Binary Files

mIRC allows you to read and write binary files, and to modify binary variables, by using the following commands and identifiers.

/bread [-t] <filename> <S> <N> <&binvar>

This reads N bytes starting at the Sth byte position in the file and stores the result in the binary variable &binvar.

The -t switch reads data up to the next CR/LF.

/bwrite [-t] <filename> <S> [N] <text|%var|&binvar>

This writes N bytes from the specified text, %var, or &binvar, to the file starting a the Sth byte position. Any existing information at this position in the file is overwritten.

The -t switch interprets the data value as plain text and does not evaluate &binvar variables.

Note: If S is -1, the bytes are appended to the end of the file. If N is -1, all of the specified data is written to the file.

/bset [-t] <&binvar> <N> <asciivalue> [asciivalue ... asciivalue]

This sets the Nth byte in binary variable &binvar to the specified ascii value.

If you try to /bset a variable that does not exist, it is created and zero filled up to N bytes. If &binvar exists and you specify an N position beyond its current size, it is extended to N bytes.

If you specify multiple asciivalues, they are copied to successive positions after byte position N.

The -t switch indicates that /bset should treat the values as plain text and copy them directly into &binvar.

/bunset <&binvar> [&binvar ... &binvar]

This unsets the specified list of &binvars.

/bcopy [-zc] <&binvar> <N> <&binvar> <S> <M>

This copies M bytes from position S in the second &binvar to the first &binvar at position N. This can also be used to copy overlapping parts of a &binvar to itself.

If you specify the -z switch, the bytes in the second &binvar that were copied are zero-filled after the copy.

If you specify the -c switch, the first &binvar is chopped to length N + M.

Note: If M is -1, all of the bytes from position S onwards are copied.

/breplace <&binvar> <oldvalue> <newvalue> [oldvalue newvalue...]

This replaces all matching ascii values in &binvar with new values.

/btrunc <filename> <bytes>

This truncates/extends a file to the specified length.

$bvar(&binvar,N,M)

Returns M ascii values starting from the Nth byte

Properties: text, word, nword, long, nlong

$bvar(&v,0)        returns the length of the binary variable

$bvar(&v,1)        returns ascii value at position N

$bvar(&v,5,3)        returns ascii values from 5 to 8

$bvar(&v,5,3).text        returns plain text from 5 to 8 up to the first zero character

The word, nword, long, and nlong properties return values in host or network byte order.

$bfind(&binvar, N, M)

Searches a &binvar for a matching value, starting from position N. M can be a character value, ie. 0 to 255, or text. The search is case-insensitive.

Properties: text

$bfind(&test, 1, mirc)        finds "mirc" starting from pos 1

$bfind(&test, 5, 32)        finds char 32 (a space) from pos 5

$bfind(&test, 1, 87 65 86)        finds WAV from pos 1

You can use $bfind().text to force a text search if the search text is a number.

Notes on &binvar binary variables

Binary variables have no size limit, limited only by available memory, and are automatically destroyed when a script finishes processing.