datum: 2}, %XDR.Int{datum: 3}], <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.VariableArray.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 3, 84, 104, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 108, 105,
...> 116, 116, 108, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0>>,
...> %{type: XDR.String, length: 3})
{[
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The"},
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "little"},
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "prince"}
], <<>>}
More examples here.
Represents a collection of fields, possibly of different data types, typically in fixed and sequence numbers.
Encoding:
iex(1)> name = XDR.String.new("The little prince")
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The little prince"}
iex(2)> size = XDR.Int.new(298)
%XDR.Int{datum: 298}
iex(3)> Struct.new([name: name, size: size]) |> Struct.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 42>>}
iex(1)> name = XDR.String.new("The little prince")
%XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The little prince"}
iex(2)> size = XDR.Int.new(298)
%XDR.Int{datum: 298}
iex(3)> XDR.Struct.new([name: name, size: size]) |> XDR.Struct.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 42>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> struct_spec = XDR.Struct.new([name: XDR.String, size: XDR.Int])
iex(2)> XDR.Struct.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 42>>, struct_spec)
{:ok, {%XDR.Struct{components: [name: %XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The little prince"}, size: %XDR.Int{datum: 298}]}, ""}}
iex(1)> struct_spec = XDR.Struct.new([name: XDR.String, size: XDR.Int])
iex(2)> XDR.Struct.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 17, 84, 104, 101, 32, 108, 105, 116, 116, 108, 101, 32, 112, 114, 105, 110, 99, 101, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 42>>, struct_spec)
{%XDR.Struct{components: [name: %XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "The little prince"}, size: %XDR.Int{datum: 298}]}, ""}
More examples here.
A discriminated union is a type composed of a discriminant followed by a type selected from a set of prearranged types according to the value of the discriminant. The component types are called arms
of the union and are preceded by the value of the discriminant that implies their encoding or decoding.
The type of discriminant is either XDR.Int
, XDR.UInt
, or an XDR.Enum
type.
The arms
can be a keyword list or a map and the value of each arm can be either a struct or a module of any XDR type. You can define a default arm using :default
as a key (The default arm is optional).
Encoding:
iex(1)> enum = %XDR.Enum{declarations: [case_1: 1, case_2: 2, case_3: 3], identifier: :case_1}
iex(2)> arms = [case_1: %XDR.Int{datum: 123}, case_2: %XDR.Int{datum: 2}, case_3: XDR.Float, default: XDR.String]
iex(3)> enum |> XDR.Union.new(arms) |> XDR.Union.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 123>>}
Decoding:
iex(1)> enum = %XDR.Enum{declarations: [case_1: 1, case_2: 2, case_3: 3]}
iex(2)> arms = [case_1: %XDR.Int{datum: 123}, case_2: %XDR.Int{datum: 2}, case_3: XDR.Float, default: XDR.String]
iex(3)> union = XDR.Union.new(enum, arms)
iex(4)> XDR.Union.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 123>>, union)
{:ok, {{:case_1, %XDR.Int{datum: 123}}, ""}}
More examples here.
Represents a 0-byte quantity.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Void.new(nil) |> XDR.Void.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<>>}
iex(1)> XDR.Void.new() |> XDR.Void.encode_xdr!()
<<>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> XDR.Void.decode_xdr(<<>>)
{:ok, {nil, <<>>}}
iex(1)> XDR.Void.decode_xdr!(<<72, 101, 108, 108, 111>>)
{nil, <<72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 0>>}
More examples here.
Represents one kind of union that occurs so frequently that we give it a special syntax of its own for declaring it. An optional-data could be any XDR type of data or XDR.Void
.
Encoding:
iex(1)> XDR.String.new("this is an example.") |> XDR.Optional.new() |> XDR.Optional.encode_xdr()
{:ok, <<0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 19, 116, 104, 105, 115, 32, 105, 115, 32, 97, 110, 32, 101, 120, 97, 109, 112, 108, 101, 46, 0>>}
iex(1)> XDR.Optional.new(nil) |> XDR.Optional.encode_xdr!()
<<0, 0, 0, 0>>
Decoding:
iex(1)> optional_spec = XDR.Optional.new(XDR.String)
iex(2)> XDR.Optional.decode_xdr(<<0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 19, 116, 104, 105, 115, 32, 105, 115, 32, 97, 110, 32, 101, 120, 97, 109, 112, 108, 101, 46, 0>>, optional_spec)
{:ok, {%XDR.Optional{type: %XDR.String{max_length: 4294967295, string: "this is an example"}}, ""}}
iex(1)> optional_spec = XDR.Optional.new(XDR.String)
iex(2)> XDR.Optional.decode_xdr!(<<0, 0, 0, 0>>, optional_spec)
{nil, ""}
More examples here.
- Install any Elixir version above 1.7.
- Compile dependencies:
mix deps.get
. - Run tests:
mix test
.
We welcome everyone to contribute. Make sure you have read the CODE_OF_CONDUCT before.
For information on how to contribute, please refer to our CONTRIBUTING guide.
Features and bug fixes are listed in the CHANGELOG file.
This library is licensed under an MIT license. See LICENSE for details.
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