When/why should I use struct library in python to pack and unpack?

Question

I cant understand when should I use pack and unpack functions in struct library in python? I also cant understand how to use them? After reading about it, what I understood is that they are used to convert data into binary. However when I run some examples like:

>>> struct.pack("i",34)
'"\x00\x00\x00'

I cant make any sense out of it. I want to understand its purpose, how these conversions take place, what does '\\x' and other symbols represent/mean and how does unpacking work.

Answer 1

I cant understand when should I use pack and unpack functions in struct library in python?

Then you probably don't have cause to use them.

Other people deal with network and file formats that have low-level binary packing, where struct can be very useful.

However when I run some examples like:

 >>> struct.pack("i",34) '"\\x00\\x00\\x00' 

I cant make any sense out of it.

The \\x notation is for representing individual bytes of your bytes object using hexadecimal . \\x00 means that the byte's value is 0, \\x02 means that byte's value is 2, \\x10 means that that bytes value is 16, etc. " is byte 34, so we see a " instead of \\x22 in this view of the string, but '\\x22\\x00\\x00\\x00' and '"\\x00\\x00\\x00' are the same string

http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/echeeve1/Ref/BinaryMath/NumSys.html might help you with some background if that is the level you need to understand numbers at.