bytevector->string(3scm)

✨ bytevector->string — the transcode-a-bytevector-to-a-string glow-up ✨

okay so real quick, this page lives in the Scheme Programmer's Manual (yes, bytevector->string(3scm), that one 💅) and it's genuinely one of the most useful little guys in the whole I/O lineup. let's get into it 🫶

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💖 LIBRARY 💖

import it from either of these bad boys, depending on your vibe:

(import (rnrs))                     ;R6RS
(import (rnrs io ports))            ;R6RS

like, both work. pick your fighter 🌸

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🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

(bytevector->string bytevector transcoder)

two args, no drama. bytevector and transcoder. that's the whole signature, bestie ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so what it does is: it takes bytevector and transcodes it according to the input direction of transcoder, and hands you back the resulting string. that's it. that's the whole personality 💜

(and yes, "input direction" is doing real work in that sentence — it's the input side of the transcoder that's in charge here, not the output side. iykyk 👑)

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🎀 RETURN VALUES 🎀

Returns a single value: a string. one value. not a list, not a couple of things, just the string. iconic behavior, honestly 💅

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⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

ok these are so clean, look:

(bytevector->string #vu8(81 117 117 120) (native-transcoder))
        => "Quux"

literally just bytes in, "Quux" out. ate. 🔥

and then the spicy one where things go sideways:

(bytevector->string #vu8(#xff)
                    (make-transcoder (utf-8-codec)
                                     (native-eol-style)
                                     (error-handling-mode raise)))
        => &i/o-decoding

yep — #xff is not valid UTF-8 and you said raise, so it raises. that's the deal you made 😭 (more on that below 👇)

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🌸 APPLICATION USAGE 🌸

this procedure is the more general, more flexible alternative to utf8->string(3scm). like, utf8->string is cool but this one lets you pick the transcoder, so it's giving main character energy 🌟

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💀 COMPATIBILITY 💀

this procedure is unique to R6RS. periodt. if you're on something else, sorry bestie 🙈

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🚨 ERRORS 🚨

it can raise exceptions with these condition types, so know them before you get humbled:

• &assertion (R6RS) — you passed the wrong number of arguments, or an argument was outside its domain. classic. 💀
• &i/o-decoding (R6RS) — a sequence of bytes showed up that could not be translated into a string, and the transcoder's error-handling-mode is raise. like if you'd set it to something chiller, it wouldn't be raising at you. 😭

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

go check these out, they're all in the same friend group:

• string->bytevctor(3scm)
• utf8->string(3scm)
• open-bytevector-output-port(3scm)
• make-transcoder(3scm)

(and yeah, string->bytevctor is spelled exactly like that on the page — not me, blame the original 🙈 copy it as-is if you're grepping for it!)

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👑 STANDARDS 👑

R6RS. that's the whole section. slay. ✨

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🍓 HISTORY 🍓

This procedure first appeared in R6RS, as part of the redesigned I/O system. so it's not ancient lore, it's a glow-up baby 🌱

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💜 AUTHORS 💜

This page is part of the scheme-manpages project. It includes materials from the RnRS documents. More information can be found at https://github.com/schemedoc/manpages/.

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ok tiny recap so it sticks: bytevector + transcoder (input direction) → one string. watch out for &assertion and &i/o-decoding. and don't forget it's R6RS-only, mwah 💋

that's the whole page, bestie — go transcode something 💖

later, and remember: it's bytevector->string(3scm), from the Scheme Programmer's Manual, dated 2020-05-14. 🦋