What Is Encoding and Decoding in Base 64?

Have you ever encountered Base64? It is a binary-to-text Encoding and Decoding in Base 64 method. Programmers prefer the use of this encoding or decoding scheme to transmit binary data. 

You must know the conversion methods using Base64. With its help, it can convert any binary data for transmission purposes. A media that only handles textual data requires this asset. Some protocols such as NNTP, SMTP were there previously. 

Their designs were for the work of plain text data transmission with the help of a 7-bit US-ASCII character set. Such traditional methods are not going to work these days. That’s why programmers develop a new method. It is Base64.

Details to Explore about Base64

The use of Free SVG icons is common. The encoding and decoding of such icons are possible with Base 64. Some programmers require additional support to transfer non-ASCII or binary data. Doing that work over such communication channels is quite challenging. 

That’s where Base64 comes in. it encodes the binary data to the ASCII charset. The Base64 encoding methods follow certain steps. They are as follows:

1. The encoding process converts binary data
2. Turn the entire data into a printable ASCII string format
3. Base64 encoding prefers the use of a subset of 65 characters 

However, the base64 decoding method is slightly different. They are mentioned below:

1. Collects your encoded strings 
2. Converts it back to binary data

Both have their premium benefits. The encoding process requires a subset of characters. They are adopted from the US-ASCII string format.

Some of these characters are mentioned below:

A to Z, a to z, 0 to 9, +, /, and =

The representation of the first 64 characters prefers a 6-bit sequence. For your understanding, you can take it like this, 2⁶ = 64.

These characters are the alphabets that come from Base64. Also, each alphabet has its own unique form of representation. They have a 6-bit sequence from 0 to 63. 

Do you have any idea about the alphabet of Base64? The following table is going to show you that:

# The Base64 Alphabet

Processes Involved in the Encoding and Decoding of Base64

The encoding process of Base64 has a unique input format. It receives the data of 8-bit bytes. The input process is carried out from left to right. The organization of input turns into 24-bit groups. It occurs due to the concatenating of three 8-bit bytes. 

Before this pattern, these 24-bit groups are concatenated into 6-bit groups. You have to convert each 6-bit group into a single character in the alphabets of base64. The above table is in the use to help with this kind of conversion.

You should add zero bits at the end of the input if it is fewer than the 24-bits. The addition of zero bits happens on the right of the digit. It is required to form an integral number that leads to the 6-bit groups. Also, the presence of one or two pad (=) characters are there in the output. 

The following cases will clarify them:

Input Has 8-bits Remaining at the End: To get the form of two 6-bit groups, you should add four zero bits. The resulting base64 encoded character needs each 6-bit group conversion. The use of the Base64 index table is the requirement.

Input Has 16-bits Remaining at the End: To obtain three 6-bit groups, you require two zero bits. Each of the three 6-bit groups undergoes the conversion to give rise to the corresponding base64 alphabet. Here, a single pad (=) character to gain in the output. 

The decoding process just follows the opposite path of the above encoding process. You should get clarification when you have the right example. Do you want to know how base64 encoding works? Here is an example:

Input: a@bc

Binary Representation of input (following 8-bit bytes):

01100001 01000000 01100010 01100011

Step 1: Let’s arrange the input into 24-bit groups. Doing so will let four 6-bit groups each. Also, a pad will appear at the end. This occurs to form an integral number of 6-bit groups.

            011000 010100 000001 100010 011000 110000 #

Step 2: Here, the conversion of the 6-bit sequences is priority into Base64 alphabets. Indexing is the process to get the result with the help of the Base64 index table.

The following indexes are obtained in the form of 6-bit groups equating:

24 20 1 34 24 48

The following output will come after the indexing of the base64 alphabet table:

YUBiYw==  # (padded with two `=` characters)

Base64 – A Binary Text to Follow the Encoding Scheme

The use of All Free SVG icons is common in certain web developments. Also, the conversion of those is possible with base64. After a long explanation of the encoding scheme, you should have obtained a great idea of different transfer content. 

On the internet, base64 has explanations about the binary to text encoding scheme. It is like binary data. The data obtained from the encoding of the base64 is not human readable. Yes, the resultant data is much more complex for your brain to decode the info. 

ASCII is a text format. The abbreviation of the term is American Standard for Information Interchange. This is the conversion text format that Base64 uses. 

The processes are involved in the data transfer. It is used to follow the method of transferring data over a medium that only allows the formats of ASCII. Do you know the expertise of this data transfer?

Conclusion – Encoding and Decoding in Base 64

The use of All Free SVG Icons is common in different website development like the conversion based on Base64. To transfer your content-based messages over the internet, Encoding and Decoding in Base 64 is the best asset. It explains a lot of things with the help of binary data and 6-bit units. 

It works by parting each 3-bits of binary data into 6-bits units. The new 64-radix numeral system is there to represent the 7-bit ASCII text. It occurs because of the division of each bit into 2-bits. The obtained conversion data is one-third, or 33 percent, larger than the original data.

Have you ever wondered about the other name of Base64? It represents Base64 Content-Transfer-Encoding. Well, things are easier with the encoding and decoding of data using this.