Should we include functions for Buffers?

[freeformflow]

Should we include functions for buffers directly or should we augment the Fairmont-Helper's array interface to handle buffers? @dyoder, what is the difference between Node's Buffer and JavaScript's native ArrayBuffer?

[dyoder]

Having helpers for Buffer is a great idea, but perhaps a low priority. Maybe open a ticket for it, but I think having better tutorials and examples is more important for the moment. I've rarely needed them in practice (otherwise, they'd exist) and they don't exist in other Swiss Army Knife libraries, AFAIK.

Also, as you point out, there's a question about whether ArrayBuffers may replace Buffer. There's quite a bit of overlap. Buffer is more complete and more flexible and also used within the Node API. OTOH, Node could potentially implement Buffer as a wrapper around ArrayBuffer. Or they may have already done that in 4.0, I don't know.