PHP Functions Essential Reference

base64_decode

string base64_decode(string encoded_data) 

Decodes a string encoded with base64 encoding.

Returns:

Decoded string; FALSE if the argument passed has no length when converted to a string

Description:

base64_decode() decodes a base64 string and returns the decoded data. The data returned may be character or binary data.

Note:

Base64 encoding is used to encode data before it’s transferred across legacy email systems that only support 7-bit ASCII. For more information on base64, refer to RFC 2045.

Availability:

UNIX, Windows

Version:

3+, 4+

See also:

base64_decode() 

Example:

Demonstrate how base64_decode() works

$data = "Hey Jude"; $encoded = base64_encode ($data); $decoded = base64_decode ($encoded); print <<<_END_ Original Data: ...