common-lisp:standard-object, common-lisp:t

None

A simple refcounted data type representing an immutable sequence of zero or more bytes from an unspecified origin.

The purpose of a g-bytes instance is to keep the memory region that it holds alive for as long as anyone holds a reference to the bytes. When the last reference count is dropped, the memory is released. Multiple unrelated callers can use byte data in the g-bytes instance without coordinating their activities, resting assured that the byte data will not change or move while they hold a reference.

A g-bytes instance can come from many different origins that may have different procedures for freeing the memory region. Examples are memory from the g-malloc function. Usage of a g-bytes instance for a Lisp string as byte data.

(multiple-value-bind (data len)
    (foreign-string-alloc "A test string.")
  (defvar bytes (g-bytes-new data len)))
=> BYTES
(g-bytes-size bytes)
=> 15
(g-bytes-data bytes)
=> #.(SB-SYS:INT-SAP #X55EBB2C1DB70)
=> 15
(foreign-string-to-lisp (g-bytes-data bytes))
=> "A test string."
=> 14