binary data in source code form

[Skaperen]

i have some big binary data i need to embed in a python source file with the intention that it will be written to a binary file.  one way to do this is to store it as a string literal with backslash encoding.  is there a more efficient way to do it?  would big integer literals be more efficient?  assume the binary data is already compressed and cannot be further compressed.  would base64 be better?  base85?

[Ofnuts]

If it's binary, don' t put it in a string. Use a byte array.

[Larz60+]

this is Doug Hellmann's (author Python Standard Library) blog on binary nmanipulations: https://pymotw.com/3/struct/

[nilamo]

Base64 is how binary images are stored in source fairly frequently. Not sure if that helps you or not.

[Skaperen]

If it's binary, don' t put it in a string. Use a byte array.

that's really what i mean.  it's still written like a string.  what i am wondering is if ints could be a more efficient way to express it.  my goal is to make the file that looks like python source code as small as possible.

data = b'\000\377\377\000\000\377\377\003\000\177\177\005\006\377\377\001'

vs.

data = ( 72056494543077123, 35886981611257601 )

vs.

data = 1329207713684792564064364514848538369

it looks like int would be more efficient.

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Base64 is how binary images are stored in source fairly frequently.  Not sure if that helps you or not.

that is one of the first ways i looked at. but it is rather inefficient. it's better than hexadecimal, but only by 50% more. in terms of the convenience of available tools for conversion, it is a good choice. but look at how you would embed it in source code. you would have a big string of the base64 characters and the calls to convert that string. that would take up a lot of source code space.