API
Global Methods¶
Tip
Every method here does support lowerCamelCase as well as PascalCase. You can use that if you choose to.
FastBitBuffer.new¶
FastBitBuffer.new() => BitBuffer
This will create a new BitBuffer object which can be used to compress any data given down to a much smaller size.
FastBitBuffer.BitsRequired¶
FastBitBuffer.BitsRequired(Number: number) => number
Calculates the number of bits required for a given number. The equation for calculating this is: $$ \left \lceil \frac{\log_{10}(x + 1)}{\log 2} \right \rceil $$
BitBuffer API¶
BitBuffer:ResetPointer¶
ResetPointer() => void
Resets the BitBuffer's pointer to zero. This is mostly used for the encoding process.
BitBuffer:Reset¶
Reset() => void
Resets both the BitBuffer's pointer and the BitBuffer data table.
BitBuffer:FromString¶
FromString(String: string) => void
Reads the string and adds it to the BitBuffer accordingly.
Warning
This function is not recommended for use because it's quite useless and isn't DataStore ready.
BitBuffer:ToString¶
ToString() => string
Writes the current data in the BitBuffer to a string. This string isn't useful for anything.
Warning
This function is not recommended for use because it's quite useless and isn't DataStore ready.
BitBuffer:FromBase64¶
FromBase64(String: string) => void
Reads the Base64 string and adds it to the BitBuffer accordingly.
Tip
This is the recommended way to encode your data. It's guaranteed to be the safest as well as still being fast.
BitBuffer:ToBase64¶
ToBase64() => string
Writes the current data in the BitBuffer to a Base64 encoded string.
Tip
This is the recommended way to encode your data. It's guaranteed to be the safest as well as still being fast.
BitBuffer:FromBase128¶
FromBase128(String: string) => void
Reads the Base128 string and adds it to the BitBuffer accordingly.
Info
This function isn't actually tested, and might not work in DataStores. Use it with caution. It is still very fast despite this.
BitBuffer:ToBase128¶
ToBase128() => string
Writes the current data in the BitBuffer to a Base128 encoded string.
Info
This function isn't actually tested, and might not work in DataStores. Use it with caution. It is still very fast despite this.
BitBuffer:Dump¶
Dump() => void
Dumps the data inside the BitBuffer and prints it.
BitBuffer:WriteUnsigned¶
WriteUnsigned(Width: integer, Value: integer) => void
This function writes an unsigned number with a given number of bits. The value must be a positive integer. If the given width is four, the max value that can be stored is calculated as such:
Tip
If you don't need either negatives or a float, this is the function you should use for maximum compression.
BitBuffer:ReadUnsigned¶
ReadUnsigned(Width: integer) => integer
This function reads an unsigned number with a given number of bits.
BitBuffer:WriteSigned¶
WriteSigned(Width: integer, Value: integer) => void
This function is similar to WriteUnsigned, except it writes a signed number, meaning it can store negatives as well. The value must still be an integer. As an example, if the given width is seven, there will be one sign bit and six magnitude bits.
BitBuffer:ReadSigned¶
ReadSigned(Width: integer) => integer
This function reads a signed number with a given number of bits.
BitBuffer:WriteFloat¶
WriteFloat(MantissaWidth: integer, ExponentWidth: integer, Value: number) => void
Writes a floating point number to the BitBuffer with a given mantissa and exponent size in bits.
Tip
You don't really need to call this function unless you want to have faster code at the cost of your sanity and code readability. I recommend using the other float functions instead.
BitBuffer:ReadFloat¶
ReadFloat(MantissaWidth: integer, ExponentWidth: integer) => number
Reads a floating point number from the BitBuffer with a given mantissa and exponent size in bits.
BitBuffer:WriteFloat8¶
WriteFloat8(Value: number) => void
Writes a minifloat to the BitBuffer.
Tip
This is the smallest method of compressing a float down, but it comes at the cost of number accuracy. If you need more accuracy, use something above this in precision.
BitBuffer:ReadFloat8¶
ReadFloat8() => number
Reads a minifloat from the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:WriteFloat16¶
WriteFloat16(Value: number) => void
Writes a half precision floating point number to the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:ReadFloat16¶
ReadFloat16() => number
Reads a half precision floating point number from the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:WriteFloat32¶
WriteFloat32(Value: number) => void
Writes a single precision floating point number to the BitBuffer.
Tip
This function is the suggested one for storing most floats. If you want to store the player's last height, you should use this function.
BitBuffer:ReadFloat32¶
ReadFloat32() => number
Reads a single precision floating point number from the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:WriteFloat64¶
WriteFloat64(Value: number) => void
Writes a double precision floating point number to the BitBuffer. This is the most accurate float function provided, but is also least efficient.
Tip
If you want to 100% accurately save an arbitrary Lua number, then you should use this function.
BitBuffer:ReadFloat64¶
ReadFloat64() => number
Reads a double precision floating point number from the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:WriteBool¶
WriteBool(Boolean: boolean) => void
Writes a boolean value to the BitBuffer. Takes only one bit worth of space to store. Alternatively, you can call WriteBoolean for a more accurate name for Lua types.
BitBuffer:ReadBool¶
ReadBool() => boolean
Reads a boolean value from the BitBuffer. Takes only one bit worth of space to store. Alternatively, you can call ReadBoolean for a more accurate name for Lua types.
BitBuffer:WriteString¶
WriteString(String: string) => void
Writes a variable length string. The string may contain embedded nulls. Only seven bits / character will be used if the string contains no non-printable characters (greater than 0x80).
Note
This function doesn't require a width argument because it'll do it for you automatically.
BitBuffer:ReadString¶
ReadString() => string
Reads a variable length string. The string may contain embedded nulls. Only seven bits / character will be used if the string contains no non-printable characters (greater than 0x80).
BitBuffer:WriteBrickColor¶
WriteBrickColor(Color: BrickColor) => void
Writes a Roblox BrickColor to the BitBuffer. Provided as an example of reading / writing a derived data type.
Danger
This function is deprecated and should not be used. Instead, use WriteColor3 instead.
BitBuffer:ReadBrickColor¶
ReadBrickColor() => BrickColor
Reads a Roblox BrickColor from the BitBuffer. Provided as an example of reading / writing a derived data type.
Danger
This function is deprecated and should not be used. Instead, use ReadColor3 instead.
BitBuffer:WriteColor3¶
WriteColor3(Color: Color3) => void
Writes a Roblox Color3 to the BitBuffer. This is the recommended way to store anything color related in your BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:ReadColor3¶
ReadColor3() => Color3
Reads a Roblox Color3 from the BitBuffer. This is the recommended way to store anything color related in your BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:WriteRotation¶
WriteRotation(CoordinateFrame: CFrame) => void
Write the rotation part of a given CFrame to the BitBuffer. Encodes the rotation in question into double precision, which is a good size to get a pretty dense packing, but still while having errors well within the threshold that Roblox uses for stuff like MakeJoints() detecting adjacency. Will also perfectly reproduce rotations which are orthagonally aligned, or inverse-power-of-two rotated on only a single axix. For other rotations, the results may not be perfectly stable through read-write cycles (if you read/write an arbitrary rotation thousands of times there may be detectable "drift").
Tip
If you want to write the entire CFrame, you should use the function WriteCFrame instead.
BitBuffer:ReadRotation¶
ReadRotation() => CFrame
Reads the rotation part of a given CFrame from the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:WriteVector3¶
WriteVector3(Vector: Vector3) => void
Writes a Vector3 to the BitBuffer using single precision floating points. Alternatve name for this is WriteVector3Float32.
BitBuffer:ReadVector3¶
ReadVector3() => Vector3
Reads a Vector3 from the BitBuffer. Alternatve name for this is ReadVector3Float32.
BitBuffer:WriteVector3Float64¶
WriteVector3Float64(Vector: Vector3) => void
Writes a Vector3 to the BitBuffer using double precision floating points. For less precision, use WriteVector3 instead.
BitBuffer:ReadVector3Float64¶
ReadVector3Float64() => Vector3
Reads a Vector3 from the BitBuffer. For less precision, use ReadVector3 instead.
BitBuffer:WriteVector2¶
WriteVector2(Vector: Vector2) => void
Writes a Vector2 to the BitBuffer using single precision floating points. Alternatve name for this is WriteVector2Float32.
BitBuffer:ReadVector2¶
ReadVector2() => Vector2
Reads a Vector2 from the BitBuffer. Alternatve name for this is ReadVector2Float32.
BitBuffer:WriteVector2Float64¶
WriteVector2Float64(Vector: Vector2) => void
Writes a Vector2 to the BitBuffer using double precision floating points. For less precision, use WriteVector2 instead.
BitBuffer:ReadVector2Float64¶
ReadVector2Float64() => Vector2
Reads a Vector2 from the BitBuffer. For less precision, use ReadVector2 instead.
BitBuffer:WriteCFrame¶
WriteCFrame(CoordinateFrame: CFrame) => void
Writes the entire CFrame to the BitBuffer. Uses double precision floating points to do so.
BitBuffer:ReadCFrame¶
ReadCFrame() => CFrame
Reads an entire CFrame from the BitBuffer. Uses double precision floating points to do so.
BitBuffer:WriteUDim2¶
WriteUDim2(Value: UDim2) => void
Writes a UDim2 to the BitBuffer. Uses half precision floating points.
BitBuffer:ReadUDim2¶
ReadUDim2() => UDim2
Reads a UDim2 from the BitBuffer.
BitBuffer:Destroy¶
Destroy() => void
Destroys the BitBuffer and sets the metatable to nil.