publish base64-encoding

examples.txt

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ Defer
 # Number Parsing
 # URLs
 SHA1 Hashes
-# Base64 Encoding
+Base64 Encoding
 # Reading Files
 # Writing Files
 Line Filters

examples/base64-encoding/base64-encoding.go

@@ -1,22 +1,35 @@
+// Go provides built-in support for [base64
+// encoding/decoding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base64).
+
 package main
 
+// This syntax imports the `encoding/base64` package with
+// the `b64` name instead of the default `base64`. It'll
+// save us some space below.
 import b64 "encoding/base64"
 import "fmt"
 
 func main() {
-    // The data we'll encode/decode.
-    data := "abc123!?$*&()'-=@~"
-    fmt.Println(data)
-    fmt.Println()
 
-    // Standard base64 encoding/decoding.
+    // Here's the `string` we'll encode/decode.
+    data := "abc123!?$*&()'-=@~"
+
+    // Go supports both standard and URL-compatible
+    // base64. Here's how to encode using the standard
+    // encoder. The encoder requires a `[]byte` so we
+    // cast our `string` to that type.
     sEnc := b64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(data))
     fmt.Println(sEnc)
+
+    // Decoding may return an error, which you can check
+    // if you don't already know the input to be
+    // well-formed.
     sDec, _ := b64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(sEnc)
     fmt.Println(string(sDec))
     fmt.Println()
 
-    // URL base64 encoding/decoding.
+    // This encodes/decodes using a URL-compatible base64
+    // format.
     uEnc := b64.URLEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(data))
     fmt.Println(uEnc)
     uDec, _ := b64.URLEncoding.DecodeString(uEnc)

examples/base64-encoding/base64-encoding.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# The string encodes to slightly different values with the
+# standard and URL base64 encoders (trailing `+` vs `-`)
+# but they both decode to the original string as desired.
+$ go run base64-encoding.sh
+YWJjMTIzIT8kKiYoKSctPUB+
+abc123!?$*&()'-=@~
+
+YWJjMTIzIT8kKiYoKSctPUB-
+abc123!?$*&()'-=@~