package ppx_bitstring

ppx_bitstring

PPX plugin for the OCAML OPAM bitstring package.

Overview

The PPX extension is called ppx_bitstring. It aims at eventually being a drop-in replacement of the bitstring ocamlp4 extension.

Installation

ppx_bitstring is available on opam:

opam install ppx_bitstring

Syntax

Usage example with the match PPX extension:

match%bitstring bs with
| {| 1 : 1
   ; a : 2
   ; b : 16 : bigendian
   ; ...
   |} -> (* Do something *)
| {| _ |} -> (* Do something else *)

Usage example with the PPX extension for constructing bitstrings using the let syntax:

let%bitstring my_bitstring =
  {| 1 : 1
   ; a : 2
   ; b : 16 : bigendian
   ; ...
   |} in (* Do something here *)

Usage example with the PPX extension for constructing bitstrings using the constructor syntax:

let my_bitstring = [%bitstring
  {| 1 : 1
   ; a : 2
   ; b : 16 : bigendian
   ; ...
   |}] in (* Do something here *)

The pattern syntax is the same as the one of the original extension.

Additional features

map qualifier

This extension also supports a map qualifier which applies a lambda to a parsed value and stores the result in the field name:

{| field : size : map (fun v -> do_something_with v) }|

Which is equivalent to:

let field = (fun v -> do_something_with v) temporary_parsed_field

The map and bind qualifiers are mutually exclusive.

Pattern matching using function

This extension adds support for pattern matching using the function keyword:

let pattern_matcher = function%bitstring
| {| 1 : 1
   ; a : 2
   ; b : 16 : bigendian
   ; ...
   |} -> (* Do something *)
| {| _ |} -> (* Do something else *)

Error reporting

This extension point supports error reporting. However, the algorithm is rather crude and the best results are obtained by following these rules :

1. Statements should not be split over multiple lines. However, multiple statements per lines are supported.

2. Statement separators should be placed before, and not after the statement.

Contribute

Implementation details

• Uses ocaml-migrate-parsetree to make it forward and backward compatible.

• Uses jbuilder as compilation system.

Code generation

To see the parse tree of a ML file:

ocamlc -dparsetree foo.ml

To see the output of a development version of the extension:

ocamlfind opt -package bitstring -thread -dsource -ppx '_build/default/.ppx/ppx_bitsring/ppx.exe --as-ppx' foo.ml

License

Copyright (c) 2016 Xavier R. Guérin copyright@applepine.org

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.