BitStream

class BitStream(__auto: BitsType | int | None, length: int | None = None, offset: int | None = None, pos: int = 0, **kwargs)

Both the BitArray and the ConstBitStream classes are base classes for BitStream and so all of their methods are also available for BitStream objects. The initialiser is the same as for ConstBitStream.

A BitStream is a mutable container of bits with methods and properties that allow it to be parsed as a stream of bits. There are no additional methods or properties in this class - see its base classes (Bits, BitArray and ConstBitStream) for details.

The pos will also used as a default for the BitArray.overwrite and BitArray.insert methods.

The bit position is modifed by methods that read bits, as described in pos, but for the mutable BitStream it is also modified by other methods:

  • If a methods extends the bitstring (+=, append) the pos will move to the end of the bitstring.

  • If a method otherwise changes the length of the bitstring (prepend, insert, sometimes replace) the pos becomes invalid and will be reset to 0.