ArrayBuffer, DataView & Atomics

ArrayBuffer

Raw fixed-length bytes.

DataView

Reads and writes typed values at byte offsets.

Endianness

Byte order: big-endian or little-endian.

Atomics

Safe shared-memory operations for workers.

Create buffer

Allocate raw bytes.

const buffer = new ArrayBuffer(8);

DataView write/read

Use byte offsets and explicit type.

const view = new DataView(buffer);
view.setUint16(0, 513, false);
console.log(view.getUint16(0, false));

Little-endian read

The third argument controls byte order.

view.setUint16(0, 513, true);
console.log(view.getUint16(0, true));

Atomics guard

Use feature checks for shared memory support.

if (typeof SharedArrayBuffer !== "undefined") {
  const shared = new SharedArrayBuffer(4);
  const values = new Int32Array(shared);
  Atomics.add(values, 0, 1);
}

Use ArrayBuffer for raw bytes

The buffer stores bytes, not meaning.

Use DataView for structured binary fields

Offsets and types stay explicit.

Always document byte order

Endianness bugs are hard to spot.

Validate offsets and sizes

Binary reads can go out of range.

Use Atomics only for shared memory

Most application code does not need it.

Feature-check SharedArrayBuffer

Browser security requirements can affect availability.

Production note

Production binary parsers should test byte order, invalid sizes and unsupported shared memory paths.

SEO note

Binary APIs do not affect crawled text directly, but generated data should be labeled clearly when displayed.