Base32 and Base58 Encoder and Decoder

About the Base32 and Base58 Encoder and Decoder

Base32 and Base58 write binary data as plain text. Base32 splits the data into 5 bit groups and maps each to one of 32 characters, so every 5 bytes become 8 characters, which makes the text 1.6 times as long as the data. RFC 4648 uses the letters A to Z and the digits 2 to 7, and pads the end with = signs to a multiple of 8 characters. For example, foobar becomes MZXW6YTBOI======, and Hello World! becomes JBSWY3DPEBLW64TMMQQQ====. The extended hex alphabet uses 0 to 9 and A to V, which keeps the encoded text in the same sort order as the original bytes. Crockford's alphabet leaves out I, L, O and U so that codes are easy to read aloud, and reads O as 0 and I or L as 1 when decoding. Base32 is common in authenticator app keys and file names. Base58 treats the bytes as one large number and writes it in base 58 using the digits and letters without 0, O, I and l, so look-alike characters cannot be confused. It adds a leading 1 for every leading zero byte. Hello World! becomes 2NEpo7TZRRrLZSi2U. Base58 is used for Bitcoin addresses and short identifiers, and is about 1.37 times as long as the data. Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes first, and decoded bytes that are not valid UTF-8 are shown as hex. These are encodings, not encryption, and anyone can decode them.