Programming-in-D-in-Chinese
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union.html

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<title>Unions</title>
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<h4 style="margin: 1.25em 0.5em 0.5em 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Unions</h4>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Unions allow more than one member share the same memory area. They are a
low-level feature inherited from the C programming language.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Unions are very similar to structs with the following main differences:</p>
<ul style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
	<li style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
	Unions are defined by the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>keyword.</li>
	<li style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
	The members of a<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>are
	not independent; they share the same memory area.</li>
</ul>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Just like structs, unions can have member functions as well.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The examples below will produce different results depending on whether they are
compiled on a 32-bit or a 64-bit environment. To avoid getting confusing
results, please use the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">-m32</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>compiler
switch when compiling the examples in this chapter. Otherwise, your results may
be different than mine due to<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">alignment</i>,
which we will see in a later chapter.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Naturally,<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>objects
are as large as necessary to accomodate all of their members:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// Note: Please compile with the -m32 compiler switch
</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</span> S
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</span> i;
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</span> d;
}

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>
    writeln(S.sizeof);
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Since<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
4 bytes long and<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
8 bytes long, the size of that<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
the sum of their sizes:</p>
<pre class="shell" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">12
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
In contrast, the size of a<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>with
the same members is only as large as its largest member:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 136); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</span></span> U
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</span> i;
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</span> d;
}

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>
    writeln(U.sizeof);
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The 4-byte<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>and
the 8-byte<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>share
the same area. As a result, the size of the entire<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
the same as its largest member:</p>
<pre class="shell" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">8
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Unions are not a memory-saving feature. It is impossible to fit multiple data
into the same memory location. The purpose of a union is to use the same area
for different type of data at different times. Only one of the members can be
used reliably at one time. However, although doing so may not be portable to
different platforms,<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code>members
can be used for accessing fragments of other members.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The following diagram shows how the 8 bytes of the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>above
are shared by its members:</p>
<pre class="mono" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">       0      1      2      3      4      5      6      7
---+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---
   |<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(192, 192, 255); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> &lt;--  4 bytes for int  --&gt; </span>|                           |
   |<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(192, 255, 192); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> &lt;--------------  8 bytes for double  ---------------&gt; </span>|
---+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Either all of the 8 bytes are used for the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member,
or only the first 4 bytes are used for the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member
and the other 4 bytes are unused.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Unions can have as many members as needed. All of the members would share the
same memory location.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The fact that the same memory location is used for all of the members can have
surprising effects. For example, let&#39;s initialize a<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code>object
by its<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member
and then access its<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">auto</span> u = U(42);    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// initializing the int member
</span>    writeln(u.d);      <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// accessing the double member
</span></pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Initializing the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member
by the value 42 sets just the first 4 bytes, and this affects the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member
in an unpredictable way:</p>
<pre class="shell" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">2.07508e-322
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Depending on the endianness of the microprocessor, the 4 bytes may be arranged
in memory as 0|0|0|42, 42|0|0|0, or in some other order. For that reason, the
value of the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">double</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member
may appear differently on different platforms.</p>
<h5 style="margin: 1.25em 0.5em 0.5em 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Anonymous unions</h5>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Anonymous unions specify what members of a user-defined type share the same
area:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</span> S
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</span> first;

    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</span>
    {
        <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</span> second;
        <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</span> third;
    }
}

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>
    writeln(S.sizeof);
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The last two members of<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">S</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>share
the same area. So, the size of the<code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
a total of two<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">int</code>s:
4 bytes needed for<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">first</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>and
another 4 bytes to be shared by<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">second</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">third</code>:</p>
<pre class="shell" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">8
</pre>
<h5 style="margin: 1.25em 0.5em 0.5em 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Dissecting other members</h5>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Unions can be used for accessing individual bytes of variables of other types.
For example, they make it easy to access the 4 bytes of an IPv4 address
individually.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The 32-bit value of the IPv4 address and a fixed-length array can be defined as
the two members of a<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code>:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</span> IpAddress
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">uint</span> value;
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">ubyte</span>[4] bytes;
}
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The members of that<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>would
share the same memory area as in the following figure:</p>
<pre class="mono" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">        0          1          2          3
---+----------+----------+----------+----------+---
   |<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(192, 192, 255); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> &lt;----  32 bits of the IPv4 address  ----&gt; </span>|
   |<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(192, 255, 192); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> bytes[0] | bytes[1] | bytes[2] | bytes[3] </span>|
---+----------+----------+----------+----------+---
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
For example, when an object of this<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
initialized by 0xc0a80102 (the value that corresponds to the dotted form
192.168.1.2), the elements of the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">bytes</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>array
would automatically have the values of the four octets:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">import</span> std.stdio;

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">void</span> main()
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">auto</span> address = IpAddress(0xc0a80102);
    writeln(address<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 136); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">.bytes</span>);
}
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
When run on a little-endian system, the octets would appear in reverse of their
dotted form:</p>
<pre class="shell" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">[2, 1, 168, 192]
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The reverse order of the octets is another example of how accessing different
members of a<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>may
produce unpredictable results. This is because the behavior of a<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>is
guaranteed only if that<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code>is
used through just one of its members. There are no guarantees on the values of
the members other than the one that the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>has
been initialized with.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Although it is not directly related to this chapter,<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">bswap</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>from
the<code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">core.bitop</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>module
is useful in dealing with endianness issues.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">bswap</code>returns
its parameter after swapping its bytes. Also taking advantage of the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">endian</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>value
from the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">std.system</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>module,
the octets of the previous IPv4 address can be printed in the expected order
after swapping its bytes:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">import</span> std.system;
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">import</span> core.bitop;

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">if</span> (endian == Endian.littleEndian) {
        address.value = bswap(address.value);
    }
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The output:</p>
<pre class="shell" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">[192, 168, 1, 2]
</pre>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Please take the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">IpAddress</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>type
as a simple example; in general, it would be better to consider a dedicated
networking module for non-trivial programs.</p>
<h5 style="margin: 1.25em 0.5em 0.5em 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Protocol example</h5>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
In some protocols like TCP/IP, the meanings of certain parts of a protocol
packet depend on a specific value inside the same packet. Usually, it is a field
in the header of the packet that determines the meanings of successive bytes.
Unions can be used for representing such protocol packets.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The following design represents a protocol packet that has two kinds:</p>
<pre class="d_code" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0.5em; border: 1px dotted rgb(153, 204, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</span> Host
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>}

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</span> ProtocolA
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>}

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</span> ProtocolB
{
    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: green; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">// ...
</span>}

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">enum</span> ProtocolType { A, B }

<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</span> NetworkPacket
{
    Host source;
    Host destination;
    ProtocolType <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 136); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">type</span>;

    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 136); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</span></span>
    {
        ProtocolA aParts;
        ProtocolB bParts;
    }

    <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: blue; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">ubyte</span>[] payload;
}
</pre>
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The<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">struct</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>above
can make use of the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">type</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>member
to determine whether<code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">aParts</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>or<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">bParts</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>of
the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><code class="d_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 34, 34); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">union</code><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>to
be used.</p>
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When to use</h5>
<p style="margin: 0.75em 1em 0.75em 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Sharing the same memory area for more than one member is a low-level requirement
that is encountered rarely in practice.</p>
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Unions may be parts of C library APIs as well.</p>
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