What is the difference between Base64 and base 64?
Base64 (capital B) is a specific encoding scheme using 64 characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /) commonly used for encoding binary data. "Base 64" (lowercase) refers to any numeral system with a radix of 64, which could use different character sets. This tool shows Base64 encoding results specifically.
What bases are most commonly used in programming?
Binary (base 2) represents bits and is fundamental to all computing. Octal (base 8) was historically used in Unix permissions. Decimal (base 10) is our everyday number system. Hexadecimal (base 16) is widely used for memory addresses, color codes, and compact binary representation. Base64 is common for encoding binary data in text formats.
Can I convert negative numbers or decimals?
This tool currently supports positive integers only. Negative numbers and fractional values require different representation schemes (like two's complement for negatives or fixed/floating-point for decimals) that vary by implementation. For these cases, use specialized tools or programming language functions.
What characters are valid for each base?
Binary (base 2) uses 0-1. Octal (base 8) uses 0-7. Decimal (base 10) uses 0-9. Hexadecimal (base 16) uses 0-9 and A-F. Higher bases typically use 0-9, A-Z, a-z, and additional symbols. The tool will validate your input and show an error if you use invalid characters for the selected base.
Why would I use a custom base like 36 or 62?
Custom bases are useful for creating compact, URL-safe identifiers. Base 36 (0-9, A-Z) and Base 62 (0-9, A-Z, a-z) are popular for URL shorteners, generating short codes, and creating case-sensitive identifiers with maximum information density in the fewest characters.