Static Memory Description (smd)

A simple .smd file format interpreter and serializer, which is a convenient alternative from other serialization formats such as yaml and json, and - in my opinion - it also feels much more familiar with the C programming language.

Clone and build

git clone https://github.com/mrsinho/smd.git
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DSMD_BUILD_EXAMPLE=ON
cmake --build .

Binaries are located at the bin directory.

---

Example file

UINT32   ^^ 1  !! entity_count        --> 2                                     *
STR256   ^^ 1  !! identity_name       --> main                                  *
UINT32   ^^ 1  !! mesh_vertex_count   --> 6                                     *
FLOAT32  ^^ 6  !! mesh_vertices       --> -1.0   1.0   0.0   0.0   1.0   1.0    *
FLOAT32  ^^ 3  !! transform_position  --> 0   0   2.5                           *
FLOAT32  ^^ 1  !! camera_fov          --> 75                                    *
FLOAT32  ^^ 1  !! camera_nc           --> 1E-20                                 *
FLOAT32  ^^ 1  !! camera_fc           --> 150                                   *
FLOAT32  ^^ 1  !! camera_speed        --> 5                                     *
FLOAT32  ^^ 1  !! camera_mouse_speed  --> 3                                     *
STR256   ^^ 1  !! camera_flags        --> CAMERA_SETUP_FREE_FLIGHT              *

You can write everything on a single line, but ditributing the instructions on multiple lines is just a lot easier to read.

Data types

First you specify the variable data type between:

typedef enum SmdVarTypeFlags {
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_NOT_SPECIFIED = 0,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_INT8          = 1,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_UINT8         = 2,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_INT16         = 3,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_UINT16        = 4,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_INT32         = 5,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_UINT32        = 6,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_INT64         = 7,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_UINT64        = 8,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_FLOAT32       = 9,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_DOUBLE64      = 10,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_STR128        = 11,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_STR256        = 12,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_STR512        = 12,
	SMD_VAR_TYPE_STR1024       = 13
} SmdVarTypeFlags;

Variable length

Then you specify the length of the variable, if it's bigger than 1 you're consequently creating an array of data. To specify the variable length use "^^ " (space included) immediately followed by the variable length.

Variable name

The variable name has to be introduced by the "!! " (space included) token and it automatically ends at the first space character the reader encounters.

Values

They are introduced by the "--> " block (space included), and, in the case of arrays, multiple values are separated by as many space characters as you wish.

End of line

Before declaring a new variable, end the first description with the * character.

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Parsing

See the smd-example.c file. To access a specific variable, use the following self-explanatory functions:

• uint8_t smdAccessVarByRegion(
  	SmdFileHandle* p_handle,
  	uint32_t       offset,
  	uint32_t       size,
  	void*          p_dst
  );

• uint8_t smdAccessVarByIndex(
  	SmdFileHandle* p_handle,
  	uint32_t       idx,
  	uint32_t*      p_size,
  	void*          p_dst
  );

• uint8_t smdAccessVarByName(
  	SmdFileHandle* p_handle,
  	const char*    var_name,
  	uint32_t*      p_size,
  	void*          p_dst
  );

• uint8_t smdWriteLine(
  	SmdExportHandle* p_handle,
  	uint32_t         length,
  	char*            name,
  	SmdVarType       var_type,
  	void*            p_var_values
  )

• uint8_t smdWriteFile(
  	SmdExportHandle* p_handle,
  	char*            dst_path
  )

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To do

• Code documentation and cleanup