for val0 in data:
  length = len(val0)
  if python3 or type(val0) == unicode:
    val0 = val0.encode('utf-8')
    length = len(val0)
  if python3:
    buff.write(struct.pack('<I%sB'%length, length, *val0))
  else:
    buff.write(struct.pack('<I%ss'%length, length, val0))