Serialization

Serialization

The existing string helpers read and write a paired binary representation inside an SKSE record:

#include <SKSE/SKSE.h>
#include <CLibUtilsQTR/Serialization.hpp>

bool WriteLabel(SKSE::SerializationInterface* serialization) {
    // Caller already opened its record.
    return Serialization::write_string(serialization, "My label");
}

bool ReadLabel(SKSE::SerializationInterface* serialization,
               std::string& label) {
    // Caller selected the matching record for reading.
    return Serialization::read_string(serialization, label);
}

Use skyrim. The header includes the SKSE interface and uses SKSE::log directly; no caller-defined logger alias is needed. For runtime form creation and its save/load lifecycle, see Dynamic form tracking.

The plugin owns its callbacks, record type, version, and error handling. These helpers neither open records nor register callbacks. Check boolean returns before using results.

Existing format

write_string() encodes at most 100 input characters, retaining supported printable characters. It writes a std::size_t count followed by raw std::pair<int, bool> entries. read_string() reads and decodes that representation.

This is an existing native binary format, not general UTF-8 or portable string storage. Pair the matching reader and writer when maintaining records using it. encodeString() and decodeString() expose the conversion separately.

BaseData

Serialization::BaseData<Key, Value> supplies a protected map, recursive mutex, and public SetData() and Clear(). Derive from it to implement GetType() and the relevant Save()/Load() overloads. Base saving/loading implementations return false.

Use the protected Locker and m_Lock when accessing m_Data in derived methods. GetData() currently returns float and takes its missing-value argument as Key; it is not a generic value-returning lookup.

FormID resolution, engine object restoration, and deciding what to clear between saves belong to the consuming serializer.