Pass Binary string/file content from c++ to node js - c++

Question

I'm trying to pass the content of a binary file from c++ to node using the node-gyp library. I have a process that creates a binary file using the .fit format and I need to pass the content of the file to js to process it. So, my first aproach was to extract the content of the file in a string and try to pass it to node like this.
char c;
std::string content="";
while (file.get(c)){
content+=c;
}
I'm using the following code to pass it to Node
v8::Local<v8::ArrayBuffer> ab = v8::ArrayBuffer::New(args.GetIsolate(), (void*)content.data(), content.size());
args.GetReturnValue().Set(ab);
In node a get an arrayBuffer but when I print the content to a file it is different to the one that show a c++ cout.
How can I pass the binary data succesfully?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Probably the best approach is to write your data to a binary disk file. Write to disk in C++; read from disk in NodeJS.
Very importantly, make sure you specify BINARY MODE.
For example:
myFile.open ("data2.bin", ios::out | ios::binary);
Do not use "strings" (at least not unless you want to uuencode). Use buffers. Here is a good example:
How to read binary files byte by byte in Node.js
var fs = require('fs');
fs.open('file.txt', 'r', function(status, fd) {
if (status) {
console.log(status.message);
return;
}
var buffer = new Buffer(100);
fs.read(fd, buffer, 0, 100, 0, function(err, num) {
...
});
});
You might also find these links helpful:
https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html
<= Has good examples for specific Node APIs
http://blog.paracode.com/2013/04/24/parsing-binary-data-with-node-dot-js/
<= Good discussion of some of the issues you might face, including "endianness" and "interpreting numbers"
ADDENDUM:
The OP clarified that he's considering using C++ as a NodeJS Add-On (not a standalone C++ program.
Consequently, using buffers is definitely an option. Here is a good tutorial:
https://community.risingstack.com/using-buffers-node-js-c-plus-plus/
If you choose to go this route, I would DEFINITELY download the example code and play with it first, before implementing buffers in your own application.

Answer 2

It depends but for example using redis
Values can be strings (including binary data) of every kind, for
instance you can store a jpeg image inside a value. A value can't be
bigger than 512 MB.
If the file is bigger than 512MB, then you can store it in chunks.
But I wouldnt suggest since this is an in-memory data store
Its easy to implement in both c++ and node.js