base16 Algorithm
The Base16 algorithm, also known as hexadecimal encoding, is a widely-used binary-to-text encoding method that represents binary data as a string of hexadecimal characters. Each hexadecimal character represents four bits of data, and thus the Base16 algorithm can represent a byte with two characters. This encoding system is commonly used in various computing applications, such as in programming languages, digital forensics, and data transmission, where it is essential to represent binary data in a human-readable and compact format.
The Base16 algorithm maps the binary values to their respective hexadecimal characters, ranging from the digits 0-9 and the letters A-F (or a-f in lowercase). The encoding process involves breaking the input binary data into 4-bit groups and converting each group into its corresponding hexadecimal character. To decode a Base16-encoded string, the process is reversed, by mapping each hexadecimal character back to its 4-bit binary value and concatenating the binary values to form the original binary data. One significant advantage of the Base16 algorithm is its simplicity, as it is easy to understand and implement, while also being efficient for data storage and transmission. However, it is less compact compared to other encoding methods, such as Base64, which can represent more data using fewer characters.
import base64
def main():
inp = input("->")
encoded = inp.encode("utf-8") # encoded the input (we need a bytes like object)
b16encoded = base64.b16encode(encoded) # b16encoded the encoded string
print(b16encoded)
print(base64.b16decode(b16encoded).decode("utf-8")) # decoded it
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
