Struct EmbeddingView 

pub struct EmbeddingView<'a> {
    pub dim: u16,
    pub dtype: EmbeddingType,
    /* private fields */
}

Zero-copy view into an embedding stored in a binary buffer.

This struct provides direct access to embedding data without allocation. All similarity computations can be performed on borrowed data.

Layout

The binary format is:

[u16 dim | u8 dtype | u8 similarity | vector data...]

Fields

dim: u16

Embedding dimension

dtype: EmbeddingType

Embedding data type (F32, F16, etc.)

Implementations

impl<'a> EmbeddingView<'a>

pub fn from_bytes(bytes: &'a [u8]) -> Result<Self, String>

Creates a new embedding view from raw bytes.

Format

Expects bytes in the format: [u16 dim | u8 dtype | u8 reserved | data...]

Errors

Returns error if:

• Buffer too small (< 4 bytes header)
• Invalid dtype byte
• Data length doesn’t match expected size

pub fn data(&self) -> &'a [u8]

Returns the raw data bytes.

pub fn as_f32_vec(&self) -> Result<Vec<f32>, String>

Returns the embedding as a Vec (safe copy).

This method performs a safe copy of the embedding data, converting from bytes to f32 values. While it allocates memory, it’s guaranteed to work regardless of memory alignment.

Performance

For 256-dim embedding: ~100-200ns allocation + copy overhead Still much faster than full record decode for large records.

Errors

Returns error if dtype is not F32.

pub fn as_f32_slice(&self) -> Result<&'a [f32], String>

Returns the embedding as an f32 slice (zero-copy cast - EXPERIMENTAL).

⚠️ WARNING: This method is experimental and may fail with alignment errors. Memory alignment is not guaranteed for slices from arbitrary buffers. Use as_f32_vec() for a safe, reliable alternative.

Safety

Uses bytemuck for casting, which requires 4-byte alignment. Will panic if the underlying buffer is not properly aligned.

Errors

Returns error if dtype is not F32 or bytemuck feature is not enabled.

pub fn cosine_similarity( &self, other: &EmbeddingView<'_>, ) -> Result<f32, String>

Computes cosine similarity with another embedding view (zero-copy).

Performance

Uses SIMD instructions when available on x86_64. Typical performance:

• 256-dim: ~50-100 ns
• 1024-dim: ~200-400 ns

Errors

Returns error if dimensions or dtypes don’t match.

pub fn dot_product(&self, other: &EmbeddingView<'_>) -> Result<f32, String>

pub fn euclidean_distance( &self, other: &EmbeddingView<'_>, ) -> Result<f32, String>

Computes Euclidean distance (zero-copy).

pub fn similarity( &self, other: &EmbeddingView<'_>, metric: SimilarityMetric, ) -> Result<f32, String>

Generic similarity with metric selection.

Trait Implementations

impl<'a> Clone for EmbeddingView<'a>

fn clone(&self) -> EmbeddingView<'a>

Returns a duplicate of the value.

fn clone_from(&mut self, source: &Self)

Performs copy-assignment from source.

impl<'a> Debug for EmbeddingView<'a>

fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter<'_>) -> Result

Formats the value using the given formatter.

impl<'a> Copy for EmbeddingView<'a>