README.md

Bi-Parser

A Rust library for parsing, writing, and validating files in the bi format. The original bi format specification can be seen here.

• Quick Start
• Field Types
• Validation
• Error Handling

---

Quick Start

use bi_parser::prelude::*;
use std::fs::File;

// Reading bi format
let file = File::open("test.bi")?;
let mut reader = BiReader::new(file);
let field = reader.read_field_default()?;

// Writing bi format
let file = File::create("output.bi")?;
let mut writer = BiWriter::new(file);
let field = BiField::Integer {
    name: b"count".to_vec(),
    value: 42,
};
writer.write_field_default(&field)?;

Field Types

The bi format supports three types of fields:

• Integer (:i): Unsigned 64-bit integers
• SignedInteger (:s): Signed 64-bit integers (this field is not in the original bi format specification)
• Blob (:b): Variable-length binary data

Each field has a name and follows this format:

Integer:       :i name value\n
SignedInteger: :s name value\n
Blob:          :b name size\ndata\n

Validation

By default, the parser performs thorough validation of:

• Field markers and format
• Field names
• Integer values
• Blob sizes and content

Validation can be disabled for performance:

reader.read_field(false)?;  // Skip validation
writer.write_field(&field, false)?;  // Skip validation

Error Handling

The crate provides detailed error types for different failure scenarios:

• BiError: Top-level error type
• BiParserError: Parsing-specific errors
• BiWriterError: Writing-specific errors
• BiValidationError: Validation-specific errors