Buffers

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Introduction #

A buffer is basically a space within the system memory that is used to store small packets of data for just about anything. Since it is held in system memory, it is very fast to access. You can think of it as a temporary place to put things that need to be worked on or processed.

You can save and load ANY file into a buffer in LioranBoard, which is the best part about having buffer commands!
For example, LioranBoard does not natively support text files, but that’s okay, because you can simply load, read and save any text file using buffers instead!

A buffer will exist until you either manually delete it or restart LioranBoard.

Data Types

Buffer Type	Description
Unsigned 8bits	A single byte value. This is a positive value from 0 to 255.
Signed 8bits	A single byte value. This can be a positive or negative value from -128 to 127 (0 is classed as positive).
Unsigned 16bits	2 bytes value. This is a positive value from 0 to 65,535.
Signed 16bits	2 bytes value. This can be a positive or negative value from -32,768 to 32,767 (0 is classed as positive).
Unsigned 32bits	4 bytes value. This is a positive value from 0 to 4,294,967,295.
Signed 32bits	4 bytes value. This can be a positive or negative value from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 (0 is classed as positive).
Float 32bits	4 bytes value. This can be a positive or negative value from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 that can contain decimal point numbers.
Float 64bits	8 bytes value. This can be a positive or negative value from 1-2^63 and 2^63 that can contain decimal point numbers.
Boolean	A boolean value. Can only be either 1 or 0 (true or false).
String	A string (text), finalized with a null terminating character.
Text	A string(text) without the final null terminating character. Cannot be used for Buffer: Peak or Read commands (as the the length of a string is found by searching for the (first) null.)

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Buffer Create #

Creates a new buffer with the given name.

You must delete a buffer before creating another one with the same name.

When creating a buffer, you should always try to create it to a size that is appropriate to the type, with the general rule being that it should be created to accommodate the maximum size of data that it is to store.

Buffer types:

Fixed - A buffer of a fixed size in bytes. The size is set when the buffer is created and cannot be changed again. LioranBoard will crash when you reach the limit size.
buffExpand With Grow - A buffer that will grow dynamically as data is added. You create it with an initial size (which should be an approximation of the size of the data expected to be stored), and then it will expand to accept further data that overflows this initial size.
Wrap - A buffer where the data will wrap. When the data being added reaches the limit of the buffer size, the overwrite will be placed back at the start of the buffer, and further writing will continue from that point.

If in doubt, use a grow buffer to prevent overwrite errors.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer to create
Byte Size	Size of the buffer in bytes.
Type	dropdown menu	Fixed, Expand With Grow or Wrap

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Buffer Poke #

Writes data to a buffer at the specified position.

Writing data to a buffer will advance the position of the head by however many bytes it wrote.

LioranBoard will crash when you try to write data to a fixed buffer with a position larger than the buffer size.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Type	Dropdown	Type of the buffer
Value to Write	String	Data to write into the buffer
Position	Int	Position to write the data at

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Buffer Write #

Writes data to a buffer at the position of the read/write head.

Writing data to a buffer will advance the position of the head by however many bytes it wrote.

LioranBoard will crash when you try to write data to a fixed buffer with a position larger than the buffer size.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Type	Dropdown	Type of the buffer
Value to Write	String	Data to write into the buffer.

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Buffer Peek #

Reads data from a buffer at the specified position.

If you try to read data from a position larger than the current buffer size, you will get an error Attempting to read from outside the buffer, returning 0.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Type	Drodown	Type of the buffer you want to read from
Variable	String	Variable to save the read data into
Position	Int	Position to read the data at

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Buffer Read #

Reads data from a buffer at the position of the read/write head.
Reading data from a buffer will advance the position of the head by however many bytes it read.

If you try to read data from a position larger than the current buffer size, you will get an error Attempting to read from outside the buffer, returning 0.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Type	Drodown	Type of the buffer you want to read from
Variable	String	Variable to save the read data into

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Buffer Load #

Loads any file as a buffer into LioranBoard.
Read/Write head position will be set to 0 (beginning of the file).

The file you're loading must be in your LioranBoard Receiver folder or in one of its inner folders.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
File Path	String	File name to load. Can be relative path. If you want to load `names.txt` from your Lioranboard folder, you can just use the file name itself.

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Buffer Save #

With this command you can save the contents (raw data) of a buffer to a file, ready to be read back into memory using the Buffer: Load command.

You should save your file in LioranBoard folder or one of its inner folders. Full path is needed i.e. c:/lioranboard/test.txt (All Lowercase)

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
File Path	String	File name to save the buffer into.

Better example File Path: /$global.main_directory$/test.txt

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Buffer Delete #

Deletes a buffer you created or loaded, releasing the resources used to create it and removing any data that it may currently contain.

If you try to delete a non existing buffer, LioranBoard will crash. Use Buffer: Exists command first.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer

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Buffer Set Size #

Changes the size of a buffer to a new size, for example to prevent overflow.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
New Size	Int	New size of the buffer.

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Buffer Set Position #

Sets the position of the read/write head of a buffer.
When you write or read from a buffer, data is not reshuffled. Rather, the head pointer is adjusted.
Whenever you use Buffer: Write command, head pointer advances. Whenever you use Buffer: Read command, head pointer also advances.

Setting the position to a non existing value will result in an error when trying to write or read the buffer in your next command.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Position	Int	Value to set the position of the head to.

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Buffer Get Size #

Returns the size of a buffer.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Variable	String	Variable to save the size value in.

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Buffer Get Position #

Return the position of a buffer’s read/write head.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Variable	String	Variable to save the position value in.

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Buffer Exists #

Check if a buffer exists and save the result in a variable.
Use this command before using Buffer: Delete command, as it will crash LioranBoard if you try to delete a non existing buffer.

Result:

0 - Buffer doesn’t exist
1 - Buffer exists

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Variable	String	Variable to save the result in.

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Buffer Hash SHA1 #

Returns the SHA1 hash from a buffer. The data will be analyzed from 0 to the size of the buffer.
SHA1 hash is like a file’s digital signature. You can verify a file’s integrity by checking its hash value. If even one byte in the file changes (i.e. the file is modified in any way), its hash value will be different.
Very useful command to periodically detect for any file changes.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Variable	String	Variable to save the SHA1 string in.

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Buffer Base64 Encode #

Turns a whole buffer into a base64 string.

Base-64 encoding is a way of taking binary data and turning it into a plain text. It is designed to carry data stored in binary format across the network channels. For example, you can use it to easily transfer images over the network.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Variable	String	Variable to save the string value in

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Buffer Base64 Decode #

Creates a new buffer from a base64 string.

Box Name	Type	Description
Buffer Name	String	Name of the buffer
Base64 String	String	A base64 string to decode and turn into a buffer.