Base85 Encoder/Decoder

What is Base85?

Base85, also known as Ascii85, is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that uses 85 printable ASCII characters to represent binary data. It's more efficient than Base64, allowing for about 4% smaller output.

Key Points About Base85:

• Uses 85 printable ASCII characters
• More efficient than Base64, producing smaller output
• Used in some Adobe products and in the Git version control system
• Several variants exist, including Z85 used in ZeroMQ

How Base85 Conversion Works

Base85 conversion involves translating between plain text and its Base85 representation. Here's a brief overview:

1. Text to Base85: The text is converted to binary, then to a large integer, which is then represented in Base85
2. Base85 to text: The Base85 is converted to a large integer, then to binary, and finally to text
3. Uses a wider range of ASCII characters than many other encodings
4. Processes data in groups of 4 bytes, encoding each group into 5 ASCII characters

This converter allows you to easily switch between text and its Base85 representation, which can be useful for efficient encoding of binary data in a human-readable format.