So, the space overhead is not a deal-breaker for sending files over web. The encoding size overhead is not that significant (typically around 2-5%) between the compressed original and compressed encoded files. API endpoints which have JSON payloads sometimes take the file as base64 in the JSON payload.ĭata sent over the wire, between the server and the browser is usually compressed with algorithms like gzip, brotli etc. E-Mail attachments are sent out as base64 encoded strings.īase64 is useful to send over any kind of data over the wire as a plain text string. Why is base64 used then?īase64 is used when there was a need to encode binary data so that it can be stored and transferred over mediums that primarily designed to deal with ASCII text. So, 33 % more storage is used than normal. To send three bytes of information ( cat for example) we would have to actually send out four bytes in base64 ( Y2F0). At that time, nobody had an idea that it could be a requirement to transfer big files through emails.Instead of one character representing 256 (2^8) as it does in normal encoding, each character represents only 64 (2^6) states in base64. That email was just build as a service to send small messages between users. What are the limitations of 7Bit Encoding? I just want to know that WHich encoding i should used. So I have used 7bit encoding ,and it gives me the good optimal size. then he should be able to view that.īut the size of the EML that we have created using Base64/Quoted printable encoding is larger than the original. But when user opens it in different Message Transfer Agent like OUtlook, OutLook Express, etc. I just want to store it on the FileSystem. My Basic requirement is to not send an EML file using SMTP. For Attachemnt we used System.Net,Mail.Attachment class We have following methods for generating EMLĢ. The property is TransferEncoding, there you can specify the Encoding Type. API provides a way to change the encoding for attachemnts. NET Frameworks MailMessage class for creating EML files. It was long before the internet and home computer area! At that time, nobody had an idea that it could be a requirement to transfer big files through emails. That way you do not have to create something that - from it's approach - wasn't build to keep files! (Always keep in mind, As a rule of thumb every three byte in input you have 4 byte in output If input data is not a multiple of six bit the base64 encoding fills the last block with 0 bit In your example you have 42 block of six bit, with last filled with missing 0 bit. If you want a file that could be universaly used, you could even think about office documents with embedded files. If you have 31 byte in input you have 318/6 bit block to encode. Or maybe keep everything in a database or so? Without any deeper details it is hard to
a zip file with the contents you like e.g.
You just want to document something, there are much better solutions in my eyes. So the only valid option in my eyes is the base64 encoding for binary files.Īnd at the moment you see me completly confused: You create emails but you do not send them at all? I am a little wondering about this design because whenever I see an email I expect that it either will be sent or that it was already sent in the past.
That is exactly what you need: In your attachement you hand over a stream to your file - at least in our code it was that way - I didn't check that codeproject project in detail!) The base64 encosing is written as stream-based data. But I have to confess that I didn't check the exact encoding that is done so far. So I would interpret it as a valid text encoded file (e.f. The Quoted-Printable is for characters, that can be printed. So you should only use this encoding for attachement that is already in 7-bit ASCII characters! The data is in 7-bit US-ASCII characters with a total line length of no longer than 1000 characters. You should have a closer look at the TransferEncoding enumeration ( )īecause it explains the different options.