BASE64Encoder in Java 9

Introduction

In Java, the BASE64Encoder class is used to encode binary data into a Base64 format. Base64 encoding is commonly used for transmitting or storing binary data as text, as it is a way to represent binary data in an ASCII string format.

In this article, we will explore the BASE64Encoder class in Java 9 and learn how to use it to encode binary data.

The BASE64Encoder class

The BASE64Encoder class is part of the sun.misc package in Java. It provides methods to encode binary data into Base64 format.

However, starting from Java 9, the sun.misc.BASE64Encoder class is no longer accessible by default, as it is considered an internal implementation detail and not part of the public API. Therefore, it is recommended to use the java.util.Base64 class instead, which provides a more robust and standardized way to perform Base64 encoding and decoding.

Using java.util.Base64 for encoding

To encode binary data using the java.util.Base64 class, we can follow these steps:

  1. Create a Base64.Encoder object.
  2. Use the Base64.Encoder.encodeToString() method to encode the binary data.

Here is an example that demonstrates how to encode a byte array using java.util.Base64:

import java.util.Base64;

public class Base64EncoderExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Create a byte array
        byte[] data = "Hello, World!".getBytes();

        // Create a Base64.Encoder object
        Base64.Encoder encoder = Base64.getEncoder();

        // Encode the data
        String encodedData = encoder.encodeToString(data);

        // Print the encoded data
        System.out.println(encodedData);
    }
}

In this example, we first create a byte array containing the string "Hello, World!". Then, we create a Base64.Encoder object using the Base64.getEncoder() method. Finally, we use the encoder.encodeToString() method to encode the byte array into a Base64 string, which we print to the console.

The output of this example is:

SGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkIQ==

Conclusion

In this article, we explored the BASE64Encoder class in Java 9 and learned how to use it to encode binary data into a Base64 format. However, we also mentioned that starting from Java 9, it is recommended to use the java.util.Base64 class instead, which provides a more standardized and robust way to perform Base64 encoding and decoding.

If you need to encode or decode Base64 data in your Java application, make sure to use the java.util.Base64 class, as the BASE64Encoder class is no longer accessible by default in Java 9 and later versions.

Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A[Start] --> B{Create byte array}
    B --> C{Create Base64.Encoder}
    C --> D{Encode data}
    D --> E[Print encoded data]
    E --> F[End]

References

  • [Java documentation: java.util.Base64](
  • [Base64 encoding](