Ruby Binary Strings vs Byte Arrays
In Ruby, binary strings ("String") and byte arrays ("Array" of integers) both represent sequences of bytes, but they have key differences in mutability, indexing, and usage.
Key Differences Between a Binary String and a Byte Array
| Feature | Binary String ("String") | Byte Array ("Array" of Integers) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | "String" (holds raw binary data) | "Array" (holds integers, 0-255) |
| Mutability | Mutable | Mutable |
| Storage | Contiguous sequence of bytes | Collection of separate integers |
| Indexing | Returns a string ("\xNN") | Returns an integer ("0-255") |
| Modification | Modifies in-place using "[]=" | Can modify individual elements |
| Performance | More memory-efficient | Slightly slower due to array overhead |
| Use Cases | File I/O, networking, cryptography | Byte-wise manipulation, calculations |
Binary String
A binary string in Ruby is a "String" object that contains raw bytes.
Creating a Binary String
binary_string = "\x00\x01\x02\x03\x04" puts binary_string.bytes.inspect # Output: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
Accessing Bytes in a Binary String
puts binary_string[0] # Output: "\x00" (a 1-byte string, not an integer)
puts binary_string.getbyte(0) # Output: 0 (integer representation)
# Another way:
binary_string.each_byte { |byte| puts byte }
Modifying a Binary String
binary_string.setbyte(0, 255) # Modifies the first byte to 255 puts binary_string.bytes.inspect # Output: [255, 1, 2, 3, 4]
Binary-safe: Ruby "String" objects do not assume encoding unless explicitly set.
Byte Array
A byte array in Ruby is an "Array" of integers, where each element represents a byte ("0-255").
Creating a Byte Array
byte_array = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4] puts byte_array.inspect # Output: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
Accessing and Modifying a Byte Array
puts byte_array[0] # Output: 0 (integer) byte_array[0] = 255 # Modifies the first byte puts byte_array.inspect # Output: [255, 1, 2, 3, 4]