PACKET CONVERSION

A method of converting a packet of data from a source format to a target format, the packet including a type indicator and at least one data field, the method including the steps of storing a table for each packet type, each table including for each data field of that packet type a value representative of a storage requirement in memory and a corresponding field descriptor denoting the nature of the data field; receiving a packet in a source format; identifying the type of packet from the type indicator; accessing the stored table for the type of packet identified and thus obtaining for each data field a value representative of a storage requirement in memory and a field descriptor for that field; and using the value and the field descriptor to load the packet into a target memory according to the target format specified by the field descriptor.