byteable_derive

This crate provides custom derive macros for the byteable crate.

Available Derives

#[derive(Byteable)]

The main derive macro that automatically implements byte conversion traits for your types. Supports:

• Structs (named, tuple, and unit structs)
• Enums (C-like enums with explicit discriminants)
• Endianness control via field and type-level attributes
• Nested byteable types via transparent and try_transparent attributes

Struct Support

Basic Struct

use byteable::Byteable;

#[derive(Byteable, Clone, Copy)]
struct Point {
    x: i32,
    y: i32,
}

Struct with Endianness

use byteable::Byteable;

#[derive(Byteable, Clone, Copy)]
struct NetworkPacket {
    version: u8,
    #[byteable(big_endian)]
    length: u16,
    #[byteable(little_endian)]
    checksum: u32,
}

Field Attributes

• #[byteable(big_endian)] - Store field in big-endian byte order
• #[byteable(little_endian)] - Store field in little-endian byte order
• #[byteable(transparent)] - Use field's raw representation (for nested Byteable types)
• #[byteable(try_transparent)] - Use field's raw representation with fallible conversion

Enum Support

The #[derive(Byteable)] macro supports C-like enums with explicit discriminants.

Basic Enum

use byteable::Byteable;

#[derive(Byteable, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
#[repr(u8)]
enum Status {
    Idle = 0,
    Running = 1,
    Completed = 2,
    Failed = 3,
}

Enum with Endianness

Enums support type-level endianness attributes:

use byteable::Byteable;

// Little-endian (for file formats)
#[derive(Byteable, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
#[repr(u16)]
#[byteable(little_endian)]
enum FileType {
    Text = 0x1000,
    Binary = 0x2000,
    Archive = 0x3000,
}

// Big-endian (for network protocols)
#[derive(Byteable, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
#[repr(u32)]
#[byteable(big_endian)]
enum HttpStatus {
    Ok = 200,
    NotFound = 404,
    InternalError = 500,
}

Enum Requirements

When deriving Byteable for enums, you must:

1. Use an explicit repr type: #[repr(u8)], #[repr(u16)], #[repr(u32)], #[repr(u64)], #[repr(i8)], #[repr(i16)], #[repr(i32)], or #[repr(i64)]
2. Have only unit variants (no fields)
3. Provide explicit discriminant values for all variants
4. Use TryFromByteArray for deserialization (returns EnumFromBytesError for invalid discriminants)

Type-Level Attributes for Enums

• #[byteable(big_endian)] - Store enum discriminant in big-endian byte order
• #[byteable(little_endian)] - Store enum discriminant in little-endian byte order
• No attribute - Use native endianness

Error Handling

Enums use fallible conversion because not all byte patterns represent valid enum variants:

use byteable::{Byteable, TryFromByteArray};

#[derive(Byteable, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
#[repr(u8)]
enum Command {
    Start = 1,
    Stop = 2,
}

fn example() -> Result<(), byteable::EnumFromBytesError> {
    // Valid conversion
    let bytes = [1];
    let cmd = Command::try_from_byte_array(bytes)?;
    assert_eq!(cmd, Command::Start);

    // Invalid discriminant returns error
    let invalid = [255];
    let result = Command::try_from_byte_array(invalid);
    assert!(result.is_err());

    Ok(())
}

Advanced Usage

Nested Structs with Enums

use byteable::Byteable;

#[derive(Byteable, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
#[repr(u8)]
enum MessageType {
    Data = 1,
    Control = 2,
    Error = 3,
}

#[derive(Byteable, Clone, Copy)]
struct Message {
    #[byteable(try_transparent)]
    msg_type: MessageType,
    #[byteable(big_endian)]
    sequence: u32,
    payload: [u8; 16],
}

Sparse Discriminants

Enums with non-sequential discriminants work perfectly:

use byteable::Byteable;

#[derive(Byteable, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
#[repr(u8)]
enum Priority {
    Low = 1,
    Medium = 5,
    High = 10,
    Critical = 100,
}

// Only defined discriminants (1, 5, 10, 100) are valid
// All other values return errors during conversion

See Also

For comprehensive documentation and examples, see the main byteable crate documentation.