[Discuss-gnuradio] Concept: datatypes, conversions

[Patrick Strasser]

Hello!

I had a question about vectors some weeks ago, but it's still not 
everything clear to me.

I understand that converting a datastream to vector changes the 
organisation of the data, or makes chunks of data that are processed as 
a data block. For example you can feed the fft-blocks only vectors. What 
is the organisation when it's not vector?

There are some blocks converting to and from streams. What is a strem, 
what is the difference to a vector, where do I need it?
How is serial and parallel connected to this?
Can give stream_to_streams any insight?

There is bytes_to_syms. I guess it's for some kind of modulation scheme 
like ASK. Doxygen docs say:
Convert stream of bytes to stream of +/- 1 symbols.
input: stream of bytes; output: stream of float
What does it do exactly, how can I convert it back, is there some link 
to symbols in QPSK?

I saw data types c (complex), f (float), short (int, x bits), i 
(integer, y bits), v (vector), p (parallel, alias to vector(?))
Is that all? What about char and uchar (float_to_char, float_to_uchar)?
vector is a type of organisation and can hold any of the other types, 
excluded vector and parallel of course. Right?
What are x and y? Are the integer types signed or unsigned?

Is it possible to use any implicit conversion or is every conversion to 
be done with [type1]_to_[type2] (like short_to_float)?

I hope some answers to this questions are able to enlighten my 
understanding of GNURadio :-)

Patrick
--
Engineers motto: cheap, good, fast: choose any two
Patrick Strasser <patrick dot strasser at  tugraz dot at>
Student of Telematik, Techn. University Graz, Austria