Base64 Encoding
Base64 Encoding full deep dive. Why is it 33% less efficient? For good reason! The idea is allowing Binary data to be represented in ASCII format. Base64 wastes 2 of the 8 bites in an octet (byte). This technical overview is all about Base64 encoding, a method used all around us constantly. Every email attachment we receive uses Base64 encoding, converting the binary data into an ASCII format safe for transmission. This process may not be utilized by software engineers on every project, but every user benefits from it indirectly. Not just for emails, Base64 encoding is crucial in securely authenticating users when they sign into websites. Through the use of algorithms like SHA-256, your login credentials are converted into a hash and stored as a Base64 encoded ASCII text, ensuring your original credentials are never stored as plain text. This encoding method also comes in handy with JSON Web Tokens and CSS images, safe guarding special characters and ensuring seamless transmission across a variety of formats. However, Base64 is not without its downsides. In conversion, a chunk of data is increased by about 33%, directly attributable to Base64 utilizing only six bits of a one-byte octet, making the encoding method somewhat inefficient. But given its pivotal role in enabling binary data representation in an ASCII environment, HTML, CSS, emails, JSON web tokens etc., Base64 has become a universal encoding choice. You could find Base64 libraries in practically every software development language. Despite compromising a bit on efficiency, Base64 encoding remains future-proof due to its universal compatibility, safety and easy to integrate nature.
