read a file and dump it as an array of characters for easy embedding -- couldn't find something similar so I wrote this -- may it also be useful to you!

input_to_array.py

'''
* input_to_array.py
  (c) 2013 kristopher tate -- http://kristopher.jp

* read a file and dump it as an array of characters for easy embedding
* couldn't find something similar so I wrote this -- may it also be useful to you!

* MIT License
  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to
  deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the
  rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or
  sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
  furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
 
  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
  all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
 
  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
  IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
  AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
  LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
  FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
  DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

'''

import os
import sys

def main():
  if len(sys.argv) < 2:
    sys.stderr.write('Usage: input_to_array.py input_filename \n')
    sys.exit(1)

  fp = open(sys.argv[1], 'r')
  def read1k():
    return fp.read(1024)

  fp_size = os.stat(sys.argv[1]).st_size

  print '''\nstatic ssize_t blob_length = %s;''' % (fp_size)
  print '''static const uint8_t blob[] = {'''
  i = 0
  for chunk in iter(read1k, ''):
    for char in chunk:
      i += 1
      sys.stdout.write('%s0x%x%s%s' % (
          '  ' if i % 13 == 1 else ''
        , ord(char)
        , ',' if (i != fp_size) else '' 
        , '\n' if (i % 13 == 0 or i == fp_size) else ''
        )
        )
  print '''};\n'''

if __name__ == "__main__":
  main()