NAME

Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP03::Bencode - BitTorrent Bencode Encoder/Decoder

SYNOPSIS

use Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP03::Bencode qw[bencode bdecode];

my $raw = bencode( { a => [1, 2, 3] } );
my $data = bdecode( $raw );

DESCRIPTION

Bencoding is the BitTorrent protocol's basic serialization and data organization format. The specification supports integers, lists (arrays), dictionaries (hashes), and byte strings. This module implements the format used for metadata and protocol messages.

FUNCTIONS

By default, nothing is exported. You may import any of the following functions by name or with the :all tag.

bencode( $data )

Encodes a Perl data structure into a bencoded string.

my $raw = bencode( { a => [1, 2, 3] } );

This method handles scalars (strings and integers), array references, and hash references.

Expected parameters:

$data

The Perl data structure to encode (basic scalar, array reference, or hash reference).

bdecode( $string, [$want_leftover] )

Decodes a bencoded string into a Perl data structure.

my $data = bdecode( $raw );

Expected parameters:

$string

The bencoded binary string.

$want_leftover - optional

If true, returns a list containing the decoded data and the remaining string.

This function will die on malformed data.

SEE ALSO

The BitTorrent Protocol Specification

https://bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0003.html

AUTHOR

Sanko Robinson <sanko@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2008-2026 by Sanko Robinson.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License 2.0.