File Format Specifications for .HXX

The .HXX file format is used for C++ source code header files. It is a text-based format (typically encoded in ASCII or UTF-8) containing declarations such as classes, functions, constants, variables, and other C++ constructs. There is no formal binary structure or magic number; it follows C++ syntax conventions for header files. The extension is interchangeable with .HPP or .H in many systems, and the file is treated as plain text by operating systems. No official specification document exists beyond C++ language standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 14882), as the format is not a structured binary type but a convention for source code organization.

List of all the properties of this file format intrinsic to its file system:
Since .HXX is a text file without a binary structure, its "intrinsic" properties refer to standard file system metadata (e.g., from the operating system's file system, such as POSIX stat structure). These are not unique to .HXX but are how the file is represented in the file system. The list includes:

• File size (in bytes)
• Last modification time
• Last access time
• Last status change time
• File mode (permissions and type, e.g., octal value like 0644)
• Owner user ID (UID)
• Owner group ID (GID)
• Inode number
• Number of hard links
• Device ID (dev)

Two direct download links for files of format .HXX:

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taywee/args/master/args.hxx (a C++ argument parser header from the args library)
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jtv/libpqxx/master/include/pqxx/binarystring.hxx (a C++ header for binary string handling from libpqxx)

Ghost blog embedded HTML JavaScript for drag-n-drop .HXX file to dump properties:
Here is a self-contained HTML file with embedded JavaScript that allows dragging and dropping a .HXX file. It will display the available properties (limited by browser File API: name, size, type, last modified time; full file system metadata like UID/GID is not accessible in browser JS for security reasons). Save this as an .html file and open in a browser.

Drag and Drop .HXX File

1. Python class for .HXX file handling:
   This class opens a .HXX file (text-based, no decoding needed beyond reading as text), reads its content, can write new content to a file, and prints the file system properties using os.stat.

import os
import time

class HXXFileHandler:
    def __init__(self, file_path):
        self.file_path = file_path
        self.content = None

    def open_and_read(self):
        """Opens and reads the file content (text-based)."""
        with open(self.file_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
            self.content = f.read()
        return self.content

    def write(self, new_content, output_path=None):
        """Writes content to the file or a new path."""
        path = output_path or self.file_path
        with open(path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
            f.write(new_content)

    def print_properties(self):
        """Prints file system properties."""
        if not os.path.exists(self.file_path):
            print("File does not exist.")
            return
        stat = os.stat(self.file_path)
        print(f"File Size (in bytes): {stat.st_size}")
        print(f"Last Modification Time: {time.ctime(stat.st_mtime)}")
        print(f"Last Access Time: {time.ctime(stat.st_atime)}")
        print(f"Last Status Change Time: {time.ctime(stat.st_ctime)}")
        print(f"File Mode (permissions): {oct(stat.st_mode)}")
        print(f"Owner User ID (UID): {stat.st_uid}")
        print(f"Owner Group ID (GID): {stat.st_gid}")
        print(f"Inode Number: {stat.st_ino}")
        print(f"Number of Hard Links: {stat.st_nlink}")
        print(f"Device ID: {stat.st_dev}")

# Example usage:
# handler = HXXFileHandler('example.hxx')
# handler.open_and_read()
# handler.print_properties()
# handler.write('New content', 'new.hxx')

1. Java class for .HXX file handling:
   This class opens a .HXX file, reads its content, can write new content, and prints file system properties using java.nio.file.

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.nio.file.attribute.BasicFileAttributes;
import java.nio.file.attribute.PosixFileAttributes;
import java.nio.file.attribute.PosixFilePermissions;

public class HXXFileHandler {
    private final Path filePath;
    private String content;

    public HXXFileHandler(String filePath) {
        this.filePath = Paths.get(filePath);
    }

    public String openAndRead() throws IOException {
        content = Files.readString(filePath, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
        return content;
    }

    public void write(String newContent, String outputPath) throws IOException {
        Path path = outputPath != null ? Paths.get(outputPath) : filePath;
        Files.writeString(path, newContent, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
    }

    public void printProperties() throws IOException {
        if (!Files.exists(filePath)) {
            System.out.println("File does not exist.");
            return;
        }
        BasicFileAttributes attrs = Files.readAttributes(filePath, BasicFileAttributes.class);
        System.out.println("File Size (in bytes): " + attrs.size());
        System.out.println("Last Modification Time: " + attrs.lastModifiedTime());
        System.out.println("Last Access Time: " + attrs.lastAccessTime());
        System.out.println("Creation Time: " + attrs.creationTime());  // May not be supported on all FS
        System.out.println("Is Regular File: " + attrs.isRegularFile());

        // POSIX-specific (UID, GID, permissions, etc.)
        try {
            PosixFileAttributes posixAttrs = Files.readAttributes(filePath, PosixFileAttributes.class);
            System.out.println("File Mode (permissions): " + PosixFilePermissions.toString(posixAttrs.permissions()));
            System.out.println("Owner: " + posixAttrs.owner());
            System.out.println("Group: " + posixAttrs.group());
            System.out.println("Inode Number: Not directly available in Java");
        } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
            System.out.println("POSIX attributes not supported on this file system.");
        }
    }

    // Example usage:
    // public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
    //     HXXFileHandler handler = new HXXFileHandler("example.hxx");
    //     handler.openAndRead();
    //     handler.printProperties();
    //     handler.write("New content", "new.hxx");
    // }
}

1. JavaScript class for .HXX file handling:
   This class is for Node.js (since browser JS can't access full file system metadata or write freely). It uses fs to open, read, write, and get properties. Run with Node.js.

const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

class HXXFileHandler {
    constructor(filePath) {
        this.filePath = filePath;
        this.content = null;
    }

    openAndRead() {
        this.content = fs.readFileSync(this.filePath, 'utf8');
        return this.content;
    }

    write(newContent, outputPath = null) {
        const targetPath = outputPath || this.filePath;
        fs.writeFileSync(targetPath, newContent, 'utf8');
    }

    printProperties() {
        if (!fs.existsSync(this.filePath)) {
            console.log('File does not exist.');
            return;
        }
        const stat = fs.statSync(this.filePath);
        console.log(`File Size (in bytes): ${stat.size}`);
        console.log(`Last Modification Time: ${stat.mtime}`);
        console.log(`Last Access Time: ${stat.atime}`);
        console.log(`Last Status Change Time: ${stat.ctime}`);
        console.log(`File Mode (permissions): ${stat.mode.toString(8)}`);
        console.log(`Owner User ID (UID): ${stat.uid}`);
        console.log(`Owner Group ID (GID): ${stat.gid}`);
        console.log(`Inode Number: ${stat.ino}`);
        console.log(`Number of Hard Links: ${stat.nlink}`);
        console.log(`Device ID: ${stat.dev}`);
    }
}

// Example usage:
// const handler = new HXXFileHandler('example.hxx');
// handler.openAndRead();
// handler.printProperties();
// handler.write('New content', 'new.hxx');

1. C class for .HXX file handling:
   Since C does not have classes, this is implemented as a struct with functions (similar to a class). For full features, compiled with a C++ compiler if needed, but pure C here. It opens, reads, writes, and prints properties using stat. Compile with gcc.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <time.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <unistd.h>

typedef struct {
    char *file_path;
    char *content;
} HXXFileHandler;

HXXFileHandler* create_hxx_handler(const char *file_path) {
    HXXFileHandler *handler = malloc(sizeof(HXXFileHandler));
    handler->file_path = strdup(file_path);
    handler->content = NULL;
    return handler;
}

void destroy_hxx_handler(HXXFileHandler *handler) {
    free(handler->file_path);
    free(handler->content);
    free(handler);
}

char* open_and_read(HXXFileHandler *handler) {
    FILE *fp = fopen(handler->file_path, "r");
    if (!fp) {
        perror("Failed to open file");
        return NULL;
    }
    fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_END);
    long size = ftell(fp);
    fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_SET);
    handler->content = malloc(size + 1);
    fread(handler->content, 1, size, fp);
    handler->content[size] = '\0';
    fclose(fp);
    return handler->content;
}

void write_file(HXXFileHandler *handler, const char *new_content, const char *output_path) {
    const char *path = output_path ? output_path : handler->file_path;
    FILE *fp = fopen(path, "w");
    if (!fp) {
        perror("Failed to write file");
        return;
    }
    fprintf(fp, "%s", new_content);
    fclose(fp);
}

void print_properties(HXXFileHandler *handler) {
    struct stat st;
    if (stat(handler->file_path, &st) != 0) {
        perror("Failed to get file stats");
        return;
    }
    printf("File Size (in bytes): %ld\n", st.st_size);
    printf("Last Modification Time: %s", ctime(&st.st_mtime));
    printf("Last Access Time: %s", ctime(&st.st_atime));
    printf("Last Status Change Time: %s", ctime(&st.st_ctime));
    printf("File Mode (permissions): %o\n", st.st_mode);
    printf("Owner User ID (UID): %d\n", st.st_uid);
    printf("Owner Group ID (GID): %d\n", st.st_gid);
    printf("Inode Number: %ld\n", st.st_ino);
    printf("Number of Hard Links: %ld\n", st.st_nlink);
    printf("Device ID: %ld\n", st.st_dev);
}

// Example usage:
// int main() {
//     HXXFileHandler *handler = create_hxx_handler("example.hxx");
//     open_and_read(handler);
//     print_properties(handler);
//     write_file(handler, "New content", "new.hxx");
//     destroy_hxx_handler(handler);
//     return 0;
// }