HRTDS C++ Library

A static library written in C++ for parsing and mapping hierarchical, runtime-typed data structures from a custom Human-Readable Typed Data Serialization (HRTDS) format.

Key Features

• Custom Data Layout: Define schemas (struct blocks) and data fields with typed identifiers for string, bool, int, float, nested structures, and arrays.

• Memory-mapped struct files: StructFile<T> wraps Windows file mapping APIs to map a C++ struct directly into a file for fast storage and retrieval.

• Zero-dependency: Uses only the C++ standard library and Windows API—no external dependencies.

• Strong typing: Access parsed values with templated getters (Get<T>(...), Get_Vector<T>()).

Installation

1. You can either download the .lib along with its header file from the releases page, or build the library yourself from source.
2. In addition, you can also import the files in your project and include them in-build.

Usage

1. Define a schema and data in an .hrtds file:

   ${
     &struct& Version : {
       &float& Date;
       &int& Version;
       &string& Download;
     };
   
     &string[]& Authors : ["Jenkins", "Joe"];
     &int& Age : 32;
     &bool& Developer : false;
   
     &Version[]& Versions : [
       (4029347892, 4, "https://..."),
       (2374985345, 3, "https://..."),
       (8323457998, 1, "https://..."),
       (3453049583, 8, "https://...")
     ];
   }$
   
   

2. Load and parse:

   #include "HRTDS.h"
   
   int main() { 
     std::string content; // Populated from a file or network traffic
   
     hrtds::HRTDS doc(content);
   
     // Access scalar values
     int age = doc["Age"].Get<int>();
     bool isDev = doc["Developer"].Get<bool>();
   
     // Access array
     std::vector<std::string> authors = doc["Authors"].Get_Vector<std::string>();
   
     // Access nested structure
     hrtds::HRTDS_STRUCTURE versionStruct = doc["Versions"][1];
     
     // Retrieve fields from the structure
     float date = versionStruct["Date"].Get<float>();
     int verNum = versionStruct["Version"].Get<int>();
     std::string downloadUrl = versionStruct["Download"].Get<std::string>();
   
     std::cout << "First Author: " << authors[0] << std::endl;
   }
   

3. Additionally: Memory-map a struct:

   // Define a struct containing only trivially copyable fields
   struct MyData { int x; float y; char name[32]; };
   
   // Then create a new StructFile<T> with a filename
   hrtds::StructFile<MyData> mappedFile("data.bin");
   
   // Writing is the same as modifying the struct
   mappedFile.data->x = 42;
   mappedFile.data->y = 38;
   
   mappedFile.Flush(); // Ensures data is written
   
   // Same with reading
   char[32] name = mappedFile.data->name;
   

API Reference

hrtds::HRTDS

• HRTDS(const std::string &content): Construct and parse HRTDS content string.

• void Parse(const std::string &content): Parse or re-parse content.

• HRTDS_VALUE& operator[](const std::string &key): Access a field by name.

HRTDS_VALUE

• template<typename T> T Get(size_t index = 0): Retrieve a typed value.

• template<typename T> std::vector<T> Get_Vector(): Retrieve an array of typed values.

• HRTDS_VALUE& operator[](size_t index): Index into array of structures.

• HRTDS_VALUE& operator[](const std::string &subKey): Access nested struct field.

hrtds::StructFile<T>

• StructFile(const std::string &path): Open or create a memory-mapped file of size sizeof(T).

• void Flush(): Flush changes to disk.

• ~StructFile(): Unmaps and closes file handles.

Future Features

1. Right now the library only supports deserialzing the data from a content string, in the future you will also be able to serialize the data.

Contributing

1. This library is private and intended for personal use only. Contributions, forks, or modifications are not permitted. All rights reserved. Usage is only allowed with explicit permission from the owner.

License

See LICENSE for details.

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