NOTE
1.2 Base64
Base64 encoding, process, use cases, and comparison with URL encoding.
This is a historical learning note and may contain outdated or incomplete understanding.
1. What Is Base64
Base64 is an encoding scheme that represents binary data using a set of 64 printable characters. It is encoding, not encryption.
2. Base64 Process
Base64 groups input bytes into 24-bit blocks, splits each block into four 6-bit values, and maps those values to Base64 characters. Padding with = may be used when the input length is not a multiple of three bytes.
3. Base64 Use Cases
- Represent binary content in text-only contexts.
- Embed small binary values in formats such as MIME or data URLs.
- Transport values through systems that are safer with printable characters.
4. Base64 vs URL Encoding
- Base64 converts bytes into a printable character representation.
- URL encoding percent-encodes characters that have special meaning in URLs.
- Ordinary Base64 contains
+,/, and=, while Base64URL uses a URL-safe alphabet.