Base64 Image Decode

What is Base64 Image Decoding?

Base64 image decoding is a technique used to convert images into a textual representation so that they can be easily transmitted over the Internet and displayed in web pages, emails, or other documents. It is a method of encoding binary data, such as images, into an ASCII string format.

Normally, images are stored in binary format, consisting of a sequence of 0s and 1s, which cannot be directly embedded into HTML, CSS, or other text-based formats. Base64 encoding converts the binary data of an image into a series of printable ASCII characters, making it suitable for use in text-based contexts.

The process of Base64 image decoding involves the following steps:

1. Convert the binary image data into a stream of bytes.
2. Split the byte stream into groups of 3 bytes each.
3. For each group of 3 bytes, convert them into a 24-bit value.
4. Divide the 24-bit value into four 6-bit chunks.
5. Map each 6-bit chunk to its corresponding printable ASCII character based on the Base64 encoding table.
6. If the input data is not divisible by 3, padding characters (usually '=') are added to the end to ensure that the data is a multiple of 3 bytes.

The data in the "src" attribute of the "img" tag represents the Base64 encoded image. It starts with "data:image/png;base64," indicating that the image is in PNG format, followed by the Base64 encoded data. The browser can decode this data and render the image on the webpage.

Base64 image decoding is widely used in various web development scenarios and is particularly useful when you need to embed images directly into HTML, CSS, or XML files without the need for separate image files.