Updated documentation of Encode, added an example to lib.rs

src/de/mod.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ pub use self::decoder::DecoderImpl;
 /// This trait should be implemented for types which do not have references to data in the reader. For types that contain e.g. `&str` and `&[u8]`, implement [BorrowDecode] instead.
 ///
 /// Whenever you implement `Decode` for your type, the base trait `BorrowDecode` is automatically implemented.
+///
+/// This trait will be automatically implemented if you enable the `derive` feature and add `#[derive(bincode::Decode)]` to your type. Note that if the type contains any lifetimes, `BorrowDecode` will be implemented instead.
 pub trait Decode: for<'de> BorrowDecode<'de> {
     /// Attempt to decode this type with the given [Decode].
     fn decode<D: Decoder>(decoder: D) -> Result<Self, DecodeError>;
@@ -25,6 +27,8 @@ pub trait Decode: for<'de> BorrowDecode<'de> {
 /// Trait that makes a type able to be decoded, akin to serde's `Deserialize` trait.
 ///
 /// This trait should be implemented for types that contain borrowed data, like `&str` and `&[u8]`. If your type does not have borrowed data, consider implementing [Decode] instead.
+///
+/// This trait will be automatically implemented if you enable the `derive` feature and add `#[derive(bincode::Decode)]` to a type with a lifetime.
 pub trait BorrowDecode<'de>: Sized {
     /// Attempt to decode this type with the given [BorrowDecode].
     fn borrow_decode<D: BorrowDecoder<'de>>(decoder: D) -> Result<Self, DecodeError>;

src/enc/encoder.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-//! Contains
-
 use super::{write::Writer, Encoder};
 use crate::{config::Config, utils::Sealed};
 

src/enc/mod.rs

@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ pub mod write;
 
 pub use self::encoder::EncoderImpl;
 
-/// Any source that can encode types. This type is most notably implemented for [Encoder].
+/// Any source that can be encoded. This trait should be implemented for all types that you want to be able to use with any of the `encode_with` methods.
 ///
-/// [Encoder]: ../struct.Encoder.html
+/// This trait will be automatically implemented if you enable the `derive` feature and add `#[derive(bincode::Encode)]` to your trait.
 pub trait Encode {
     /// Encode a given type.
     fn encode<E: Encoder>(&self, encoder: E) -> Result<(), EncodeError>;

src/lib.rs

@@ -20,6 +20,39 @@
 //! |atomic| Yes    |All `Atomic*` integer types, e.g. `AtomicUsize`, and `AtomicBool`||
 //! |derive| Yes    |||Enables the `Encode` and `Decode` derive macro|
 //! |serde | No     |TODO|TODO|TODO|
+//!
+//! # Example
+//!
+//! ```rust
+//! use bincode::config::Configuration;
+//!
+//! let mut slice = [0u8; 100];
+//!
+//!     // You can encode any type that implements `enc::Encode`.
+//!     // You can automatically implement this trait on custom types with the `derive` feature.
+//! let input = (
+//!     0u8,
+//!     10u32,
+//!     10000i128,
+//!     'a',
+//!     [0u8, 1u8, 2u8, 3u8]
+//! );
+//!
+//! let length = bincode::encode_into_slice(
+//!     input,
+//!     &mut slice,
+//!     Configuration::standard()
+//! ).unwrap();
+//!
+//! let slice = &slice[..length];
+//! println!("Bytes written: {:?}", slice);
+//!
+//! // Decoding works the same as encoding.
+//! // The trait used is `de::Decode`, and can also be automatically implemented with the `derive` feature.
+//! let decoded: (u8, u32, i128, char, [u8; 4]) = bincode::decode_from_slice(slice, Configuration::standard()).unwrap();
+//!
+//! assert_eq!(decoded, input);
+//! ```
 
 #![doc(html_root_url = "https://docs.rs/bincode/2.0.0-alpha.0")]
 #![crate_name = "bincode"]