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Base64 Encoder/Decoder in C#

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3.28/5 (47 votes)
19 Nov 2003 367.3K   8.3K   59   35
An implementation of Base64 encoding/decoding in C#

Image 1

Introduction

The code implements the encoding and decoding mechanism of Base64, which is widely used in e-Mail encoding and also .NET Viewstate encoding.

Background

It is written based on RFC 1341, using VS.NET 2003.

Notes

I didn't implement filtering and inserting carriage return and newline etc.

Code Listing

Encoder source

C#
using System;

namespace TestBase64
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Summary description for Base64Encoder.
  /// </summary>
  public class Base64Encoder
  {
    byte[] source;
    int length,length2;
    int blockCount;
    int paddingCount;
    public Base64Encoder(byte[] input)
    {
      source=input;
      length=input.Length;
      if((length % 3)==0)
      {
        paddingCount=0;
        blockCount=length/3;
      }
      else
      {
        paddingCount=3-(length % 3);//need to add padding
        blockCount=(length+paddingCount) / 3;
      }
      length2=length+paddingCount;//or blockCount *3
    }

    public char[] GetEncoded()
    {
      byte[] source2;
      source2=new byte[length2];
      //copy data over insert padding
      for (int x=0; x<length2;x++)
      {
        if (x<length)
        {
          source2[x]=source[x];
        }
        else
        {
          source2[x]=0;
        }
      }
      
      byte b1, b2, b3;
      byte temp, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4;
      byte[] buffer=new byte[blockCount*4];
      char[] result=new char[blockCount*4];
      for (int x=0;x<blockCount;x++)
      {
        b1=source2[x*3];
        b2=source2[x*3+1];
        b3=source2[x*3+2];

        temp1=(byte)((b1 & 252)>>2);//first

        temp=(byte)((b1 & 3)<<4);
        temp2=(byte)((b2 & 240)>>4);
        temp2+=temp; //second

        temp=(byte)((b2 & 15)<<2);
        temp3=(byte)((b3 & 192)>>6);
        temp3+=temp; //third

        temp4=(byte)(b3 & 63); //fourth

        buffer[x*4]=temp1;
        buffer[x*4+1]=temp2;
        buffer[x*4+2]=temp3;
        buffer[x*4+3]=temp4;

      }

      for (int x=0; x<blockCount*4;x++)
      {
        result[x]=sixbit2char(buffer[x]);
      }

      //covert last "A"s to "=", based on paddingCount
      switch (paddingCount)
      {
        case 0:break;
        case 1:result[blockCount*4-1]='=';break;
        case 2:result[blockCount*4-1]='=';
          result[blockCount*4-2]='=';
          break;
        default:break;
      }
      return result;
    }

    private char sixbit2char(byte b)
    {
      char[] lookupTable=new char[64]
          {  'A','B','C','D','E','F','G','H','I','J','K','L','M',
            'N','O','P','Q','R','S','T','U','V','W','X','Y','Z',
            'a','b','c','d','e','f','g','h','i','j','k','l','m',
            'n','o','p','q','r','s','t','u','v','w','x','y','z',
            '0','1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9','+','/'};

      if((b>=0) &&(b<=63))
      {
        return lookupTable[(int)b];
      }
      else
      {
        //should not happen;
        return ' ';
      }
    }
  }
}

Decoder source

C#
using System;

namespace TestBase64
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Summary description for Base64Decoder.
  /// </summary>
  public class Base64Decoder
  {
    char[] source;
    int length, length2, length3;
    int blockCount;
    int paddingCount;
    public Base64Decoder(char[] input)
    {
      int temp=0;
      source=input;
      length=input.Length;

      //find how many padding are there
      for (int x=0;x<2;x++)
      {
        if(input[length-x-1]=='=')
          temp++;
      }
      paddingCount=temp;
      //calculate the blockCount;
      //assuming all whitespace and carriage returns/newline were removed.
      blockCount=length/4;
      length2=blockCount*3;
    }

    public byte[] GetDecoded()
    {
      byte[] buffer=new byte[length];//first conversion result
      byte[] buffer2=new byte[length2];//decoded array with padding

      for(int x=0;x<length;x++)
      {
        buffer[x]=char2sixbit(source[x]);
      }

      byte b, b1,b2,b3;
      byte temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4;

      for(int x=0;x<blockCount;x++)
      {
        temp1=buffer[x*4];
        temp2=buffer[x*4+1];
        temp3=buffer[x*4+2];
        temp4=buffer[x*4+3];        

        b=(byte)(temp1<<2);
        b1=(byte)((temp2 & 48)>>4);
        b1+=b;

        b=(byte)((temp2 & 15)<<4);
        b2=(byte)((temp3 & 60)>>2);
        b2+=b;

        b=(byte)((temp3 & 3)<<6);
        b3=temp4;
        b3+=b;

        buffer2[x*3]=b1;
        buffer2[x*3+1]=b2;
        buffer2[x*3+2]=b3;
      }
      //remove paddings
      length3=length2-paddingCount;
      byte[] result=new byte[length3];

      for(int x=0;x<length3;x++)
      {
        result[x]=buffer2[x];
      }

      return result;
    }

    private byte char2sixbit(char c)
    {
      char[] lookupTable=new char[64]
          {  

    'A','B','C','D','E','F','G','H','I','J','K','L','M','N',
    'O','P','Q','R','S','T','U','V','W','X','Y', 'Z',
    'a','b','c','d','e','f','g','h','i','j','k','l','m','n',
    'o','p','q','r','s','t','u','v','w','x','y','z',
    '0','1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9','+','/'};
      if(c=='=')
        return 0;
      else
      {
        for (int x=0;x<64;x++)
        {
          if (lookupTable[x]==c)
            return (byte)x;
        }
        //should not reach here
        return 0;
      }

    }

  }
}

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


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Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionLicense Question Pin
Member 1238613511-Mar-16 10:26
Member 1238613511-Mar-16 10:26 
AnswerRe: License Question Pin
PIEBALDconsult11-Mar-16 10:53
mvePIEBALDconsult11-Mar-16 10:53 
Questioncan someone please explain the shift part in GetEncoded()? Pin
Roy Barina12-Feb-16 7:25
Roy Barina12-Feb-16 7:25 
AnswerRe: can someone please explain the shift part in GetEncoded()? Pin
Roy Barina13-Feb-16 4:42
Roy Barina13-Feb-16 4:42 
QuestionLicense Pin
Alan Hayslep29-Aug-13 0:32
Alan Hayslep29-Aug-13 0:32 
QuestionGreat Pin
RaMMicHaeL22-May-13 10:46
RaMMicHaeL22-May-13 10:46 
QuestionYou are a livesaver Thank you Pin
dl4gbe16-Oct-12 10:13
dl4gbe16-Oct-12 10:13 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
daylightdj1-May-12 1:20
daylightdj1-May-12 1:20 
QuestionOptimized version available on Github Pin
Ramon Smits13-Jan-12 5:43
Ramon Smits13-Jan-12 5:43 
GeneralRe: Optimized version available on Github Pin
ashishkum23-Jan-12 20:53
ashishkum23-Jan-12 20:53 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Palanikumar3111-Aug-11 23:26
Palanikumar3111-Aug-11 23:26 
GeneralGood, but throws System.OutOfMemoryException when processing large data Pin
joujoukinder27-Apr-11 4:15
joujoukinder27-Apr-11 4:15 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Jason Newland8-Apr-11 17:34
Jason Newland8-Apr-11 17:34 
GeneralMy vote of 2 Pin
Toli Cuturicu22-Oct-10 8:31
Toli Cuturicu22-Oct-10 8:31 
GeneralRe: My vote of 2 Pin
Jason Newland8-Apr-11 17:38
Jason Newland8-Apr-11 17:38 
GeneralRe: My vote of 2 Pin
TheDarkPT24-May-14 7:05
TheDarkPT24-May-14 7:05 
GeneralVery inefficient encoder Pin
andykernahan29-Jun-07 23:06
andykernahan29-Jun-07 23:06 
GeneralRe: Very inefficient encoder Pin
TimmMartin27-Feb-08 3:56
TimmMartin27-Feb-08 3:56 
GeneralC#.NET Window applicaiton Pin
crish_fn21-Feb-07 8:41
crish_fn21-Feb-07 8:41 
Generaldecoding is broken if there are linefeeds Pin
no_way20-Feb-07 20:08
no_way20-Feb-07 20:08 
GeneralThanks for the code Pin
WillStay7-Oct-06 3:18
WillStay7-Oct-06 3:18 
GeneralReally useful in mail subject decoding Pin
Raja K Vairakkannu22-Aug-06 4:07
Raja K Vairakkannu22-Aug-06 4:07 
JokeReliable than .NET version! Thanks Pin
meraydin21-Jun-06 20:31
meraydin21-Jun-06 20:31 
GeneralRe: Reliable than .NET version! Thanks Pin
SenFo24-Jan-07 10:01
SenFo24-Jan-07 10:01 
GeneralVery Useful - especially if you want to implement a base 64 encoder for URL Pin
monkeydispenser17-Mar-06 1:44
monkeydispenser17-Mar-06 1:44 

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