Vecu8

Vecu8 is a dynamic array (vector) of 8-bit unsigned integers, commonly used to store raw bytes. Each element is a value from 0 to 255, and the container provides a contiguous memory layout for efficient indexing and iteration. As a dynamic structure, Vecu8 can grow or shrink at runtime, typically by allocating a larger capacity and moving existing elements when more space is needed.

Core characteristics include random access in constant time, amortized append costs, and a distinction between length and capacity. The data is owned by the container, and safety features depend on the language's memory model. Vecu8 is typically sequence-compatible with byte-oriented operations and can be used as a low-level building block for higher-level data formats.

Common operations include constructing an empty instance, pushing or popping elements, extending with another sequence, inserting or removing at an index, reserving capacity, and converting to a slice or raw pointer for interoperability. It also supports iteration, slicing, and concatenation of byte sequences.

Typical uses encompass binary input/output buffers, cryptographic processing, encoding and decoding byte streams (including UTF-8 data), network packet assembly, image and audio data handling, and binary serialization formats. Vecu8 provides a compact, contiguous representation that is well-suited for performance-sensitive byte handling.

Language notes: in Rust, the canonical type is Vec<u8>, a heap-allocated, growable vector with ownership and borrowing semantics. Vecu8 may appear as a type alias or in libraries that expose a more concise name. In C++, a comparable container is std::vector<uint8_t>, and in other ecosystems similar constructs exist under different names.

See also: byte array, uint8, Vec, Vec<u8>.

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