pdstring v0.05

 + added persistent string buffer to any2string
 + added initial buffer size and eos-character arguments to any2string, string2any
    - defaults are backwards-compatible but ugly
 + added --enable-object-externals option to configure

svn path=/trunk/externals/moocow/pdstring/; revision=8247

10 files changed, 621 insertions, 131 deletions

diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b715526
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+    README for pd external package 'pdstring'
+
+    Last updated for pdstring v0.02
+
+DESCRIPTION
+    The 'pdstring' package contains objects for converting to and from
+    (ASCII)-strings, represented as lists of floats.
+
+INSTALLATION
+    Issue the following commands to the shell:
+
+       cd PACKAGE-XX.YY  (or wherever you extracted the distribution)
+       ./configure
+       make
+       make install
+
+BUILD OPTIONS
+    The 'configure' script supports the following options, among others:
+
+    * --enable-debug , --disable-debug
+        Whether to enable verbose debugging messages. Default=no.
+
+ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
+    PD by Miller Puckette and others.
+
+    Ideas, black magic, and other nuggets of information drawn from code by
+    Guenter Geiger, Larry Troxler, and iohannes m zmoelnig.
+
+KNOWN BUGS
+  Memory Usage
+    Encoding each byte of a string as its own float is shamefully wasteful:
+    it uses only 1 byte out of at least 3 which could be losslessly used
+    given ANSI/IEEE Std 754-1985 floats, not to mention the remaining
+    byte(s) (usually 1) of the float itself or the (usually 4) bytes used
+    for the a_type flag. Unfortunately, Pd trims some floating point
+    precision in message boxes and in float atoms, so a truly lossless float
+    encoding for Pd would only be possible using 2 bytes per float (wasting
+    1/2 the space of the float itself), and (to me), the memory saving such
+    an encoding would provide is just not worth the lack of transparency and
+    additional workload it would involve (but contact me if you want the
+    code anyways).
+
+AUTHOR
+    Bryan Jurish <moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de>
+
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 703fa8f..350fb84 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ AC_PREREQ(2.5)
 
 dnl Some handy macros
 define([THE_PACKAGE_NAME],    [pdstring])
-define([THE_PACKAGE_VERSION], [0.04])
+define([THE_PACKAGE_VERSION], [0.05])
 define([THE_PACKAGE_AUTHOR],  [moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de])
 
 AC_INIT(THE_PACKAGE_NAME, THE_PACKAGE_VERSION, THE_PACKAGE_AUTHOR)
@@ -72,8 +72,31 @@ AC_CHECK_HEADERS([string.h],
 	[/* nonempty includes: compile only */])
 
 
-dnl PD externals
+##------- PD externals
+PD_LIB_EXTERNALS="pdstring"
+PD_OBJ_EXTERNALS="any2string string2any"
+
+AC_ARG_ENABLE(object-externals,
+	AC_HELP_STRING([--enable-object-externals], [Whether to build single-object externals (default=no)]),
+	[want_objext="$enableval"],
+	[want_objext="no"])
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether to build single-object externals])
+
+##-- always build lib
 PD_OBJECT_EXTERNALS="pdstring\$(EXEEXT)"
+
+if test "$want_objext" != "no" ; then
+  ##-- single-objects
+  AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
+  for ext in $PD_OBJ_EXTERNALS ; do
+    PD_OBJECT_EXTERNALS="$PD_OBJECT_EXTERNALS ${ext}\$(EXEEXT)"
+  done
+  AC_DEFINE(PDSTRING_OBJECT_EXTERNALS,1,
+     [Define this if you are building single-object externals])
+else
+  ##-- libs
+  AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
+fi
 AC_SUBST(PD_OBJECT_EXTERNALS)
 
 
@@ -128,7 +151,7 @@ if test "$enable_debug" == "yes" ; then
   AC_DEFINE(ANY2STRING_DEBUG,1,
 	[Define this to include debugging code for the 'string2any' external.])
   AC_DEFINE(STRING2ANY_DEBUG,1,
-	[Define this to include debugging code for 'the any2string' external.])
+	[Define this to include debugging code for the 'any2string' external.])
 else
   AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
   DEBUG="no"
diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index 2ff35cd..fcc75a2 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -39,17 +39,17 @@ EXTRA_PROGRAMS = \
 pdexterns_DATA =
 
 ## --- documentation
-pddoc_DATA = pdstring-help.pd
+pddoc_DATA = \
+	pdstring-help.pd \
+	any2string-help.pd \
+	string2any-help.pd
 
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # sources
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-pdstring_SOURCES = \
-	any2string.c \
-	string2any.c \
-	pdstring.c
+pdstring_SOURCES = pdstring.c
 
 any2string_SOURCES = any2string.c
 
diff --git a/src/any2string-help.pd b/src/any2string-help.pd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..695de06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/any2string-help.pd
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#N canvas 90 20 636 478 10;
+#X obj 25 400 print any2string-help;
+#X obj 25 314 any2string 128 -1;
+#X msg 109 197 0;
+#X msg 77 197 -1;
+#X text 19 47 INLETS:;
+#X text 31 61 1 - pd messages;
+#X text 247 49 OUTLETS:;
+#X text 263 63 1 - lists of ASCII-valued floats;
+#X floatatom 44 147 8 0 0 0 - - -;
+#X symbolatom 34 125 10 0 0 0 - - -;
+#X text 189 125 ... no special handling for symbols;
+#X text 188 103 anything can be converted to a list...;
+#X text 190 147 ... but "float" selector is silently dropped;
+#X msg 25 104 A B C;
+#X text 193 312 First argument: initial buffer size (length of object-local
+text buffer). This should get re-allocated when necessary. Specify
+0 (zero) to use the default value.;
+#X text 195 367 Second argument: initial EOS character. See above.
+;
+#X text 320 458 Bryan Jurish <moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de>;
+#X text 19 439 SEE ALSO:;
+#X msg 139 197 42;
+#X text 21 29 SYNTAX: any2string [INITIAL_BUFSIZE [EOS_CHAR]];
+#X text 184 194 The second inlet sets the terminating EOS ("end-of-string")
+character. This value gets implicitly appended to all output lists.
+Specify a negative value here to avoid implicit EOS characters entirely.
+For backwards compatibility \, the default EOS character is 0 (zero).
+;
+#X text 51 5 any2string : convert pd messages to a list of floats;
+#X text 31 75 2 - EOS character (float);
+#X obj 100 438 pdstring-help;
+#X connect 1 0 0 0;
+#X connect 2 0 1 1;
+#X connect 3 0 1 1;
+#X connect 8 0 1 0;
+#X connect 9 0 1 0;
+#X connect 13 0 1 0;
+#X connect 18 0 1 1;
diff --git a/src/any2string.c b/src/any2string.c
index 094907f..e005be2 100644
--- a/src/any2string.c
+++ b/src/any2string.c
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 /* -*- Mode: C -*- */
 /*=============================================================================*\
- * File: any2string.c
+ * File: any2string_dynamic.c
  * Author: Bryan Jurish <moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de>
- * Description: convert pd messages to strings
+ * Description: convert pd messages to strings (dynamic allocation)
  *
  * Copyright (c) 2004 - 2007 Bryan Jurish.
  *
@@ -25,9 +25,12 @@
  *=============================================================================*/
 
 #include <string.h>
-
 #include <m_pd.h>
 
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include "config.h"
+#endif
+
 /* black magic */
 #ifdef NT
 #pragma warning( disable : 4244 )
@@ -45,7 +48,7 @@
 # define A2SDEBUG(x)
 #endif
 
-#define ANY2STRING_INITIAL_BUFLEN 32
+#define ANY2STRING_DEFAULT_BUFLEN 256
 
 
 /*=====================================================================
@@ -58,8 +61,11 @@ typedef struct _any2string
   t_object       x_obj;
   int            x_alloc;
   int            x_argc;
+  t_float        x_eos;      //-- EOS character to add (<0 for none)
+  char          *x_text;
   t_atom        *x_argv;
   t_binbuf      *x_binbuf;
+  t_inlet       *x_eos_in;
   t_outlet      *x_outlet;
 } t_any2string;
 
@@ -67,6 +73,7 @@ typedef struct _any2string
 /*=====================================================================
  * Constants
  *=====================================================================*/
+static char *any2string_banner = "any2string: pdstring version " PACKAGE_VERSION " by Bryan Jurish";
 
 /*=====================================================================
  * Methods
@@ -78,75 +85,60 @@ typedef struct _any2string
 static void any2string_anything(t_any2string *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom *argv)
 {
   t_atom *a;
-  char *text=NULL, *s, *s_max;
+  char *s, *s_max;
   int len;
 
-  A2SDEBUG(post("-------any2string_anything()---------"));
+  A2SDEBUG(post("-------any2string_anything(%p,...)---------", x));
 
   /*-- set up binbuf --*/
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: binbuf_clear()"));
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: binbuf_clear()", x));
   binbuf_clear(x->x_binbuf);
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: binbuf_add()"));
+
+  /*-- binbuf_add(): selector --*/
+  if (sel != &s_float && sel != &s_list && sel != &s_) {
+    t_atom a;
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: binbuf_add(): selector: '%s'", x, sel->s_name));
+    SETSYMBOL((&a), sel);
+    binbuf_add(x->x_binbuf, 1, &a);
+  }
+  A2SDEBUG(else { post("any2string[%p]: selector: '%s': IGNORED", x, sel->s_name); });
+
+  /*-- binbuf_add(): arg list --*/
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: binbuf_add(): arg list", x));
   binbuf_add(x->x_binbuf, argc, argv);
-  A2SDEBUG(startpost("any2string: binbuf_print: "));
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: binbuf_print: ", x));
   A2SDEBUG(binbuf_print(x->x_binbuf));
 
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: binbuf_gettext()"));
-  binbuf_gettext(x->x_binbuf, &text, &len);
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: binbuf_gettext() = \"%s\" ; len=%d", text, len));
-  /*text[len] = 0;*/ /*-- ? avoid errors: free(): invalid next size(fast): [HEX_ADDRESS] */
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: binbuf_gettext()", x));
+  binbuf_gettext(x->x_binbuf, &(x->x_text), &len);
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: binbuf_gettext() = \"%s\" ; len=%d", x, x->x_text, len));
+  /*text[len] = 0;*/ /*-- ? avoid errors: "free(): invalid next size(fast): 0x..." */
 
-  /*-- get string length --*/
-  x->x_argc = len+1;
-  if (sel != &s_float && sel != &s_list && sel != &s_) {
-    x->x_argc += strlen(sel->s_name);
-    if (argc > 0) x->x_argc++;
-  }
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: argc=%d", x->x_argc));
+  /*-- get output atom-list length --*/
+  x->x_argc = len;
+  if (x->x_eos >= 0) { x->x_argc++; }
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: argc=%d", x, x->x_argc));
 
-  /*-- (re-)allocate --*/
+  /*-- (re-)allocate (maybe) --*/
   if (x->x_alloc < x->x_argc) {
-    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: reallocate(%d->%d)", x->x_alloc, x->x_argc));
-    freebytes(x->x_argv, x->x_alloc * sizeof(t_atom));
-    x->x_argv = (t_atom *)getbytes(x->x_argc * sizeof(t_atom));
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: reallocate(%d->%d)", x, x->x_alloc, x->x_argc));
+    freebytes(x->x_argv, x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom));
+    x->x_argv = (t_atom*)getbytes(x->x_argc * sizeof(t_atom));
     x->x_alloc = x->x_argc;
   }
 
-  /*-- add selector (maybe) --*/
-  a=x->x_argv;
-  if (sel != &s_float && sel != &s_list && sel != &s_) {
-    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: for {...} //sel"));
-    for (s=sel->s_name; *s; s++, a++) {
-      A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: for: SETFLOAT(a,'%c'=%d) //sel", *s, *s));
-      SETFLOAT(a,*s);
-    }
-    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: /for {...} //sel"));
-
-    if (argc > 0) {
-      SETFLOAT(a,' ');
-      a++;
-    }
-  }
-
-  /*-- add binbuf text --*/
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: for {...}"));
-  s_max = text+len;
-  for (s=text; s < s_max; s++, a++) {
-    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: for: //SETFLOAT(a,'%c'=%d)", *s, *s));
+  /*-- atom buffer: binbuf text --*/
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: atom buffer: for {...}", x));
+  a     = x->x_argv;
+  s_max = x->x_text+len;
+  for (s=x->x_text; s < s_max; s++, a++) {
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: atom buffer[%d]: SETFLOAT(a,%d='%c')", x, (a-x->x_argv), *s, *s));
     SETFLOAT(a,*s);
   }
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: /for {...}"));
-
-  /*-- add terminating NUL --*/
-  SETFLOAT(a,0);
-
-  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: freebytes()"));
-  freebytes(text, len);
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: atom buffer: DONE"));
 
-  /*
-    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: binbuf_free()"));
-    binbuf_free(x->x_binbuf);
-  */
+  /*-- add EOS character (maybe) --*/
+  if (x->x_eos >= 0) { SETFLOAT(a, ((int)x->x_eos)); }
 
   A2SDEBUG(post("any2string: outlet_list(..., %d, ...)", x->x_argc));
   outlet_list(x->x_outlet, &s_list, x->x_argc, x->x_argv);
@@ -156,19 +148,39 @@ static void any2string_anything(t_any2string *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
  * new
  */
-static void *any2string_new(void)
+static void *any2string_new(t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom *argv)
 {
     t_any2string *x = (t_any2string *)pd_new(any2string_class);
 
     //-- defaults
-    x->x_alloc = ANY2STRING_INITIAL_BUFLEN;
-    x->x_argc = 0;
-    x->x_argv = (t_atom *)getbytes(x->x_alloc * sizeof(t_atom));
+    x->x_eos      = 0;       
+    x->x_alloc    = ANY2STRING_DEFAULT_BUFLEN;
+
+    //-- args: 0: bufsize
+    if (argc > 0) {
+      int bufsize = atom_getintarg(0, argc, argv);
+      if (bufsize > 0) { x->x_alloc = bufsize; }
+    }
+    //-- args: 1: eos
+    if (argc > 1) {
+      x->x_eos = atom_getfloatarg(1, argc, argv);
+    }
+
+    //-- allocate
+    x->x_text   = (char *)getbytes(x->x_alloc*sizeof(char));
+    x->x_argc   = 0;
+    x->x_argv   = (t_atom *)getbytes(x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom));
     x->x_binbuf = binbuf_new();
 
+    //-- inlets
+    x->x_eos_in = floatinlet_new(&x->x_obj, &x->x_eos);
+
     //-- outlets
     x->x_outlet = outlet_new(&x->x_obj, &s_list);
 
+    //-- report
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_new(): x=%p, alloc=%d, eos=%d, text=%p, argv=%p, binbuf=%p", x, x->x_alloc, x->x_eos, x->x_text, x->x_argv, x->x_binbuf));
+
     return (void *)x;
 }
 
@@ -177,36 +189,47 @@ static void *any2string_new(void)
  */
 static void any2string_free(t_any2string *x)
 {
+  if (x->x_text) {
+    freebytes(x->x_text, x->x_alloc*sizeof(char));
+    x->x_text = NULL;
+  }
   if (x->x_argv) {
-    freebytes(x->x_argv, x->x_alloc * sizeof(t_atom));
+    freebytes(x->x_argv, x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom));
     x->x_argv = NULL;
   }
   binbuf_free(x->x_binbuf);
+  inlet_free(x->x_eos_in);
   outlet_free(x->x_outlet);
   return;
 }
 
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
- * setup
+ * setup (guts)
  */
-void any2string_setup(void)
+void any2string_setup_guts(void)
 {
   //-- class
   any2string_class = class_new(gensym("any2string"),
-			    (t_newmethod)any2string_new,
-			    (t_method)any2string_free,
-			    sizeof(t_any2string),
-			    CLASS_DEFAULT,
-			    0);
+			       (t_newmethod)any2string_new,
+			       (t_method)any2string_free,
+			       sizeof(t_any2string),
+			       CLASS_DEFAULT,
+			       A_GIMME,                   //-- initial_bufsize, eos_char
+			       0);
   
   //-- methods
-  /*class_addmethod(any2string_class, (t_method)any2string_symbol, &s_symbol,
-		  A_DEFSYMBOL, 0);
-  */
-  class_addanything(any2string_class,
-		    (t_method)any2string_anything);
+  class_addanything(any2string_class, (t_method)any2string_anything);
 
   
   //-- help symbol
-  class_sethelpsymbol(any2string_class, gensym("pdstring-help.pd"));
+  class_sethelpsymbol(any2string_class, gensym("any2string-help.pd"));
+}
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * setup
+ */
+void any2string_setup(void)
+{
+  post(any2string_banner);
+  any2string_setup_guts();
 }
diff --git a/src/any2string_static.c b/src/any2string_static.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50da35d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/any2string_static.c
@@ -0,0 +1,246 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C -*- */
+/*=============================================================================*\
+ * File: any2string_static.c
+ * Author: Bryan Jurish <moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de>
+ * Description: convert pd messages to strings (static buffer allocation)
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2004 - 2007 Bryan Jurish.
+ *
+ * For information on usage and redistribution, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL
+ * WARRANTIES, see the file "COPYING", in this distribution.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
+ * of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
+ *=============================================================================*/
+
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+#include <m_pd.h>
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+/* black magic */
+#ifdef NT
+#pragma warning( disable : 4244 )
+#pragma warning( disable : 4305 )
+#endif
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * DEBUG
+ *--------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+/*#define ANY2STRING_DEBUG 1*/
+/*#undef ANY2STRING_DEBUG*/
+
+#ifdef ANY2STRING_DEBUG
+# define A2SDEBUG(x) x
+#else
+# define A2SDEBUG(x)
+#endif
+
+#define ANY2STRING_DEFAULT_BUFLEN 512
+
+
+/*=====================================================================
+ * Structures and Types: any2string
+ *=====================================================================*/
+static t_class *any2string_class;
+
+typedef struct _any2string
+{
+  t_object       x_obj;
+  int            x_alloc;  //-- buffer size (text, x_argv)
+  int            x_argc;   //-- current number of atoms to outlet
+  t_atom        *x_argv;   //-- float-list to outlet
+  t_outlet      *x_outlet; //-- outlet
+} t_any2string;
+
+
+/*=====================================================================
+ * Utilities
+ *=====================================================================*/
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * append_string
+ */
+static void any2string_append_string(t_any2string *x, char *s, unsigned int maxlen, int doescape)
+{
+  char *sp;
+  char *ep = s+maxlen;
+
+  for (sp=s; *sp && sp<ep && *sp && x->x_argc<x->x_alloc; sp++, x->x_argc++) {
+    if (doescape && (*sp==';' || *sp==',' || *sp=='\\'
+		     || (*sp == '$' && sp<(ep-1) && sp[1] >= '0' && sp[1] <= '9')))
+      {
+	A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_append_string: ESCAPE: x_argv[%d] = '%c' = %d", x->x_argc, '\\', '\\'));
+	x->x_argv[x->x_argc++].a_w.w_float = '\\';
+	if (x->x_argc >= x->x_alloc) break;
+      }
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_append_string: x_argv[%d] = '%c' = %d", x->x_argc, *sp, *sp));
+    x->x_argv[x->x_argc].a_w.w_float = *sp;
+  }
+}
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * append_atom
+ */
+#define ANY2STRING_APPEND_BUFSIZE 30
+static void any2string_append_atom(t_any2string *x, t_atom *a)
+{
+  char buf[ANY2STRING_APPEND_BUFSIZE];
+  A2SDEBUG(post("~~ any2string_append_atom(%p,...) ~~", x));
+
+  if (x->x_argc >= x->x_alloc) { return; }
+
+  /*-- stringify a single atom (inspired by atom_string() from m_atom.c) --*/
+  switch (a->a_type) {
+  case A_SEMI:    any2string_append_string(x, ";", 1, 0); break;
+  case A_COMMA:   any2string_append_string(x, ",", 1, 0); break;
+  case A_POINTER: any2string_append_string(x, "(pointer)", 9, 0); break;
+  case A_FLOAT:
+    snprintf(buf, ANY2STRING_APPEND_BUFSIZE, "%g", a->a_w.w_float);
+    any2string_append_string(x, buf, ANY2STRING_APPEND_BUFSIZE, 0);
+    break;
+  case A_SYMBOL:
+    any2string_append_string(x, a->a_w.w_symbol->s_name, strlen(a->a_w.w_symbol->s_name), 1);
+    break;
+  case A_DOLLAR:
+    snprintf(buf, ANY2STRING_APPEND_BUFSIZE, "$%d", a->a_w.w_index);
+    any2string_append_string(x, buf, ANY2STRING_APPEND_BUFSIZE, 0);
+    break;
+  case A_DOLLSYM:
+    any2string_append_string(x, a->a_w.w_symbol->s_name, strlen(a->a_w.w_symbol->s_name), 0);
+    break;
+  default:
+    pd_error(x,"any2string_append_atom: unknown atom type '%d'", a->a_type);
+    break;
+  }
+
+  if (x->x_argc < x->x_alloc) {
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_append_atom[%p]: x_argv[%d] = '%c' = %d", x, x->x_argc, ' ', ' '));
+    x->x_argv[x->x_argc++].a_w.w_float = ' ';
+  }
+}
+
+/*=====================================================================
+ * Methods
+ *=====================================================================*/
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * anything
+ */
+static void any2string_anything(t_any2string *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom *argv)
+{
+  t_atom *argv_end = argv+argc;
+  x->x_argc=0;
+
+  A2SDEBUG(post("-------any2string_anything(%p,...) ---------", x));
+
+  /*-- stringify selector (maybe) --*/
+  if (sel != &s_float && sel != &s_list && sel != &s_) {
+    t_atom a;
+    SETSYMBOL(&a,sel);
+    any2string_append_atom(x, &a);
+  }
+
+  /*-- stringify arg list --*/
+  for ( ; argv<argv_end && x->x_argc<x->x_alloc; argv++) {
+    any2string_append_atom(x, argv);
+  }
+
+  /*-- add terminating NUL (if we can) --*/
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: terminating NUL: x_argv[%d]=0", x, x->x_argc-1));
+  if (x->x_argc >= x->x_alloc) {
+    pd_error(x, "any2string: input length exceeds buffer size!");
+    x->x_argc = x->x_alloc;
+    x->x_argv[x->x_argc-1].a_w.w_float = '*'; //-- simulate atom_string() behavior
+  } else if (x->x_argc > 0) {
+    x->x_argv[x->x_argc-1].a_w.w_float = 0;
+  }
+
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string[%p]: outlet_list(..., %d, ...)", x, x->x_argc));
+  outlet_list(x->x_outlet, &s_list, x->x_argc, x->x_argv);
+}
+
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * new
+ */
+static void *any2string_new(t_floatarg bufsize)
+{
+    t_any2string *x = (t_any2string *)pd_new(any2string_class);
+    int i;
+
+    //-- bufsize
+    if (bufsize <= 0) {
+      x->x_alloc = ANY2STRING_DEFAULT_BUFLEN;
+    } else {
+      x->x_alloc = bufsize;
+    }
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_new: buf_req=%g, alloc=%d", bufsize, x->x_alloc));
+
+    //-- defaults
+    x->x_argc  = 0;
+    x->x_argv  = (t_atom*)getbytes(x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom));
+
+    //-- initialize (set a_type)
+    for (i=0; i < x->x_alloc; i++) {
+      SETFLOAT((x->x_argv+i),0);
+    }
+
+    //-- outlets
+    x->x_outlet = outlet_new(&x->x_obj, &s_list);
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_new: x=%p, alloc=%d, argv=%p, nbytes=%d", x, x->x_alloc,x->x_argv,x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom)));
+    return (void *)x;
+}
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * free
+ */
+static void any2string_free(t_any2string *x)
+{
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_free(x=%p)", x));
+  if (x->x_argv) {
+    A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_free(x=%p): x_argv=%p (size=%d)", x, x->x_argv, x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom)));
+    freebytes(x->x_argv, x->x_alloc*sizeof(t_atom));
+  }
+  A2SDEBUG(post("any2string_free(x=%p): x_outlet=%p", x, x->x_outlet));
+  outlet_free(x->x_outlet);
+  return;
+}
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * setup
+ */
+void any2string_setup(void)
+{
+  //-- class
+  any2string_class = class_new(gensym("any2string"),
+			       (t_newmethod)any2string_new,
+			       (t_method)any2string_free,
+			       sizeof(t_any2string),
+			       CLASS_DEFAULT,
+			       A_DEFFLOAT,
+			       0);
+  
+  //-- methods
+  class_addanything(any2string_class,
+		    (t_method)any2string_anything);
+
+  
+  //-- help symbol
+  class_sethelpsymbol(any2string_class, gensym("pdstring-help.pd"));
+}
diff --git a/src/pdstring-help.pd b/src/pdstring-help.pd
index e83b9db..2ab94b3 100644
--- a/src/pdstring-help.pd
+++ b/src/pdstring-help.pd
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
-#N canvas 381 42 563 311 10;
+#N canvas 191 76 563 311 10;
 #X text 258 284 Bryan Jurish <moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de>;
 #X floatatom 56 81 8 0 0 0 - - -;
 #X symbolatom 46 59 10 0 0 0 - - -;
 #X text 201 59 ... no special handling for symbols;
 #X text 200 37 anything can be converted to a list...;
-#X obj 383 3 pdstring;
-#X text 54 3 any2string \, string2any : ASCII conversions in;
 #X obj 37 108 any2string;
 #X obj 37 230 string2any;
 #X floatatom 54 178 4 0 0 0 - - -;
@@ -48,12 +46,14 @@
 #X obj 37 254 print string2any-out;
 #X msg 37 38 A B C;
 #X msg 55 199 list 49 50 51;
-#X connect 1 0 7 0;
-#X connect 2 0 7 0;
-#X connect 7 0 15 0;
-#X connect 7 0 8 0;
-#X connect 8 0 16 0;
-#X connect 9 0 8 0;
-#X connect 13 0 12 0;
-#X connect 17 0 7 0;
-#X connect 18 0 8 0;
+#X text 54 3 any2string \, string2any : ASCII conversions in [pdstring]
+lib;
+#X connect 1 0 5 0;
+#X connect 2 0 5 0;
+#X connect 5 0 13 0;
+#X connect 5 0 6 0;
+#X connect 6 0 14 0;
+#X connect 7 0 6 0;
+#X connect 11 0 10 0;
+#X connect 15 0 5 0;
+#X connect 16 0 6 0;
diff --git a/src/pdstring.c b/src/pdstring.c
index c77b68e..37bd4ff 100644
--- a/src/pdstring.c
+++ b/src/pdstring.c
@@ -54,8 +54,15 @@ typedef struct _pdstring
 /*=====================================================================
  * External declarations
  *=====================================================================*/
-extern void any2string_setup(void);
-extern void string2any_setup(void);
+#ifndef PDSTRING_OBJECT_EXTERNALS
+/*
+extern void any2string_setup_guts(void);
+extern void string2any_setup_guts(void);
+*/
+#include "any2string.c"
+#include "string2any.c"
+
+#endif
 
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
  * new
@@ -81,8 +88,10 @@ void pdstring_setup(void)
 {
   post(pdstring_version);
 
-  any2string_setup();
-  string2any_setup();
+#ifndef PDSTRING_OBJECT_EXTERNALS
+  any2string_setup_guts();
+  string2any_setup_guts();
+#endif
 
   pdstring_class = class_new(gensym("pdstring"),
 			     (t_newmethod)pdstring_new,
diff --git a/src/string2any-help.pd b/src/string2any-help.pd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e44e15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/string2any-help.pd
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#N canvas 121 48 612 604 10;
+#X text 59 7 string2any : convert lists of floats to pd messages;
+#X text 13 30 SYNTAX: string2any [INITIAL_BUFSIZE [EOS_CHAR]];
+#X text 13 52 INLETS:;
+#X text 27 68 1 - ASCII-valued float lists;
+#X text 309 54 OUTLETS:;
+#X text 325 68 1 - pd messages;
+#X text 325 82 2 - bang on done;
+#X obj 24 350 string2any 128 0;
+#X obj 24 529 print string2any-help;
+#X obj 131 454 print string2any-help-done;
+#X msg 24 113 97 32 98 32 99;
+#X msg 39 135 97 0 98 0 99;
+#X msg 99 206 0;
+#X msg 67 206 -1;
+#X msg 131 206 32;
+#X text 166 202 The second inlet sets the message-separating EOS ("end-of-string")
+character. If this character is encountered in an input list \, the
+list is "split" at that point \, and two separate messages are output
+at the leftmost outlet. You can specify a negative value here to avoid
+implicit input splitting entirely. For backwards compatibility \, the
+default EOS character is -1 \, which results in truncation of input
+messages whenever a 0 (zero) is encountered.;
+#X text 163 350 First argument: initial buffer size (length of object-local
+text buffer). This should get re-allocated when necessary. Specify
+0 (zero) to use the default value.;
+#X text 165 405 Second argument: initial EOS character. See above.
+;
+#X text 159 477 Right outlet gives a bang after the entire input list
+has been processed.;
+#X text 189 531 Parsed pd messages are sent to the left outlet.;
+#X text 306 580 Bryan Jurish <moocow@ling.uni-potsdam.de>;
+#X text 27 83 2 - EOS character (float);
+#X text 161 121 lists of floats are converted to pd messages.;
+#X msg 54 161 StringThing 97;
+#X text 168 161 ... selector is ignored ...;
+#X text 21 571 SEE ALSO:;
+#X obj 102 570 pdstring-help;
+#X connect 7 0 8 0;
+#X connect 10 0 7 0;
+#X connect 11 0 7 0;
+#X connect 23 0 7 0;
diff --git a/src/string2any.c b/src/string2any.c
index 93756ec..bcde417 100644
--- a/src/string2any.c
+++ b/src/string2any.c
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@
 
 #include <m_pd.h>
 
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include "config.h"
+#endif
+
 /* black magic */
 #ifdef NT
 #pragma warning( disable : 4244 )
@@ -37,7 +41,8 @@
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
  * DEBUG
  *--------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-//#define STRING2ANY_DEBUG 1
+/*#define STRING2ANY_DEBUG 1*/
+/*#undef STRING2ANY_DEBUG*/
 
 #ifdef STRING2ANY_DEBUG
 # define S2ADEBUG(x) x
@@ -45,12 +50,13 @@
 # define S2ADEBUG(x)
 #endif
 
-#define STRING2ANY_INITIAL_BUFLEN 32
+#define STRING2ANY_DEFAULT_BUFLEN 256
 
 
 /*=====================================================================
  * Constants
  *=====================================================================*/
+static char *string2any_banner = "string2any: pdstring version " PACKAGE_VERSION " by Bryan Jurish";
 
 /*=====================================================================
  * Structures and Types: any2string
@@ -62,34 +68,33 @@ typedef struct _string2any
 {
   t_object       x_obj;
   size_t         x_size;
+  t_float        x_eos;   //-- eos character
   char          *x_text;
   t_binbuf      *x_binbuf;
+  t_inlet       *x_eos_in;
   t_outlet      *x_outlet;
+  t_outlet      *x_outlet_done;
 } t_string2any;
 
 
 /*=====================================================================
- * Constants
- *=====================================================================*/
-
-/*=====================================================================
- * Methods
+ * Utilities
  *=====================================================================*/
 
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
- * anything
+ * string2any_atoms()
  */
-static void string2any_anything(t_string2any *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom *argv)
+static void string2any_atoms(t_string2any *x, int argc, t_atom *argv)
 {
   char *s;
-  int x_argc;
+  int x_argc, a_argc=argc;
   t_atom *x_argv;
 
   /*-- allocate --*/
-  if (x->x_size <= argc) {
+  if (x->x_size <= (argc+1)) {
     freebytes(x->x_text, x->x_size*sizeof(char));
     x->x_size = argc+1;
-    x->x_text = (char *)getbytes(x->x_size * sizeof(char));
+    x->x_text = (char *)getbytes(x->x_size*sizeof(char));
   }
 
   /*-- get text --*/
@@ -97,12 +102,12 @@ static void string2any_anything(t_string2any *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom
     *s = atom_getfloat(argv);
   }
   *s = 0;
-  S2ADEBUG(post("string2any: text: \"%s\"", x->x_text));
+  S2ADEBUG(post("string2any[%p]: text: \"%s\", strlen=%d, argc=%d", x, x->x_text, strlen(x->x_text), a_argc));
 
   /*-- clear and fill binbuf --*/
   binbuf_clear(x->x_binbuf);
-  binbuf_text(x->x_binbuf, x->x_text, strlen(x->x_text));
-  S2ADEBUG(startpost("string2any: buf: "));
+  binbuf_text(x->x_binbuf, x->x_text, a_argc); //-- handle NULs if binbuf will (but it won't) ?
+  S2ADEBUG(post("string2any[%p]: binbuf_print: ", x));
   S2ADEBUG(binbuf_print(x->x_binbuf));
 
   /*-- output --*/
@@ -123,20 +128,70 @@ static void string2any_anything(t_string2any *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom
 }
 
 
+/*=====================================================================
+ * Methods
+ *=====================================================================*/
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * anything
+ */
+static void string2any_anything(t_string2any *x, t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom *argv)
+{
+  int i0=0, i;
+
+  /*-- scan & output --*/
+  if (x->x_eos >= 0) {
+    for (i=i0; i < argc; i++) {
+      if (((int)atom_getfloatarg(i,argc,argv))==((int)x->x_eos)) {
+	string2any_atoms(x, i-i0, argv+i0);
+	i0=i+1;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (i0 < argc) {
+    string2any_atoms(x, argc-i0, argv+i0);
+  }
+
+  outlet_bang(x->x_outlet_done);
+}
+
+
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
  * new
  */
-static void *string2any_new(void)
+static void *string2any_new(t_symbol *sel, int argc, t_atom *argv)
 {
     t_string2any *x = (t_string2any *)pd_new(string2any_class);
 
     //-- defaults
     x->x_binbuf = binbuf_new();
-    x->x_size = STRING2ANY_INITIAL_BUFLEN;
-    x->x_text = (char *)getbytes(x->x_size * sizeof(char));
+    x->x_size   = STRING2ANY_DEFAULT_BUFLEN;
+    x->x_eos    = -1;
+
+    //-- args: 0: bufsize
+    if (argc > 0) {
+      int initial_bufsize = atom_getintarg(0,argc,argv);
+      if (initial_bufsize > 0) x->x_size = initial_bufsize;
+      x->x_eos = -1;   //-- backwards-compatibility hack: no default eos character if only bufsize is specified
+    } 
+    //-- args: 1: separator
+    if (argc > 1) {
+      x->x_eos = atom_getfloatarg(1,argc,argv);
+    }
+
+    //-- allocate
+    x->x_text = (char *)getbytes(x->x_size*sizeof(char));
+
+    //-- inlets
+    x->x_eos_in = floatinlet_new(&x->x_obj, &x->x_eos);
 
     //-- outlets
-    x->x_outlet = outlet_new(&x->x_obj, &s_list);
+    x->x_outlet      = outlet_new(&x->x_obj, &s_list);
+    x->x_outlet_done = outlet_new(&x->x_obj, &s_bang);
+
+    //-- debug
+    S2ADEBUG(post("string2any_new: x=%p, size=%d, eos=%d, binbuf=%p, text=%p", x, x->x_size, x->x_eos, x->x_binbuf, x->x_text));
 
     return (void *)x;
 }
@@ -147,35 +202,43 @@ static void *string2any_new(void)
 static void string2any_free(t_string2any *x)
 {
   if (x->x_text) {
-    freebytes(x->x_text, x->x_size * sizeof(char));
+    freebytes(x->x_text, x->x_size*sizeof(char));
     x->x_text = NULL;
   }
   binbuf_free(x->x_binbuf);
+  inlet_free(x->x_eos_in);
+  outlet_free(x->x_outlet_done);
   outlet_free(x->x_outlet);
   return;
 }
 
 /*--------------------------------------------------------------------
- * setup
+ * setup: guts
  */
-void string2any_setup(void)
+void string2any_setup_guts(void)
 {
   //-- class
   string2any_class = class_new(gensym("string2any"),
-			    (t_newmethod)string2any_new,
-			    (t_method)string2any_free,
-			    sizeof(t_string2any),
-			    CLASS_DEFAULT,
-			    0);
+			       (t_newmethod)string2any_new,
+			       (t_method)string2any_free,
+			       sizeof(t_string2any),
+			       CLASS_DEFAULT,
+			       A_GIMME,                     //-- initial_bufsize, eos_char
+			       0);
   
   //-- methods
-  /*class_addmethod(string2any_class, (t_method)string2any_symbol, &s_symbol,
-		  A_DEFSYMBOL, 0);
-  */
-  class_addanything(string2any_class,
-		    (t_method)string2any_anything);
+  class_addanything(string2any_class, (t_method)string2any_anything);
 
   
   //-- help symbol
-  class_sethelpsymbol(string2any_class, gensym("pdstring-help.pd"));
+  class_sethelpsymbol(string2any_class, gensym("string2any-help.pd"));
+}
+
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * setup
+ */
+void string2any_setup(void)
+{
+  post(string2any_banner);
+  string2any_setup_guts();
 }