endiandependent

Endiandependent is a term used in information technology to describe data representations, protocols, and software components that function correctly regardless of the underlying byte order (endianness) of a system. The term combines "endianness" and "independence" and is used to discuss portability and interoperability across architectures that differ in how multi-byte values are ordered in memory.

In practice, achieving endiandependent behavior involves using explicit, well-defined data formats and interfaces. For network communication, protocols often adopt a fixed byte order (commonly network byte order, which is big-endian) for on-the-wire representation, while software converts to and from the host's native endianness as needed. In data storage or inter-process communication, endiandependent design favors text-based formats (such as JSON or XML) or binary formats that specify endianness in their schema or use self-describing encodings. Serialization libraries may provide abstractions that hide endianness from the application, ensuring that serialized data remains portable across platforms.

Benefits include improved portability, reduced data misinterpretation, and easier cross-platform integration. Limitations can include performance costs from byte-order conversions and the overhead of maintaining standard schemas or protocols.

See also: Endianness, Byte order, Data serialization, Network byte order, Protocol design.