Resizable array?

[Namida]

I was wondering what's the easiest way to do an array that can be resized at runtime *and* saved to a file?
Or would I be better off using the binary object and multiplying to get the position I need? (It would be 3 dimensions, with the first and second dimensions being of variable size while the third is of a fixed size)

[Corentin]

mmf's built-in array can be resized at runtime, is up to 3 dimensions and has save/load too.

to resize it, just use an out of bound index, it will be extended. To reduce it I think you'll have to recreate it...

[Namida]

Yeah, that's the thing... files have the potential to get huge QUICKLY, so they need to be shrinkable...
I didn't know it could auto-resize though, so I could probably if worst comes to the worst find a way to work with that (maybe copy into a second one that won't expand beyond the needed size, then save from that one?)

[LB]

maybe copy into a second one that won't expand beyond the needed size, then save from that one?

Yeah that's what you're suppost to do. Just make sure you only copy non-zero values or the array size will stay the same.

[Namida]

Thanks. =)
Although, I could easily find the size that's meant to be copied from other sources, so I'd just have to only read up to that point.

[LB]

Yeah but an undefined value takes less file space and memeory than a value defined as 0.

[Namida]

No, what I meant is... set the initial size of the new array to 1,1,4 (since the 3rd dimension will always have a size of 4), then, say, if it's meant to be up to 30 by 30 but at one point it was 40 by 40, it'll only copy the values up to 30 by 30. This 30 by 30 size can be found from other sources, of course.

[Namida]

I've decided to avoid all this trouble by using the Binary object. I've come up with algorithms for resizing and finding the right point to move to, and it has the added advantages of being able to store other data before and/or after the main level data (what the array would've stored), as well as using bytes rather than longs which reduces output filesize.

[LB]

Keep in mind, the range of a byte is only 0 to 255. (Or -128 to +127)

[Namida]

Well aware of that, but thanks anyway. =) Considering my limited graphics ability, I don't think I'll need more than 255 tiles per layer, especially since it has 5 layers. While layer 3 is technical data (and thus won't be displayed at all during play, only in the editor) and layer 4 is active objects, the other 3 layers are for regular tiles, and having a different tileset on each one is fully supported - allowing for a potential 510 different tiles that will always appear behind objects, and 765 altogether.