diff --git a/src/child_process.cc b/src/child_process.cc
index 30b1a6878d..367dc1eb8a 100644
--- a/src/child_process.cc
+++ b/src/child_process.cc
@@ -73,41 +73,18 @@ ChildProcess::Write (const Arguments& args)
   ChildProcess *child = ObjectWrap::Unwrap<ChildProcess>(args.Holder());
   assert(child);
 
-  ssize_t len;
+  enum encoding enc = ParseEncoding(args[1]);
+  ssize_t len = DecodeBytes(args[0], enc);
 
-  Local<String> string;
-  Local<Array> array;
-
-  if (args[0]->IsArray()) {
-    array = Local<Array>::Cast(args[0]);
-    len = array->Length();
-  } else {
-    string = args[0]->ToString();
-    len = string->Utf8Length();
+  if (len < 0) {
+    Local<Value> exception = Exception::TypeError(String::New("Bad argument"));
+    return ThrowException(exception);
   }
 
   char buf[len];
-
-  if (args[0]->IsArray()) {
-    for (ssize_t index = 0; index < len; index++) {
-      Local<Value> int_value = array->Get(Integer::New(index));
-      buf[index] = int_value->IntegerValue();
-    }
-  } else {
-    switch (ParseEncoding(args[1])) {
-      case RAW:
-      case ASCII:
-        string->WriteAscii(buf, 0, len);
-        break;
-
-      case UTF8:
-        string->WriteUtf8(buf, len);
-        break;
-
-      default:
-        return ThrowException(String::New("Unknown encoding."));
-    }
-  }
+  ssize_t written = DecodeWrite(buf, len, args[0], enc);
+  
+  assert(written == len);
 
   return child->Write(buf, len) == 0 ? True() : False();
 }
@@ -169,28 +146,10 @@ ChildProcess::on_read (evcom_reader *r, const void *buf, size_t len)
   HandleScope scope;
 
   bool isSTDOUT = (r == &child->stdout_reader_);
-  Local<Value> argv[1];
-
   enum encoding encoding = isSTDOUT ? child->stdout_encoding_ : child->stderr_encoding_;
 
-  if (len == 0) {
-    argv[0] = Local<Value>::New(Null());
-
-  } else if (encoding == RAW) {
-    // raw encoding
-    Local<Array> array = Array::New(len);
-    for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-      unsigned char val = static_cast<const unsigned char*>(buf)[i];
-      array->Set(Integer::New(i), Integer::New(val));
-    }
-    argv[0] = array;
-
-  } else {
-    // utf8 or ascii encoding
-    argv[0] = String::New((const char*)buf, len);
-  }
-
-  child->Emit(isSTDOUT ? "output" : "error", 1, argv);
+  Local<Value> data = Encode(buf, len, encoding);
+  child->Emit(isSTDOUT ? "output" : "error", 1, &data);
   child->MaybeShutdown();
 }
 
diff --git a/src/file.cc b/src/file.cc
index 03037f7494..d278099889 100644
--- a/src/file.cc
+++ b/src/file.cc
@@ -116,34 +116,8 @@ EIOPromise::After (eio_req *req)
     case EIO_READ:
     {
       argc = 2;
-      // FIXME the following is really ugly!
-      if (promise->encoding_ == RAW) {
-        if (req->result == 0) {
-          argv[0] = Local<Value>::New(Null());
-          argv[1] = Integer::New(0);
-        } else {
-          char *buf = reinterpret_cast<char*>(req->ptr2);
-          size_t len = req->result;
-          Local<Array> array = Array::New(len);
-          for (unsigned int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-            unsigned char val = reinterpret_cast<const unsigned char*>(buf)[i];
-            array->Set(Integer::New(i), Integer::New(val));
-          }
-          argv[0] = array;
-          argv[1] = Integer::New(req->result);
-        }
-      } else {
-        // UTF8
-        if (req->result == 0) {
-          // eof
-          argv[0] = Local<Value>::New(Null());
-          argv[1] = Integer::New(0);
-        } else {
-          char *buf = reinterpret_cast<char*>(req->ptr2);
-          argv[0] = String::New(buf, req->result);
-          argv[1] = Integer::New(req->result);
-        }
-      }
+      argv[0] = Encode(req->ptr2, req->result, promise->encoding_);
+      argv[1] = Integer::New(req->result);
       break;
     }
 
@@ -304,6 +278,7 @@ Open (const Arguments& args)
  * 1 data      the data to write (string = utf8, array = raw)
  * 2 position  if integer, position to write at in the file.
  *             if null, write from the current position
+ * 3 encoding  
  */
 static Handle<Value>
 Write (const Arguments& args)
@@ -317,29 +292,15 @@ Write (const Arguments& args)
   int fd = args[0]->Int32Value();
   off_t offset = args[2]->IsNumber() ? args[2]->IntegerValue() : -1;
 
-  char *buf = NULL;
-  size_t len = 0;
-
-  if (args[1]->IsString()) {
-    // utf8 encoding
-    Local<String> string = args[1]->ToString();
-    len = string->Utf8Length();
-    buf = reinterpret_cast<char*>(malloc(len));
-    string->WriteUtf8(buf, len);
-
-  } else if (args[1]->IsArray()) {
-    // raw encoding
-    Local<Array> array = Local<Array>::Cast(args[1]);
-    len = array->Length();
-    buf = reinterpret_cast<char*>(malloc(len));
-    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-      Local<Value> int_value = array->Get(Integer::New(i));
-      buf[i] = int_value->Int32Value();
-    }
-
-  } else {
-    return ThrowException(BAD_ARGUMENTS);
+  enum encoding enc = ParseEncoding(args[3]);
+  ssize_t len = DecodeBytes(args[1], enc);
+  if (len < 0) {
+    Local<Value> exception = Exception::TypeError(String::New("Bad argument"));
+    return ThrowException(exception);
   }
+  char buf[len];
+  ssize_t written = DecodeWrite(buf, len, args[1], enc);
+  assert(written == len);
 
   return scope.Close(EIOPromise::Write(fd, buf, len, offset));
 }
diff --git a/src/net.cc b/src/net.cc
index 6955549e60..53c914bd85 100644
--- a/src/net.cc
+++ b/src/net.cc
@@ -374,80 +374,30 @@ Connection::Send (const Arguments& args)
     return ThrowException(exception);
   }
 
-  // XXX
-  // A lot of improvement can be made here. First of all we're allocating
-  // evcom_bufs for every send which is clearly inefficent - it should use a
-  // memory pool or ring buffer. Of course, expressing binary data as an
-  // array of integers is extremely inefficent. This can improved when v8
-  // bug 270 (http://code.google.com/p/v8/issues/detail?id=270) has been
-  // addressed.
-
-  if (args[0]->IsString()) {
-    enum encoding enc = ParseEncoding(args[1]);
-    Local<String> s = args[0]->ToString();
-    size_t len = s->Utf8Length();
-    char buf[len];
-    switch (enc) {
-      case RAW:
-      case ASCII:
-        s->WriteAscii(buf, 0, len);
-        break;
-
-      case UTF8:
-        s->WriteUtf8(buf, len);
-        break;
-
-      default:
-        assert(0 && "unhandled string encoding");
-    }
-    connection->Send(buf, len);
-
-  } else if (args[0]->IsArray()) {
-    Handle<Array> array = Handle<Array>::Cast(args[0]);
-    size_t len = array->Length();
-    char buf[len];
-    for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-      Local<Value> int_value = array->Get(Integer::New(i));
-      buf[i] = int_value->IntegerValue();
-    }
-    connection->Send(buf, len);
+  enum encoding enc = ParseEncoding(args[1]);
+  ssize_t len = DecodeBytes(args[0], enc);
 
-  } else {
+  if (len < 0) {
     Local<Value> exception = Exception::TypeError(String::New("Bad argument"));
     return ThrowException(exception);
   }
 
-  return Undefined();
+  char buf[len];
+  ssize_t written = DecodeWrite(buf, len, args[0], enc);
+  
+  assert(written == len);
+
+  connection->Send(buf, written);
+
+  return scope.Close(Integer::New(written));
 }
 
 void
 Connection::OnReceive (const void *buf, size_t len)
 {
   HandleScope scope;
-
-  const int argc = 1;
-  Handle<Value> argv[argc];
-
-  if(len) {
-    if (encoding_ == RAW) {
-      // raw encoding
-      Local<Array> array = Array::New(len);
-      for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-        unsigned char val = static_cast<const unsigned char*>(buf)[i];
-        array->Set(Integer::New(i), Integer::New(val));
-      }
-      argv[0] = array;
-
-    } else {
-      // utf8 or ascii encoding
-      Handle<String> chunk = String::New((const char*)buf, len);
-      argv[0] = chunk;
-    }
-  } else {
-    argv[0] = Local<Value>::New(Null());
-  }
-
-  Emit("receive", argc, argv);
+  Local<Value> data = Encode(buf, len, encoding_);
+  Emit("receive", 1, &data);
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/src/node.cc b/src/node.cc
index 34f35bb5c3..0cd82a1e8e 100644
--- a/src/node.cc
+++ b/src/node.cc
@@ -30,6 +30,89 @@
 using namespace v8;
 using namespace node;
 
+Local<Value>
+node::Encode (const void *buf, size_t len, enum encoding encoding)
+{
+  HandleScope scope;
+
+  if (!len) return scope.Close(Null());
+
+  if (encoding == RAW) {
+    // raw encoding
+    Local<Array> array = Array::New(len);
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+      unsigned char val = static_cast<const unsigned char*>(buf)[i];
+      array->Set(Integer::New(i), Integer::New(val));
+    }
+    return scope.Close(array);
+  } 
+
+  // utf8 or ascii encoding
+  Local<String> chunk = String::New((const char*)buf, len);
+  return scope.Close(chunk);
+}
+
+// Returns -1 if the handle was not valid for decoding 
+ssize_t
+node::DecodeBytes (v8::Handle<v8::Value> val, enum encoding encoding)
+{
+  HandleScope scope;
+
+  if (val->IsArray()) {
+    if (encoding != RAW) return -1;
+    Handle<Array> array = Handle<Array>::Cast(val);
+    return array->Length();
+  }
+
+  if (!val->IsString()) return -1;
+
+  Handle<String> string = Handle<String>::Cast(val);
+
+  if (encoding == UTF8) return string->Utf8Length();
+
+  return string->Length();
+}
+
+#ifndef MIN
+# define MIN(a,b) ((a) < (b) ? (a) : (b))
+#endif
+
+// Returns number of bytes written.
+ssize_t
+node::DecodeWrite (char *buf, size_t buflen, v8::Handle<v8::Value> val, enum encoding encoding)
+{
+  size_t i;
+  HandleScope scope;
+
+  // XXX
+  // A lot of improvement can be made here. See:
+  // http://code.google.com/p/v8/issues/detail?id=270
+  // http://groups.google.com/group/v8-dev/browse_thread/thread/dba28a81d9215291/ece2b50a3b4022c
+  // http://groups.google.com/group/v8-users/browse_thread/thread/1f83b0ba1f0a611
+
+  if (val->IsArray()) {
+    if (encoding != RAW) return -1;
+    Handle<Array> array = Handle<Array>::Cast(val);
+    size_t array_len = array->Length();
+    for (i = 0; i < MIN(buflen, array_len); i++) {
+      Local<Value> int_value = array->Get(Integer::New(i));
+      buf[i] = int_value->IntegerValue();
+    }
+    return i;
+  }
+
+  assert(val->IsString());
+  Handle<String> string = Handle<String>::Cast(val);
+
+  if (encoding == UTF8) {
+    string->WriteUtf8(buf, buflen);
+    return buflen;
+  }
+
+  string->WriteAscii(buf, 0, buflen);
+  return buflen;
+}
+
 // Extracts a C string from a V8 Utf8Value.
 const char*
 ToCString(const v8::String::Utf8Value& value)
diff --git a/src/node.h b/src/node.h
index 6e18221586..a5a153cf28 100644
--- a/src/node.h
+++ b/src/node.h
@@ -36,5 +36,17 @@ enum encoding {ASCII, UTF8, RAW};
 enum encoding ParseEncoding (v8::Handle<v8::Value> encoding_v);
 void FatalException (v8::TryCatch &try_catch);
 
+v8::Local<v8::Value>
+Encode (const void *buf, size_t len, enum encoding encoding = RAW);
+
+// Returns -1 if the handle was not valid for decoding 
+ssize_t
+DecodeBytes (v8::Handle<v8::Value>, enum encoding encoding = RAW);
+
+// returns bytes written.
+ssize_t
+DecodeWrite (char *buf, size_t buflen, v8::Handle<v8::Value>, enum encoding encoding = RAW);
+
+
 } // namespace node
 #endif // node_h
diff --git a/src/node_stdio.cc b/src/node_stdio.cc
index c52d632cb2..cff050714d 100644
--- a/src/node_stdio.cc
+++ b/src/node_stdio.cc
@@ -67,41 +67,18 @@ Write (const Arguments& args)
 {
   HandleScope scope;
 
-  ssize_t len;
+  enum encoding enc = ParseEncoding(args[1]);
+  ssize_t len = DecodeBytes(args[0], enc);
 
-  Local<String> string;
-  Local<Array> array;
-
-  if (args[0]->IsArray()) {
-    array = Local<Array>::Cast(args[0]);
-    len = array->Length();
-  } else {
-    string = args[0]->ToString();
-    len = string->Utf8Length();
+  if (len < 0) {
+    Local<Value> exception = Exception::TypeError(String::New("Bad argument"));
+    return ThrowException(exception);
   }
 
   char buf[len];
-
-  if (args[0]->IsArray()) {
-    for (ssize_t index = 0; index < len; index++) {
-      Local<Value> int_value = array->Get(Integer::New(index));
-      buf[index] = int_value->IntegerValue();
-    }
-  } else {
-    switch (ParseEncoding(args[1])) {
-      case RAW:
-      case ASCII:
-        string->WriteAscii(buf, 0, len);
-        break;
-
-      case UTF8:
-        string->WriteUtf8(buf, len);
-        break;
-
-      default:
-        return ThrowException(String::New("Unknown encoding."));
-    }
-  }
+  ssize_t written = DecodeWrite(buf, len, args[0], enc);
+  
+  assert(written == len);
 
   evcom_writer_write(&out, buf, len);
 
@@ -149,23 +126,9 @@ on_read (evcom_reader *r, const void *buf, size_t len)
     return;
   }
 
-  Local<Value> input;
-
-  if (stdin_encoding == RAW) {
-    // raw encoding
-    Local<Array> array = Array::New(len);
-    for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-      unsigned char val = static_cast<const unsigned char*>(buf)[i];
-      array->Set(Integer::New(i), Integer::New(val));
-    }
-    input = array;
-
-  } else {
-    // utf8 or ascii encoding
-    input = String::New((const char*)buf, len);
-  }
+  Local<Value> data = Encode(buf, len, stdin_encoding);
 
-  EmitInput(input);
+  EmitInput(data);
 }
 
 static inline int