I'd like to seriously nominate this idea and get a considered opinion on it.
struct.Struct lets you encode Python objects into structured memory. It accepts a format string, and optionally a buffer and offset to/from which to read/write the structure. What do you think of random access to the results? To avoid Marc's concern about meaningless anonymous record entries, model the constructor after 'namedtuple' type. (unproduced) >>> packer= struct.Struct( 'IIIf255p', 'i1 i2 i3 afloat name' ) >>> packer.pack_into( buf, off, 10, 20, 30, 0.5, 'abc' ) >>> packer.unpack_from( buf, off, 'i3' ) 30 >>> packer.unpack_from( buf, off ) ( 10, 20, 30, 0.5, 'abc' ) >>> packer.pack_into( buf, off, 'i1', 12 ) Even in sequential access speed benefits, by avoiding the construction of n-1 objects. PS: If you don't have time or don't want to consider it seriously, or want to see more specifics, just say so. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
