Allowing null bytes in Python3 binary string

Question

I am writing a test that is intended to mutate binary data and ensure that my program can read the variations. Null bytes are an important part of this binary protocol.

When I try to save it, however, I encounter the error:

ValueError: source code string cannot contain null bytes

The assignment I'm currently trying is:

binary_blob = rb"""<value>"""

Where <value> has the hex representation 0x00.

How can I modify the assignment to avoid this error? I am using Python 3.9.5.

You can't put literal null bytes in the source code. Use \0 in the string literal. — Barmar
– Barmar, Commented Jul 16, 2021 at 19:20
You can do binary_blob = bytes([0x00]) if you want to create a bytes with a 0x00 byte. — Samwise
– Samwise, Commented Jul 16, 2021 at 19:22
'\0', '\u0000', and '\x00' are all different ways to create a NULL character. — user16442705
– user16442705, Commented Jul 16, 2021 at 19:25
Does this answer your question? Python: source code string cannot contain null bytes — ti7
– ti7, Commented Jul 16, 2021 at 19:38
"When I try to save it, however, I encounter the error", what, exactly are you doing? — juanpa.arrivillaga
– juanpa.arrivillaga, Commented Jul 16, 2021 at 19:42

ti7 · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-16 19:36:59Z

2

You're probably looking for the null character, which you can create with \0

>>> b"\0"
b'\x00'
>>> ord("\0")
0

edited Jul 16, 2021 at 19:36

answered Jul 16, 2021 at 19:22

ti7

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1 Comment

sentientcabbage Over a year ago

Thanks for your answer! I converted my binary data to hex using xxd and was able to process it successfully.

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