CFML Reference

ToBinary

Description

Calculates the binary representation of Base64-encoded data.

Return value

The binary representation of Base64-encoded data.

Category

Conversion functions, Other functions, String functions

Syntax

ToBinary(string_in_Base64 or binary_value) 

See also

• cffile for information about loading and reading binary data
• cfwddx for information about serializing and deserializing binary data
• IsBinary and ToBase64 for checking format and converting to Base64
• Len for determining the length of a binary object

Parameters

Parameter	Description
string_in_Base64 or binary_value	A string or a variable that contains one: In Base64 format to convert to binary In binary format to test whether it is valid

Usage

Base64 provides 6-bit encoding of 8-bit ASCII characters. From Base64 data, you can recreate the binary object that it represents, such as a GIF, JPG, or executable file.

Example

<h3>ToBinary Example</h3>
<!---- Initialize data. ---->
<cfset charData = "">
<!---- Create a string of ASCII characters (32-255); concatenate them. ---->
<cfloop index = "data" from = "32" to = "255">
  <cfset ch = chr(data)>
  <cfset charData = charData & ch>
</cfloop>
<p>The following string is the concatenation of all characters (32 to 255) 
from the ASCII table.<br>
<cfoutput>#charData#</cfoutput></p>
<!----- Create a Base64 representation of this string. ----->
<cfset data64 = toBase64(charData)>

<!--- Convert string to binary. ---->
<cfset binaryData = toBinary(data64)>
<!--- Convert binary back to Base64. --->
<cfset another64 = toBase64(binaryData)>
<!---- Compare another64 with data64 to ensure that they are equal. ---->
<cfif another64 eq data64>
  <h3>Base64 representation of binary data is identical to the Base64
representation of string data.</h3>
<cfelse>
  <h3>Conversion error.</h3>
</cfif>

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