binbuf_read -- still supported?

Peter Castine's icon

binbuf_read() and binbuf_write() are accompanied by a comment in ext_protoh.h that reads as follows

// still supported?

Since I am using these in code from a Max 4 external that's been ported to Max5&6, it would be helpful to know if these function calls still work. There are no complaints when I call these functions, but I don't seem to be getting any response from binbuf_eval() after passing in data read from a file via binbuf_read().

So, what's the story?

Thanks for any further information

Peter Castine's icon

Is there really nobody who knows whether the binbuf_xxx() calls are still supported?

tap's icon

Hi Peter,

These calls should be working for the moment but they are significantly deprecated and their use is highly discouraged.

best,
Tim

Peter Castine's icon

Thanks for the warning, Tim. I've used binbufs to allow an external to read/write data to disk (as well as a means for storing data as part of the patcher in Max 4 days). I can use a different approach for the future, but I need to be able to read files that were written in Max 4 (and, for that matter, Max 3). Not wanting to have to write my own evaluator for binbufs (not easy given the fact that the data format isn't documented), I'm hoping that binbuf_eval() & Co. will stay around for a bit longer.