b4a

What is b4a?

The b4a npm package is a Buffer implementation for the browser with the same API as the Node.js Buffer. It allows you to use the Buffer API in environments where the native Buffer is not available, such as in web browsers.

What are b4a's main functionalities?

Buffer Creation

This feature allows you to create a new Buffer instance from a string, with an optional encoding parameter.

const b4a = require('b4a');
const buf = b4a.from('hello world', 'utf8');

Buffer Concatenation

This feature allows you to concatenate multiple Buffer instances into a new Buffer instance.

const b4a = require('b4a');
const buf1 = b4a.from('hello');
const buf2 = b4a.from('world');
const buf3 = b4a.concat([buf1, buf2]);

Buffer Allocation

This feature allows you to allocate a new Buffer with a specified size, which is filled with zeros by default.

const b4a = require('b4a');
const buf = b4a.alloc(10); // allocates a new Buffer of 10 bytes

Buffer Conversion

This feature allows you to convert data between Buffers and strings with different encodings.

const b4a = require('b4a');
const buf = b4a.from('7468697320697320612074c3a97374', 'hex');
const str = buf.toString('utf8');

Other packages similar to b4a

buffer

The 'buffer' package is a Node.js Buffer implementation for the browser, which is similar to b4a. It provides a polyfill for the Buffer class, allowing code written for Node.js to run in the browser without modification.

README

Buffer for Array

Buffer for Array (B4A) provides a set of functions for bridging the gap between the Node.js Buffer class and the Uint8Array class. A browser compatibility layer is also included, making it possible to use B4A in both Node.js and browsers without having to worry about whether you're dealing with buffers or typed arrays.

Installation

npm install b4a

API

b4a.isBuffer(value)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferisbufferobj

This will also return true when passed a Uint8Array.

b4a.alloc(size)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferallocsize-fill-encoding

b4a.allocUnsafe(size)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferallocunsafesize

b4a.allocUnsafeSlow(size)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferallocunsafeslowsize

b4a.byteLength(string)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferbytelengthstring-encoding

b4a.compare(buf1, buf2)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-buffercomparebuf1-buf2

b4a.concat(buffers[, totalLength])

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferconcatlist-totallength

b4a.copy(source, target[, targetStart[, sourceStart[, sourceEnd]]])

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufcopytarget-targetstart-sourcestart-sourceend

b4a.equals(buf1, buf2)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufequalsotherbuffer

b4a.from(array)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfromarray

b4a.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfromarraybuffer-byteoffset-length

b4a.from(buffer)

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfrombuffer

b4a.from(string[, encoding])

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfromstring-encoding

b4a.toBuffer(buffer)

Convert a buffer to its canonical representation. In Node.js, the canonical representation is a Buffer. In the browser, the canonical reprensetation is a Uint8Array.

b4a.toString([encoding[, start[, end]]])

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buftostringencoding-start-end

b4a.write(string[, offset[, length]][, encoding])

See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufwritestring-offset-length-encoding