Base32
Okay kiddo, today we will talk about something called base32. You know how we use numbers from 0 to 9 to count things, right? Well, for computers, things work in a slightly different way.
Computers understand only two things: 0 and 1. So, to store and transmit information, we use a series of 0s and 1s, which are called bits. Eight bits make one byte, which is the smallest unit of information that can be stored in a computer.
Now, sometimes we need to represent information in a way that is easy for humans to read and remember, like a password or a phone number. That's where base32 comes in.
Base32 is a system that uses a set of 32 characters (letters and numbers) to encode information in a way that's easy for humans to use. The 32 characters are chosen to be "safe" and not easily confused with each other.
To encode something in base32, we first break it up into 5-bit groups. Each 5-bit group can have 32 possible values, so we use one of the 32 characters to represent it. We keep doing this until we've encoded the entire message.
For example, let's say we want to encode the word "hello". First, we convert each letter to its ASCII code (which is a way to represent letters and symbols as numbers). The ASCII codes for "hello" are:
104 101 108 108 111
Now, we convert each ASCII code to binary:
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111
Next, we break up the binary string into 5-bit groups:
01101 00011 01010 00110 11011 01100 11011 01111
Finally, we convert each 5-bit group to its corresponding base32 character:
N G W Z 7 S 7 A
So, "hello" in base32 is "NGWZ7S7A". Pretty cool, huh?
Computers understand only two things: 0 and 1. So, to store and transmit information, we use a series of 0s and 1s, which are called bits. Eight bits make one byte, which is the smallest unit of information that can be stored in a computer.
Now, sometimes we need to represent information in a way that is easy for humans to read and remember, like a password or a phone number. That's where base32 comes in.
Base32 is a system that uses a set of 32 characters (letters and numbers) to encode information in a way that's easy for humans to use. The 32 characters are chosen to be "safe" and not easily confused with each other.
To encode something in base32, we first break it up into 5-bit groups. Each 5-bit group can have 32 possible values, so we use one of the 32 characters to represent it. We keep doing this until we've encoded the entire message.
For example, let's say we want to encode the word "hello". First, we convert each letter to its ASCII code (which is a way to represent letters and symbols as numbers). The ASCII codes for "hello" are:
104 101 108 108 111
Now, we convert each ASCII code to binary:
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111
Next, we break up the binary string into 5-bit groups:
01101 00011 01010 00110 11011 01100 11011 01111
Finally, we convert each 5-bit group to its corresponding base32 character:
N G W Z 7 S 7 A
So, "hello" in base32 is "NGWZ7S7A". Pretty cool, huh?