integer to binary

[chandru]

Hi,

I want to convert an integer to a binary without having to
guess/figure-out how many bytes are required to fit that integer.
There doesn't seem to be a way to do this with the bit syntax.

11> <<12345678901:40>>.
<<2,223,220,28,53>>

12> <<12345678901:48>>.
<<0,2,223,220,28,53>>

In the example above, the integer will fit in 5 bytes but I can't
think of a way to specify this without trial and error. Any
suggestions? I can write a function which will figure out how many
bytes are required but it'll be nice to have a built-in way of doing
it.

cheers
Chandru