What is org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64 class? How to use org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64 class?

org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64 class is a Java class offered in commons-codec.jar that provides Base64 encoding and decoding as defined by RFC 2045.

Two commonly used static methods in org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64 class are:

1. The encoding method:

public static byte[] encodeBase64(byte[] binaryData)

Encodes binary data using the base64 algorithm but does not chunk the output.

Parameters:
    binaryData - binary data to encode
Returns:
    byte[] containing Base64 characters in their UTF-8 representation.

2. The decoding method:

public static byte[] decodeBase64(byte[] base64Data)

Decodes Base64 data into octets.

Note: this method seamlessly handles data encoded in URL-safe or normal mode.

Parameters:
    base64Data - Byte array containing Base64 data
Returns:
    Array containing decoded data.

Here is a simple example of org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64 class:

// Copyright (c) 2016 FYIcenter.com
import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;

// Example of using the Base64 class
public class Base64Example {
   public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
       
      System.out.println("encodeBase64() Example:");
      String inputString = "Hello World";
      byte[] inputBytes = inputString.getBytes("UTF8");
      byte[] outputBytes = Base64.encodeBase64(inputBytes);
      String outputString = new String(outputBytes,"UTF8");
      String expectedString = "SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=";
      System.out.println("   Input string: "+inputString);
      System.out.println("   Encoded string: "+outputString);
      System.out.println("   Expected string: "+expectedString);
      
      System.out.println("decodeBase64() Example:");
      inputString = "SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=";
      inputBytes = inputString.getBytes("UTF8");
      outputBytes = Base64.decodeBase64(inputBytes);
      outputString = new String(outputBytes,"UTF8");
      expectedString = "Hello World";
      System.out.println("   Input string: "+inputString);
      System.out.println("   Encoded string: "+outputString);
      System.out.println("   Expected string: "+expectedString);
   }
}

You can compile and run the above example in a command window as shown below:

C:\fyicenter>\local\jdk-1.8.0\bin\javac 
   -cp C:\local\commons-codec-1.10\commons-codec-1.10.jar 
   Base64Example.java

C:\fyicenter>\local\jdk-1.8.0\bin\java
   -cp .;C:\local\commons-codec-1.10\commons-codec-1.10.jar 
   Base64Example

encodeBase64() Example:
   Input string: Hello World
   Encoded string: SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=
   Expected string: SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=
decodeBase64() Example:
   Input string: SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=
   Encoded string: Hello World
   Expected string: Hello World

⇒ org.apache.commons.codec.binary.BinaryCodec Example

⇐ Class Packages in Apache commons-codec-1.10.jar

⇑ Using commons-codec.jar in Java Programs

⇑⇑ FAQ for Apache Commons Codec JAR Library