Hello again. I'd like to register the namespace for a new module called
Tie::IntegerArray. Here's the module list entry:
DSLI: Rdpr
description: provides a tied array of packed integers of any bit length
userid: SAMTREGAR
chapterid: 6 (Data_Type_Utilities)
And here's the POD, which should answer any questions you might have
about the module:
=head1 NAME
Tie::IntegerArray - provides a tied array of packed integers of any bit length
=head1 SYNOPSIS
use Tie::IntegerArray;
# an array of signed 16-bit integers with no undef support and
# starting room for 100,000 items. You can expect this to consume a
# bit more than 200K of memory versus more than 800K for a normal
# Perl array.
my @integer_array;
tie @integer_array, 'Tie::IntegerArray',
bits => 16,
signed => 1,
undef => 0,
size => 100_000;
# put a value in
$integer_array[0] = 10;
# and print it out
print "Int 0: $integer_array[0]\n";
# the full range of array operations are available
=head1 DESCRIPTION
This module provides an array interface to packed array of integers. A
packed array of integers is useful in situations where you need to
store a large set of integers in as small a space as possible. Access
to the packed array will be significantly slower than access to a
normal array but for many applications the reduction in memory usage
makes this a good trade-off.
=head1 USAGE
To create an IntegerArray you call tie with a number of optional
arguements. These arguements let you fine-tune the storage of your
integers. The simplest C<tie> call uses no options:
my @integer_array;
tie @integer_array, 'Tie::IntegerArray';
This will create an array of signed integers with the same size as
native ints on your platform. By default the array does not support
C<undef> - values are 0 by default. This may be ideal for many
applications - read below for other options.
=head1 OPTIONS
=over 4
=item * bits (defaults to your machine's int size)
This option specifies how many bits to use to store the integer value.
This setting determines the possible range of your integers. If you
specify unsigned integers (see below) then the maximum range on your
integers is simply 2^bits. For example, 8 bits provides an unsigned
range of 0 - 255.
Since the integers are stored in a packed array you can calculate the
size of your array by multiplying the number of items by the number of
bits.
Attempting to store a value into the array that is too large or too
small for the available bit size will cause an error.
=item * signed (defaults to 1)
If you set signed to 1 then your integers will be signed. This
reduces their positive range by a power of 2 but provides equal
negative range. For example, an 8 bit signed integer has a range from
-128 - 127.
=item * undef (defaults to 0)
By default IntegerArrays do not support undef. This means that array
values will be 0 until they are set to some value. Calling defined()
on an array value will return true if exists() will. You can change
this by setting undef to 1. This requires extra memory - 1 bit per
array entry.
=item * size (defaults to 1)
IntegerArrays grow automatically as you add items but you can specify
a size arguement to pre-allocate space. This will improve performance
for large arrays.
=back 4
=head1 FUTURE PLANS
This module is functionally complete but not yet fully optimized. It
relies on Tie::Array for the more advanced array functions (push, pop,
etc) and a native implementation could be faster. If this module
proves at all popular then I will definitely move in that direction.
=head1 CREDITS
Steffen Beyer - Bit::Vector is pure magic.
=head1 AUTHOR
Sam Tregar, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
=head1 SEE ALSO
Bit::Vector
=cut
Thanks!
-sam
