How to convert a buffer in an array in Nodejs?

Question

How to convert a buffer in an array?

Buffer (Hex values):

myBuffer = <Buffer 48 65 6c 6c 6F >

I want aa variable type array like this:

myArray = [48, 65, 6c, 6c, 6F] // Hex values
  or  
myArray = [72, 101, 108, 108, 111] // Decimal values

IMPORTANT : I don't want to use a for loop to traverse byte to byte of the buffer. I want to know if there is a native way to convert Buffer to Array.

Answer 1

Looks like you are referring to Node.js Buffer. If this is the case, you can simply do this:

var buf = new Buffer([72,101,108,108,111]) //<Buffer 48 65 6c 6c 6f>
var arr = Array.prototype.slice.call(buf) //[72,101,108,108,111]

Answer 2

If you're talking about arraybuffer, try this method:

function ab2str(buf) {
return String.fromCharCode.apply(null, new Uint16Array(buf));
}

If you're talking about nodejs buffer object, try this:

let bufferOne = Buffer.from('This is a buffer example.');
console.log(bufferOne);

// Output: <Buffer 54 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 61 20 62 75 66 66 65 72 20 65 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 2e>

let json = JSON.stringify(bufferOne);
console.log(json);

// Output: {"type":"Buffer","data":   [84,104,105,115,32,105,115,32,97,32,98,117,102,102,101,114,32,101,120,97,109,112,108,101,46]}
json = JSON.parse(json);
json.data.forEach(e=> console.log(e.toString(16))); 
// Output: 54 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 61 20 62 75 66 66 65 72 20 65 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 2e

Answer 3

In ES6, this would also work:

const buffer = new Buffer([72,101,108,108,111])
const arr = [...buffer] //[72,101,108,108,111]