java-union

A simple union implementation in Kotlin allowing you to initialise the union instance with a specific object and re-interpret the internal byte array as different types. The byte array cannot be interpreted as a type that is larger than the buffer.

Quick Start

This can be included by making sure that you have JitPack setup as a dependency repository within your project. You can refer to the hosted versions of this library at java-union.

implementation("com.github.Kilemonn:union:0.1.0")

Example

The below example in Kotlin stores a Char in the Union and reads its value out as a Short.

val char = 'c'
val union = Union(char)

// The union's size is 2 since char's are 2 bytes in the JVM
assertEquals(2, union.size)

// Will have value 99 because of 'c' having the ASCII value of 99
val asShort = union.asType(Short::class.java)
assertEquals(99, asShort)

// This will return null, since the size of an int is 4 bytes, which is larger than the current
// internal Union buffer (`union.size`)
val asInt = union.asType(Int::class.java)
assertNull(asInt)

Limitations

• Currently only primitive and object primitive types will be serialised into the internal Union buffer.
• If you are serialising custom types make sure you test it properly incase there are any fields that cannot be serialised.