Byte Alignment Padding
Compute forward padding to any positive integer byte alignment, not only powers of two.
Description
Compute forward padding to any positive integer byte alignment, not only powers of two.
Alignment padding is the smallest nonnegative amount needed to reach a multiple of a positive alignment.
When to use this tool
Compute forward padding to any positive integer byte alignment, not only powers of two.
- Prepare the supplied offset, alignment fields for this operation.
- Compare the complete example with the representation used by your own input before carrying the result into another step.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter offset, alignment. Use the exact text syntax, units and index conventions explained below.
- Run the tool. If input validation fails, correct the supplied fields before interpreting any result.
- Read result.padding, result.alignedOffset. Interpret false, null and empty lists using the distinctions below; they can be valid outputs.
Require nonnegative integer offset and positive alignment. Return padding = nonnegative modulo(-offset,alignment) and alignedOffset = offset+padding.1
| Input field | Meaning and representation | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| offset | offset. | Integer from 0 to 1e9 inclusive |
| alignment | alignment. | Integer from 1 to 1e9 inclusive |
| Output field | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| result | Object containing the named outputs below. |
| result.padding | The padding value under the stated formula or text convention. |
| result.alignedOffset | The aligned offset value under the stated formula or text convention. |
{
"input": {
"offset": 5,
"alignment": 4
},
"output": {
"result": {
"padding": 3,
"alignedOffset": 8
}
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- No power-of-two restriction is imposed. The tool does not allocate memory or validate an ABI.
- Every declared top-level field is required and unexpected fields are rejected. Numeric inputs must be finite; ordinary text fields are bounded to 8,192 UTF-16 code units, with tighter operation-specific limits where stated.
- Lists are limited to 128 entries. JSON text must meet bounded size and depth checks, and numeric outputs beyond the safe finite magnitude are rejected. Exact large integers use decimal strings.
- Indexes are zero-based and spans have an exclusive end unless explicitly stated otherwise. A valid false, null or empty-list result is distinct from malformed input.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Retain the field-width, bit-index and byte-order conventions when combining operations. Slicing, escaping, permutation and alignment are separate transforms; none supplies a complete framing or cryptographic protocol.
References
Similar or alternative tools
- Bit Range Byte Envelope
Find the smallest half-open byte envelope of a bit range; empty bit ranges return an empty envelope.
- Bit String Byte Grouping
Group a complete MSB-first binary string into eight-bit bytes; partial final bytes are rejected.