convert big endian to little endian in C [without

Question

I need to write a function to convert big endian to little endian in C. I can not use any library function.

Answer 1

By including:

#include <byteswap.h>

you can get an optimized version of machine-dependent byte-swapping functions. Then, you can easily use the following functions:

__bswap_32 (uint32_t input)

or

__bswap_16 (uint16_t input)

Answer 2

Here's a fairly generic version; I haven't compiled it, so there are probably typos, but you should get the idea,

void SwapBytes(void *pv, size_t n)
{
    assert(n > 0);

    char *p = pv;
    size_t lo, hi;
    for(lo=0, hi=n-1; hi>lo; lo++, hi--)
    {
        char tmp=p[lo];
        p[lo] = p[hi];
        p[hi] = tmp;
    }
}
#define SWAP(x) SwapBytes(&x, sizeof(x));

NB: This is not optimised for speed or space. It is intended to be clear (easy to debug) and portable.

Update 2018-04-04 Added the assert() to trap the invalid case of n == 0, as spotted by commenter @chux.

Answer 3

As a joke:

#include <stdio.h>

int main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
    size_t sizeofInt = sizeof (int);
    int i;

    union
    {
        int x;
        char c[sizeof (int)];
    } original, swapped;

    original.x = 0x12345678;

    for (i = 0; i < sizeofInt; i++)
        swapped.c[sizeofInt - i - 1] = original.c[i];

    fprintf (stderr, "%x\n", swapped.x);

    return 0;
}

Answer 4

here's a way using the SSSE3 instruction pshufb using its Intel intrinsic, assuming you have a multiple of 4 ints:

unsigned int *bswap(unsigned int *destination, unsigned int *source, int length) {
    int i;
    __m128i mask = _mm_set_epi8(12, 13, 14, 15, 8, 9, 10, 11, 4, 5, 6, 7, 0, 1, 2, 3);
    for (i = 0; i < length; i += 4) {
        _mm_storeu_si128((__m128i *)&destination[i],
        _mm_shuffle_epi8(_mm_loadu_si128((__m128i *)&source[i]), mask));
    }
    return destination;
}

Answer 5

Here's a function I have been using - tested and works on any basic data type:

//  SwapBytes.h
//
//  Function to perform in-place endian conversion of basic types
//
//  Usage:
//
//    double d;
//    SwapBytes(&d, sizeof(d));
//

inline void SwapBytes(void *source, int size)
{
    typedef unsigned char TwoBytes[2];
    typedef unsigned char FourBytes[4];
    typedef unsigned char EightBytes[8];

    unsigned char temp;

    if(size == 2)
    {
        TwoBytes *src = (TwoBytes *)source;
        temp = (*src)[0];
        (*src)[0] = (*src)[1];
        (*src)[1] = temp;

        return;
    }

    if(size == 4)
    {
        FourBytes *src = (FourBytes *)source;
        temp = (*src)[0];
        (*src)[0] = (*src)[3];
        (*src)[3] = temp;

        temp = (*src)[1];
        (*src)[1] = (*src)[2];
        (*src)[2] = temp;

        return;
    }

    if(size == 8)
    {
        EightBytes *src = (EightBytes *)source;
        temp = (*src)[0];
        (*src)[0] = (*src)[7];
        (*src)[7] = temp;

        temp = (*src)[1];
        (*src)[1] = (*src)[6];
        (*src)[6] = temp;

        temp = (*src)[2];
        (*src)[2] = (*src)[5];
        (*src)[5] = temp;

        temp = (*src)[3];
        (*src)[3] = (*src)[4];
        (*src)[4] = temp;

        return;
    }

}

Answer 6

#include <stdint.h>


//! Byte swap unsigned short
uint16_t swap_uint16( uint16_t val ) 
{
    return (val << 8) | (val >> 8 );
}

//! Byte swap short
int16_t swap_int16( int16_t val ) 
{
    return (val << 8) | ((val >> 8) & 0xFF);
}

//! Byte swap unsigned int
uint32_t swap_uint32( uint32_t val )
{
    val = ((val << 8) & 0xFF00FF00 ) | ((val >> 8) & 0xFF00FF ); 
    return (val << 16) | (val >> 16);
}

//! Byte swap int
int32_t swap_int32( int32_t val )
{
    val = ((val << 8) & 0xFF00FF00) | ((val >> 8) & 0xFF00FF ); 
    return (val << 16) | ((val >> 16) & 0xFFFF);
}

Update : Added 64bit byte swapping

int64_t swap_int64( int64_t val )
{
    val = ((val << 8) & 0xFF00FF00FF00FF00ULL ) | ((val >> 8) & 0x00FF00FF00FF00FFULL );
    val = ((val << 16) & 0xFFFF0000FFFF0000ULL ) | ((val >> 16) & 0x0000FFFF0000FFFFULL );
    return (val << 32) | ((val >> 32) & 0xFFFFFFFFULL);
}

uint64_t swap_uint64( uint64_t val )
{
    val = ((val << 8) & 0xFF00FF00FF00FF00ULL ) | ((val >> 8) & 0x00FF00FF00FF00FFULL );
    val = ((val << 16) & 0xFFFF0000FFFF0000ULL ) | ((val >> 16) & 0x0000FFFF0000FFFFULL );
    return (val << 32) | (val >> 32);
}