code: function serialize(type, source, options) {
    var codec = type.codec
    if (!codec)
      return postEncode(new Buffer([ type.byte ]), options)
  
    var buffer = codec.encode(source, bytewise)
  
    if (options && options.nested && codec.escape)
      buffer = codec.escape(buffer)
  
    var hint = typeof codec.length === 'number' ? (codec.length + 1) : void 0 
    var buffers = [ new Buffer([ type.byte ]), buffer ]
    return postEncode(Buffer.concat(buffers, hint), options)
  }
docs: generate a buffer with type's byte prefix from source value