blob.readn(dataType)

Description

This method reads a single value of a specified type from the blob. The blob’s read/write pointer governs the first byte to be read. The value type is specified by a single-character string constant which must be delimited with single quote marks:

local floatValue = dataBlob.readn('f');

Of Squirrel’s own data types only float and integer are supported (both are 32-bit values), but readn() additionally supports a number of the most common 8-bit and 16-bit standard variable types. The following table lists the data types supported and their data type strings:

String Constant	Type
'c'	8-bit signed integer
'b'	8-bit unsigned integer
's'	16-bit signed integer
'w'	16-bit unsigned integer
'i'	32-bit signed integer
'f'	32-bit float
'd'	64-bit float

Note that reading in a 64-bit value — an IEEE 754 double-precision float — will implicitly convert the 64-bit number to a standard 32-bit Squirrel float with the inevitable loss of precision that this entails.

All imps are little endian, so multi-byte values will written into a blob or read from it in order of least byte significance. For example, if a 16-bit unsigned integer is written into a blob (the 'w' option, above), the least-significant byte is written first (at blob pointer location n) and followed by the most-significant byte (at blob pointer location n+1).

Use the following code to convert a signed integer value of n bits into a 32-bit Squirrel integer and preserve the sign. For a 16-bit value:

local readInt = blob.readn('s');
local squirrelInt = (readInt << 16) >> 16;

For an 8-bit value:

local readInt = blob.readn('c');
local squirrelInt = (readInt << 24) >> 24;