BINARYn

BINARYn is a theoretical framework and accompanying notation for representing and manipulating binary data streams. It provides a compact formalism for defining binary layouts, bitfields, and streaming operations, with an emphasis on composability and verifiability. The "n" in BINARYn indicates the framework's parameterization by structural width or depth, allowing different instances to describe narrow or wide data contexts while sharing a common semantics.

Core concepts include primitives such as bit, field, sequence, choice, and repeat; operators such as concat, align, pad, and mask; and a formal semantics based on deterministic state transitions. Encoding and tooling align with these concepts through a concise, human-readable syntax. A compiler or transpiler can generate accessors and parsers for languages such as C, Rust, or Java, while a runtime library offers safe bitfield access and streaming I/O.

BINARYn is designed to complement existing binary-serialization schemes by providing clear, machine-checkable layouts that can be reasoned about formally. This makes it useful for protocol design, binary file parsing, firmware image layout, and education in bit-level data representations. Researchers use BINARYn to study invariants in serialization and to compare the expressiveness of layout languages.

Status and uptake remain niche: several open-source implementations exist within academic circles, but there is no broad consensus or standard adoption. Practical use tends to be limited to projects requiring strong guarantees about binary layouts and easy verifiability.