# Binary tools and BiPack serializer

Multiplatform binary tools collection, including portable serialization of the compact and fast [Bipack] format, and many useful tools to work with binary data, like CRC family checksums, dumps, etc. It works well also in the browser and in native targets.

# Recent changes

- 0.1.0: uses modern kotlin 1.9.*, fixes problem with singleton or empty/object serialization

last 1.8 version is 0.0.8, some fixes are not yet backported to it pls leave an issue of needed. 

# Usage

Add our maven:

```kotlin
repositories {
    // ...
    maven("https://gitea.sergeych.net/api/packages/SergeychWorks/maven")
}
```

And add dependecy to the proper place in yuor project like this:

```kotlin
dependencies {
    // ...
    implementation("net.sergeych:mp_bintools:0.1.0")
}
```

# Bipack

## Why?

Bipack is a compact and efficient binary serialization library (and format) was designed with the following main goals:

### Allow easy unpacking existing binary structures 

Yuo describe your structure as `@Serializable` classes, and - voila, bipack decodes and encodes it for you! We aim to make it really easy to convert data from other binary formats by adding more format annotations

### Be as compact as possible

For this reason it is a binary notation, it uses binary form for decimal numbers and can use variery of encoding for
integers:

#### Varint

Variable-length compact encoding is used internally in some cases. It uses a 0x80 bit in every byte to mark coninuation.
See `object Varint`.

#### Smartint

Variable-length compact encoding for signed and unsigned integers use as few bytes as possible to encode integers. It is
used automatically when serializing integers. It is slightly more sophisticated than straight `Varint`.

### Do not reveal information about stored data

Many extendable formats, like JSON, BSON, BOSS and may others are keeping data in key-value pairs. While it is good in
many aspets, it has a clear disadvantages: it uses more space, and it reveals inner data structure to the world. It is
possible to unpack such formats with zero information about inner structure.

Bipack does not store field names, so it is not possible to unpack or interpret it without knowledge of the data
structure. Only probablistic analysis. Let's not make life of attacker easier :)

### - allow upgrading data structures with backward compatibility

The dark side of serialization formats of this kind is that you can't change the structures without either loosing
backward compatibility with already serialzied data or using volumous boilerplate code to implement some sort of
versioning.

Not to waste space and reveal more information that needed Bipack allows extending classes marked as [@Extendable] to be
extended with more data _appended to the end of list of fields with required defaul values_. For such classes, Bipack stores the number of actually serialized fields and atuomatically uses default values for non-serialized ones when unpacking
old data.

### Protect data with framing and CRC

When needed, serialization lobrary allow to store/check CRC32 tag of the structure name with `@Framed` (can be overriden
as usual with `@SerialName`), or be followed with CRC32 of the serialized binary data, that will be checked on
deserialization, using `@CrcProtected`. This allows checking the data consistency out of the box and only where needed.

# Usage

Use kotlinx serializatino as usual. There are the following Bipack-specific annotations at your disposal (can be combined):

## @Extendable

Classes marked this way store number of fields. It allows to add to the class data more fields, to the end of list, with
default initializers, keeping backward compatibility. For example if you have serialized:

```kotlin
@Serializable
@Extendable
data class foo(val i: Int)
```

and then decided to add a field:

```kotlin
@Serializable
@Extendable
data class foo(val i: Int, val bar: String = "buzz")
```

It adds 1 or more bytes to the serialized data (field counts in `Varint` format)

Bipack will properly deserialize the data serialzied for an old version.

## @CrcProtected

Bipack will calculate and store CRC32 of serialized data at the end, and automatically check it on deserializing
throwing `InvalidFrameCRCException` if it does not match.

It adds 4 bytes to the serialized data.

## @Framed

Put the CRC32 of the serializing class name (`@SerialName` allows to change it as usual) and checks it on deserializing.
Throws `InvalidFrameHeaderException` if it does not match.

It adds 4 bytes to the serialized data.

## @Unisgned

This __field annontation__ allows to store __integer fields__ of any size more compact by not saving the sign. Could be
applyed to both signed and unsigned integers of any size.

## @FixedSize(size)

Use it with fixed-size collections (like hashes, keys, etc.) to not keep collection size in the packed binary. It saves
at least one byte.

## @Fixed

Can be used with any integer type to store/restor it as is, fixed-size, big-endian:

- Short, UShort: 2 bytes
- Int, UInt: 4 bytes
- Long, ULong: 8 bytes

Note that without this modifier all integers are serialized into variable-length compressed format, see class [Smartint]
from this library.

Example:

~~~kotlin
@Serializable
class Foo(
    @Fixed
    val eightBytesLongInt: Long
)

// so:
assertEquals("00 00 00 01 00 00 00 02", BipackEncoder.encode(Foo(0x100000002)).encodeToHex())
~~~