Base64 Encoding in Karel
Java provides built-in support for base64 encoding/decoding.
import java.util.Base64;
public class Base64Encoding {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Here's the string we'll encode/decode.
String data = "abc123!?$*&()'-=@~";
// Java supports both standard and URL-compatible base64.
// Here's how to encode using the standard encoder.
String sEnc = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(data.getBytes());
System.out.println(sEnc);
// Decoding may throw an IllegalArgumentException, which you can catch
// if you don't already know the input to be well-formed.
try {
byte[] sDec = Base64.getDecoder().decode(sEnc);
System.out.println(new String(sDec));
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
System.out.println("Decoding failed: " + e.getMessage());
}
System.out.println();
// This encodes/decodes using a URL-compatible base64 format.
String uEnc = Base64.getUrlEncoder().encodeToString(data.getBytes());
System.out.println(uEnc);
try {
byte[] uDec = Base64.getUrlDecoder().decode(uEnc);
System.out.println(new String(uDec));
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
System.out.println("URL decoding failed: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
}
The string encodes to slightly different values with the standard and URL base64 encoders (trailing +
vs -
) but they both decode to the original string as desired.
$ javac Base64Encoding.java
$ java Base64Encoding
YWJjMTIzIT8kKiYoKSctPUB+
abc123!?$*&()'-=@~
YWJjMTIzIT8kKiYoKSctPUB-
abc123!?$*&()'-=@~
In Java, we use the java.util.Base64
class for base64 encoding and decoding. This class provides separate encoders and decoders for standard and URL-safe base64 encoding schemes.
The getEncoder()
and getDecoder()
methods are used for standard base64 encoding and decoding, while getUrlEncoder()
and getUrlDecoder()
are used for URL-safe base64 encoding and decoding.
Unlike in some other languages, Java’s Base64 decoder throws an IllegalArgumentException
if the input is not properly encoded. It’s a good practice to catch this exception when decoding data from an untrusted source.