libhdf5 fails to read a VL element whose global heap address is
undefined (all 0xff), even at length 0 ("addr undefined"); we returned
"" (or an empty sequence) in every reader. Checked with h5py first:
libhdf5 writes a null element with address 0, which still reads as
empty, and h5py writes "" as a zero-size heap object at a real address,
so no file they write relies on the old behaviour. read_vl_bytes now
treats address 0 as null whatever the length, as VlResolver does.
Tests, each failing before: vl_data unit test (8- and 4-byte offsets,
lengths 0 and 1); clawhdf5 vl_data_interop
a_vl_element_at_the_undefined_heap_address_fails_like_h5py (also checks
where h5py writes ""); h5rs dump --json and check --data on the patched
`undef` dataset; clawhdf5-wasm vl_strings.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <[email protected]>
VL-string datasets (h5py's default str dtype) failed read_string with
"type mismatch: expected String, got VariableLength". read_string now
reads fixed- and variable-length strings, with h5py's values (a string
ends at a NUL, a null element is ""). New:
- Dataset::read_string_bytes: each VL string's exact bytes;
- Dataset::read_string_selection: hyperslabs/points of either kind;
- Dataset::read_vlen::<T>() and read_vlen_selection::<T>(): VL sequences
of numbers as Vec<Vec<T>>, T in f64/f32/i64/i32/u64, converted like the
other typed readers;
- File::decode_strings / decode_string_bytes / decode_vlen: VL values in
compound fields and AttrValue::Raw attributes;
- MmapDataset and LazyDataset: read_string for VL strings,
read_string_bytes and read_vlen.
tests/vl_data_interop.rs checks every path against h5py with 8- and
4-byte offsets: scalar, 1-D and 2-D, ASCII and UTF-8, empty strings,
contiguous, compact, chunked with gzip and shuffle, unwritten and partly
written chunks, hyperslabs, compound members, attributes, a big-endian
base type, and a patched file with an embedded NUL and mis-sized heap
objects. NetCDF-4 string variables read too (netCDF4-python test).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <[email protected]>
