Sized attribute
The sized attribute is used on a component in which the value specifies the size (in bytes) of the component immediately following it. The sized attribute can be used on more than one component of a group.
For example, you might have a variable length component
with a number immediately preceding it that indicates the length of the component: 10Washington
.
The size of the component would be 10.
Some important points about using the sized attribute are:
- The component with the sized attribute must be defined as an unsigned integer.
- If a binary byte stream item does not have a fixed size, the component preceding it must specify its size and the sized attribute must be used on that component.
The size of a component is the number of bytes from the beginning of that component, up to and including the end of the component. If a component has a series range (such as [1:3]), the size includes all of the members in the series of that component. If a delimiter separates each member of that series, the delimiters must be included in the size. Also, if release characters appear in the component, they must be included in the size.
The size does not include delimiters that separate one component type from the next.