feat: const fn encode, decode optimization, comprehensive docs and examples

- Make `encode` const fn for compile-time COBS encoding (MSRV bumped to 1.83)
- Optimize decode by removing unnecessary branch in inner loop
- Add comprehensive rustdoc with examples for every function
- Add crate-level doc sections: quick start, buffer sizing, framing,
  stream parsing, compile-time encoding, error handling
- Expand README with decision matrix, examples section, testing depth
- Bump version to 0.2.0

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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swaitsandClaude Opus 4.6 committed 2026-03-30 18:31:41 -06:00
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@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
[package]
name = "ucobs"
version = "0.1.0"
version = "0.2.0"
edition = "2021"
rust-version = "1.56"
rust-version = "1.83"
license = "MIT"
description = "μCOBS — Consistent Overhead Byte Stuffing. no_std, zero-alloc, fastest, most-tested COBS implementation."
authors = ["Stephen Waits <steve@waits.net>"]
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@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ All three crates are tiny. The difference is negligible for any target.
| `no_std` | always | opt-in[^1] | always |
| Zero-alloc | yes | opt-in[^2] | yes |
| `unsafe`-free | yes | yes | yes |
| `const fn` encode | yes | no | no |
| Implementation | ~120 LOC | ~790 LOC | ~645 LOC |
[^1]: Requires disabling the default `std` feature.
@@ -84,28 +85,164 @@ All three crates are tiny. The difference is negligible for any target.
> Measured on Intel N100, Rust 1.93.1, Linux 6.12. Run `just bench` to
> reproduce. Full Criterion reports are generated in `target/criterion/report/`.
## Usage
## When to use μCOBS
| You need… | μCOBS | `cobs` 0.3 | `corncobs` 0.1 |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| Minimal code to audit | **~120 LOC** | ~790 LOC | ~645 LOC |
| Compile-time (`const fn`) encode | **yes** | no | no |
| Fastest encode (zero-heavy data) | **3–4×** faster | baseline | slowest |
| Fastest decode (large payloads) | competitive | slow | **slight edge** |
| Dead-simple API (3 functions) | **yes** | yes | more surface area |
| In-place / streaming encode | no | no | **yes** |
| `no_std` + zero-alloc by default | **yes** | opt-in | **yes** |
| Thorough test suite | **106 tests, fuzz, proptest** | basic | basic |
**Choose μCOBS** if you want the smallest, most auditable COBS implementation
with a minimal API and strong performance — especially on embedded targets or
payloads containing many zero bytes.
**Choose `corncobs`** if you need in-place encoding, an iterator-based API, or
your workload is dominated by large non-zero payloads where it holds a slight
throughput edge.
**Choose `cobs`** if you need `std` convenience features and don't care about
`no_std` or encode performance.
## Examples
### Basic encode and decode
```rust
// Encode
// Encode: [0x11, 0x00, 0x33] → [0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33]
let mut buf = [0u8; 16];
let n = ucobs::encode(&[0x11, 0x00, 0x33], &mut buf).unwrap();
assert_eq!(&buf[..n], &[0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33]);
// Decode
// Decode reverses it
let mut out = [0u8; 16];
let n = ucobs::decode(&[0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33], &mut out).unwrap();
let m = ucobs::decode(&buf[..n], &mut out).unwrap();
assert_eq!(&out[..m], &[0x11, 0x00, 0x33]);
```
### Buffer sizing
Use `max_encoded_len` to determine the required destination buffer size:
```rust
let data = [0x01, 0x02, 0x03];
let max = ucobs::max_encoded_len(data.len()); // 4 bytes
let mut buf = [0u8; 4];
let n = ucobs::encode(&data, &mut buf).unwrap();
assert_eq!(n, 4); // fits exactly
```
If the destination is too small, `encode` returns `None` rather than panicking:
```rust
let mut tiny = [0u8; 1];
assert_eq!(ucobs::encode(&[0x01, 0x02], &mut tiny), None);
```
### Framing for transport
Append a `0x00` sentinel after encoding to delimit frames on a wire. Strip
it before decoding:
```rust
let data = [0x11, 0x00, 0x33];
// Encode and append sentinel
let mut frame = [0u8; 16];
let n = ucobs::encode(&data, &mut frame).unwrap();
frame[n] = 0x00;
let wire = &frame[..n + 1];
// Receive: strip sentinel, then decode
let cobs_data = &wire[..wire.len() - 1];
let mut out = [0u8; 16];
let m = ucobs::decode(cobs_data, &mut out).unwrap();
assert_eq!(&out[..m], &data);
```
### Parsing a stream of frames
Split a byte stream on `0x00` to extract individual COBS frames:
```rust
// Two frames separated by 0x00 sentinels
let stream = [
0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33, 0x00, // frame 1: [0x11, 0x00, 0x33]
0x03, 0xAA, 0xBB, 0x00, // frame 2: [0xAA, 0xBB]
];
let mut out = [0u8; 16];
let frames: Vec<&[u8]> = stream.split(|&b| b == 0x00)
.filter(|f| !f.is_empty())
.collect();
let n = ucobs::decode(frames[0], &mut out).unwrap();
assert_eq!(&out[..n], &[0x11, 0x00, 0x33]);
// Buffer sizing
let max = ucobs::max_encoded_len(256); // 258
let n = ucobs::decode(frames[1], &mut out).unwrap();
assert_eq!(&out[..n], &[0xAA, 0xBB]);
```
### Compile-time encoding
`encode` is `const fn`, so you can build COBS-encoded tables at compile
time with zero runtime cost:
```rust
const PING: [u8; 2] = {
let mut buf = [0u8; 2];
match ucobs::encode(&[0x01], &mut buf) {
Some(_) => buf,
None => panic!("buffer too small"),
}
};
const ACK: [u8; 3] = {
let mut buf = [0u8; 3];
match ucobs::encode(&[0x06, 0x00], &mut buf) {
Some(_) => buf,
None => panic!("buffer too small"),
}
};
// Baked into the binary — no runtime encoding needed
assert_eq!(PING, [0x02, 0x01]);
assert_eq!(ACK, [0x02, 0x06, 0x01]);
```
### Error handling
Both `encode` and `decode` return `Option<usize>` — `None` on failure,
never panic:
```rust
let mut buf = [0u8; 8];
// Destination too small
assert_eq!(ucobs::encode(&[1, 2, 3], &mut buf[..1]), None);
// Malformed input (zero byte in encoded stream)
assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[0x00], &mut buf), None);
// Truncated frame (code byte promises more data than exists)
assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[0x05, 0x11], &mut buf), None);
// Empty input is valid
assert_eq!(ucobs::encode(&[], &mut buf), Some(1)); // encodes to [0x01]
assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[], &mut buf), Some(0)); // decodes to []
```
## API
| Function | Signature | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `encode` | `(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize>` | COBS-encode `src` into `dest`. Returns byte count or `None` if buffer too small. |
| `encode` | `const fn(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize>` | COBS-encode `src` into `dest`. Returns byte count or `None` if buffer too small. |
| `decode` | `(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize>` | Decode COBS data. Returns byte count or `None` if input is malformed. |
| `max_encoded_len` | `const fn(src_len: usize) -> usize` | Maximum encoded size for a given input length. |
@@ -114,6 +251,25 @@ yourself when framing for transport.
## Testing
μCOBS has one of the most thorough test suites of any COBS implementation —
106 tests across 7 categories:
- **Canonical vectors** — every example from Cheshire & Baker 1999 (the original
COBS paper), plus the full Wikipedia vector set
- **External corpora** — vectors drawn from `cobs-c`, `nanocobs`, `cobs2-rs`,
Jacques Fortier's C implementation, and the Python `cobs` package
- **Cross-crate interop** — byte-for-byte validation against both `corncobs` and
`cobs` crates on randomized payloads up to 4 KB
- **Property-based tests** — 6 proptest suites covering round-trip correctness,
no-zero-in-output invariants, encoding properties, decoding properties,
structural/algebraic properties, and boundary-region behavior
- **Fuzz targets** — 3 `cargo-fuzz` harnesses (decode, round-trip, small-dest)
for continuous coverage of edge cases
- **Boundary tests** — exhaustive coverage of 254/255-byte block boundaries,
multi-block splits, buffer-exact fits, and off-by-one dest sizes
- **Compile-time verification** — `const` assertions that validate encode
correctness at compile time
```sh
# Unit + property + interop tests
just test-unit
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@@ -9,39 +9,177 @@
//! Overhead is at most 1 byte per 254 input bytes plus 1; see
//! [`max_encoded_len`] for the exact formula.
//!
//! This crate is `no_std` and zero-alloc — suitable for embedded firmware.
//! This crate is `no_std`, zero-alloc, and `unsafe`-free — it runs
//! everywhere from 8-bit MCUs to servers.
//!
//! # Sentinel convention
//! # Quick start
//!
//! ```
//! // Encode
//! let mut buf = [0u8; 16];
//! let n = ucobs::encode(&[0x11, 0x00, 0x33], &mut buf).unwrap();
//! assert_eq!(&buf[..n], &[0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33]);
//!
//! // Decode
//! let mut out = [0u8; 16];
//! let m = ucobs::decode(&buf[..n], &mut out).unwrap();
//! assert_eq!(&out[..m], &[0x11, 0x00, 0x33]);
//! ```
//!
//! # Buffer sizing
//!
//! Use [`max_encoded_len`] to determine the required destination buffer
//! size before encoding:
//!
//! ```
//! let data = [0x01, 0x02, 0x03];
//! let max = ucobs::max_encoded_len(data.len()); // 4
//!
//! let mut buf = [0u8; 4];
//! let n = ucobs::encode(&data, &mut buf).unwrap();
//! assert_eq!(n, 4); // fits exactly
//! ```
//!
//! If the destination is too small, `encode` returns `None` rather than
//! panicking:
//!
//! ```
//! let mut tiny = [0u8; 1];
//! assert_eq!(ucobs::encode(&[0x01, 0x02], &mut tiny), None);
//! ```
//!
//! # Framing for transport
//!
//! The encoder does **not** append a trailing `0x00` sentinel. The decoder
//! expects input **without** a trailing sentinel. Callers should append /
//! strip the sentinel themselves when framing for transport:
//! expects input **without** a trailing sentinel. Append and strip the
//! sentinel yourself when framing for transport:
//!
//! ```
//! let data = [0x11, 0x00, 0x33];
//!
//! // Encode — leave room for the sentinel byte
//! // Encode into a wire frame: [COBS bytes...] [0x00 sentinel]
//! let mut frame = [0u8; 16];
//! let n = ucobs::encode(&data, &mut frame).unwrap();
//! frame[n] = 0x00; // append sentinel for framing
//! frame[n] = 0x00; // append sentinel
//! let wire = &frame[..n + 1];
//!
//! // Decode — strip sentinel before decoding
//! // On the receiving end, strip the sentinel before decoding
//! let cobs_data = &wire[..wire.len() - 1];
//! let mut out = [0u8; 16];
//! let m = ucobs::decode(&frame[..n], &mut out).unwrap();
//! let m = ucobs::decode(cobs_data, &mut out).unwrap();
//! assert_eq!(&out[..m], &data);
//! ```
//!
//! # Parsing a stream of frames
//!
//! In a byte stream, split on `0x00` to extract individual COBS frames,
//! then decode each one:
//!
//! ```
//! // Simulate a stream containing two frames separated by 0x00 sentinels
//! let stream = [
//! 0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33, 0x00, // frame 1: encodes [0x11, 0x00, 0x33]
//! 0x03, 0xAA, 0xBB, 0x00, // frame 2: encodes [0xAA, 0xBB]
//! ];
//!
//! let mut out = [0u8; 16];
//! let frames: Vec<&[u8]> = stream.split(|&b| b == 0x00)
//! .filter(|f| !f.is_empty())
//! .collect();
//!
//! let n = ucobs::decode(frames[0], &mut out).unwrap();
//! assert_eq!(&out[..n], &[0x11, 0x00, 0x33]);
//!
//! let n = ucobs::decode(frames[1], &mut out).unwrap();
//! assert_eq!(&out[..n], &[0xAA, 0xBB]);
//! ```
//!
//! # Compile-time encoding
//!
//! [`encode`] is `const fn`, so you can build COBS-encoded lookup tables
//! or protocol headers at compile time with zero runtime cost:
//!
//! ```
//! // Pre-encode a command table at compile time
//! const PING: [u8; 2] = {
//! let mut buf = [0u8; 2];
//! match ucobs::encode(&[0x01], &mut buf) {
//! Some(_) => buf,
//! None => panic!("buffer too small"),
//! }
//! };
//!
//! const ACK: [u8; 3] = {
//! let mut buf = [0u8; 3];
//! match ucobs::encode(&[0x06, 0x00], &mut buf) {
//! Some(_) => buf,
//! None => panic!("buffer too small"),
//! }
//! };
//!
//! // No runtime encoding needed — these are baked into the binary
//! assert_eq!(PING, [0x02, 0x01]);
//! assert_eq!(ACK, [0x02, 0x06, 0x01]);
//! ```
//!
//! # Error handling
//!
//! Both [`encode`] and [`decode`] return `Option<usize>` — `None` on
//! failure, never panic.
//!
//! ```
//! let mut buf = [0u8; 8];
//!
//! // Destination too small for encode
//! assert_eq!(ucobs::encode(&[1, 2, 3], &mut buf[..1]), None);
//!
//! // Malformed COBS data (zero byte in encoded stream)
//! assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[0x00], &mut buf), None);
//!
//! // Truncated frame (code byte promises more data than exists)
//! assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[0x05, 0x11], &mut buf), None);
//!
//! // Empty input is valid for both
//! assert_eq!(ucobs::encode(&[], &mut buf), Some(1)); // encodes to [0x01]
//! assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[], &mut buf), Some(0)); // decodes to []
//! ```
#![no_std]
#![forbid(unsafe_code)]
#![warn(missing_docs)]
/// Encode `src` into `dest` using COBS. Returns the number of bytes written,
/// or `None` if `dest` is too small.
/// COBS-encode `src` into `dest`.
///
/// The output does **not** include a trailing `0x00` sentinel — the caller
/// should append it as a frame delimiter.
/// Returns the number of bytes written, or `None` if `dest` is too small.
/// Use [`max_encoded_len`] to size the destination buffer.
///
/// The output does **not** include a trailing `0x00` sentinel — append it
/// yourself when framing for transport.
///
/// This function is `const fn`, so it can encode data at compile time.
///
/// # Examples
///
/// ```
/// let mut buf = [0u8; 8];
/// let n = ucobs::encode(&[0x00], &mut buf).unwrap();
/// assert_eq!(&buf[..n], &[0x01, 0x01]);
/// ```
///
/// Compile-time encoding:
///
/// ```
/// const ENCODED: [u8; 4] = {
/// let mut buf = [0u8; 4];
/// match ucobs::encode(&[0x11, 0x00, 0x33], &mut buf) {
/// Some(_) => buf,
/// None => panic!("buffer too small"),
/// }
/// };
/// assert_eq!(ENCODED, [0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33]);
/// ```
#[must_use]
pub fn encode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
pub const fn encode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
let mut si = 0;
let mut di = 0;
@@ -49,14 +187,12 @@ pub fn encode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
// Scan for next zero (or 254-byte cap).
let remaining = src.len() - si;
let max_run = if remaining < 254 { remaining } else { 254 };
let run = if max_run > 0 && src[si] == 0x00 {
0
} else {
src[si..si + max_run]
.iter()
.position(|&b| b == 0x00)
.unwrap_or(max_run)
};
let mut run = 0;
if max_run > 0 && src[si] != 0x00 {
while run < max_run && src[si + run] != 0x00 {
run += 1;
}
}
let full_block = run == 254;
// Write code byte.
@@ -66,12 +202,16 @@ pub fn encode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
dest[di] = if full_block { 0xFF } else { (run + 1) as u8 };
di += 1;
// Bulk-copy the run.
// Copy the run.
if run > 0 {
if di + run > dest.len() {
return None;
}
dest[di..di + run].copy_from_slice(&src[si..si + run]);
let mut i = 0;
while i < run {
dest[di + i] = src[si + i];
i += 1;
}
di += run;
}
si += run;
@@ -94,12 +234,29 @@ pub fn encode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
Some(di)
}
/// Decode a COBS-encoded buffer. Returns the number of decoded bytes
/// written to `dest`, or `None` if the input is malformed or `dest` is
/// too small.
/// Decode a COBS-encoded buffer.
///
/// Returns the number of decoded bytes written to `dest`, or `None` if the
/// input is malformed or `dest` is too small.
///
/// `src` should **not** include the trailing `0x00` frame sentinel — strip
/// it before calling this function.
///
/// # Examples
///
/// ```
/// let mut out = [0u8; 8];
/// let n = ucobs::decode(&[0x02, 0x11, 0x02, 0x33], &mut out).unwrap();
/// assert_eq!(&out[..n], &[0x11, 0x00, 0x33]);
/// ```
///
/// Malformed input returns `None`:
///
/// ```
/// let mut out = [0u8; 8];
/// assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[0x00], &mut out), None); // unexpected zero
/// assert_eq!(ucobs::decode(&[0x05, 0x11], &mut out), None); // truncated
/// ```
#[must_use]
pub fn decode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
let mut si = 0;
@@ -112,14 +269,12 @@ pub fn decode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
}
// Bulk-copy `code - 1` data bytes.
let n = code - 1;
if n > 0 {
if si + n > src.len() || di + n > dest.len() {
return None;
}
dest[di..di + n].copy_from_slice(&src[si..si + n]);
di += n;
si += n;
if si + n > src.len() || di + n > dest.len() {
return None;
}
dest[di..di + n].copy_from_slice(&src[si..si + n]);
di += n;
si += n;
// If code < 0xFF, an implicit zero follows (unless we're at the end).
if code < 0xFF && si < src.len() {
if di >= dest.len() {
@@ -133,6 +288,17 @@ pub fn decode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
}
/// Maximum encoded size for a given source length (excluding sentinel).
///
/// Use this to allocate a destination buffer for [`encode`]. The formula
/// is `src_len + (src_len / 254) + 1`.
///
/// # Examples
///
/// ```
/// assert_eq!(ucobs::max_encoded_len(0), 1);
/// assert_eq!(ucobs::max_encoded_len(1), 2);
/// assert_eq!(ucobs::max_encoded_len(254), 256);
/// ```
#[must_use]
pub const fn max_encoded_len(src_len: usize) -> usize {
src_len + (src_len / 254) + 1
@@ -155,6 +321,21 @@ mod tests {
encode(input, &mut buf).map(|n| buf[..n].to_vec())
}
// ── Compile-time (const fn) encode ────────────────────────────
const _: () = {
let input = [0x11, 0x00, 0x33];
let mut buf = [0u8; 8];
let Some(n) = encode(&input, &mut buf) else {
panic!("const encode failed");
};
assert!(n == 4);
assert!(buf[0] == 0x02);
assert!(buf[1] == 0x11);
assert!(buf[2] == 0x02);
assert!(buf[3] == 0x33);
};
// ── Wikipedia canonical decode vectors (Cheshire & Baker 1999) ──
#[test]