@webassemblyjs/ieee754

What is @webassemblyjs/ieee754?

The @webassemblyjs/ieee754 package is designed for encoding and decoding floating-point numbers according to the IEEE 754 standard. This is particularly useful when working with WebAssembly, as it allows for precise handling of floating-point numbers in a format that's compatible with WebAssembly's binary representation.

What are @webassemblyjs/ieee754's main functionalities?

Encoding floating-point numbers

This feature allows you to encode JavaScript floating-point numbers into a format that's compatible with WebAssembly's binary representation. The example shows how to encode the number 1.5 as a 64-bit floating-point number.

const { encode } = require('@webassemblyjs/ieee754');
const buffer = new ArrayBuffer(8);
const view = new DataView(buffer);
encode(view, 0, 1.5, 64);

Decoding floating-point numbers

This feature allows you to decode floating-point numbers from a binary format into JavaScript numbers. The example demonstrates decoding a 64-bit floating-point number from a DataView into a JavaScript number.

const { decode } = require('@webassemblyjs/ieee754');
const buffer = new ArrayBuffer(8);
const view = new DataView(buffer);
view.setFloat64(0, 1.5, true);
const number = decode(view, 0, 64);

Other packages similar to @webassemblyjs/ieee754

ieee754

The ieee754 package provides similar functionality for encoding and decoding IEEE 754 floating-point numbers. It is widely used for operations that require direct manipulation of binary data in this format. Compared to @webassemblyjs/ieee754, it serves a broader audience beyond just the WebAssembly community, offering a more general-purpose approach to handling IEEE 754 floating-point numbers.

float64-buffer

The float64-buffer package is another alternative that focuses on encoding and decoding 64-bit floating-point numbers. While it provides functionality similar to @webassemblyjs/ieee754 for 64-bit numbers, it lacks the flexibility of handling different bit lengths directly. It's a more specialized tool for scenarios where only 64-bit operations are needed.