Base64 is common used. Now Google added a utility class android.util.Base64. Unfortunately it is only available in Android 2.2 and later.
So, you need just a little bit work to use it with Android 2.1 or ealier. Yes, just copy and past the source of Base64 into your project. Make sure to preserve the Apache 2.0 license section, in order to conform to the license. The source code is provided at the end of this post, for your reference.
My disclaimer: I am not responsible for any result in doing the practice described hereby. Read the license if you need. 
Now let’s see example usage:
import android.util.Base64;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String data = "this is a message by frank.";
String encoded = Base64.encodeToString(data.getBytes(), Base64.DEFAULT);
System.out.println("Encoded: " + encoded);
String decoded = new String(Base64.decode(encoded, Base64.DEFAULT));
System.out.println("Decoded: " + decoded);
}
}
The output is:
Encoded: dGhpcyBpcyBhIG1lc3NhZ2UgYnkgZnJhbmsu
Decoded: this is a message by frank.
Let’s try decode the message in python:
import base64
print base64.b64decode('dGhpcyBpcyBhIG1lc3NhZ2UgYnkgZnJhbmsu')
You will get the same input message htere. Now you are ready to send your data to anywhere, like app engine, you know!
The android.util.Base64 source
package android.util;
/*
* Copyright (C) 2010 The Android Open Source Project
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
/**
* Utilities for encoding and decoding the Base64 representation of
* binary data. See RFCs 2045 and 3548.
*/
public class Base64 {
/**
* Default values for encoder/decoder flags.
*/
public static final int DEFAULT = 0;
/**
* Encoder flag bit to omit the padding '=' characters at the end
* of the output (if any).
*/
public static final int NO_PADDING = 1;
/**
* Encoder flag bit to omit all line terminators (i.e., the output
* will be on one long line).
*/
public static final int NO_WRAP = 2;
/**
* Encoder flag bit to indicate lines should be terminated with a
* CRLF pair instead of just an LF. Has no effect if {@code
* NO_WRAP} is specified as well.
*/
public static final int CRLF = 4;
/**
* Encoder/decoder flag bit to indicate using the "URL and
* filename safe" variant of Base64 (see RFC 3548 section 4) where
* {@code -} and {@code _} are used in place of {@code +} and
* {@code /}.
*/
public static final int URL_SAFE = 8;
/**
* Flag to pass to {@link Base64OutputStream} to indicate that it
* should not close the output stream it is wrapping when it
* itself is closed.
*/
public static final int NO_CLOSE = 16;
// --------------------------------------------------------
// shared code
// --------------------------------------------------------
/* package */ static abstract class Coder {
public byte[] output;
public int op;
/**
* Encode/decode another block of input data. this.output is
* provided by the caller, and must be big enough to hold all
* the coded data. On exit, this.opwill be set to the length
* of the coded data.
*
* @param finish true if this is the final call to process for
* this object. Will finalize the coder state and
* include any final bytes in the output.
*
* @return true if the input so far is good; false if some
* error has been detected in the input stream..
*/
public abstract boolean process(byte[] input, int offset, int len, boolean finish);
/**
* @return the maximum number of bytes a call to process()
* could produce for the given number of input bytes. This may
* be an overestimate.
*/
public abstract int maxOutputSize(int len);
}
// --------------------------------------------------------
// decoding
// --------------------------------------------------------
/**
* Decode the Base64-encoded data in input and return the data in
* a new byte array.
*
*
The padding '=' characters at the end are considered optional, but
* if any are present, there must be the correct number of them.
*
* @param str the input String to decode, which is converted to
* bytes using the default charset
* @param flags controls certain features of the decoded output.
* Pass {@code DEFAULT} to decode standard Base64.
*
* @throws IllegalArgumentException if the input contains
* incorrect padding
*/
public static byte[] decode(String str, int flags) {
return decode(str.getBytes(), flags);
}
/**
* Decode the Base64-encoded data in input and return the data in
* a new byte array.
*
*
The padding '=' characters at the end are considered optional, but
* if any are present, there must be the correct number of them.
*
* @param input the input array to decode
* @param flags controls certain features of the decoded output.
* Pass {@code DEFAULT} to decode standard Base64.
*
* @throws IllegalArgumentException if the input contains
* incorrect padding
*/
public static byte[] decode(byte[] input, int flags) {
return decode(input, 0, input.length, flags);
}
/**
* Decode the Base64-encoded data in input and return the data in
* a new byte array.
*
*
The padding '=' characters at the end are considered optional, but
* if any are present, there must be the correct number of them.
*
* @param input the data to decode
* @param offset the position within the input array at which to start
* @param len the number of bytes of input to decode
* @param flags controls certain features of the decoded output.
* Pass {@code DEFAULT} to decode standard Base64.
*
* @throws IllegalArgumentException if the input contains
* incorrect padding
*/
public static byte[] decode(byte[] input, int offset, int len, int flags) {
// Allocate space for the most data the input could represent.
// (It could contain less if it contains whitespace, etc.)
Decoder decoder = new Decoder(flags, new byte[len*3/4]);
if (!decoder.process(input, offset, len, true)) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("bad base-64");
}
// Maybe we got lucky and allocated exactly enough output space.
if (decoder.op == decoder.output.length) {
return decoder.output;
}
// Need to shorten the array, so allocate a new one of the
// right size and copy.
byte[] temp = new byte[decoder.op];
System.arraycopy(decoder.output, 0, temp, 0, decoder.op);
return temp;
}
/* package */ static class Decoder extends Coder {
/**
* Lookup table for turning bytes into their position in the
* Base64 alphabet.
*/
private static final int DECODE[] = {
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, 62, -1, -1, -1, 63,
52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, -1, -1, -1, -2, -1, -1,
-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
};
/**
* Decode lookup table for the "web safe" variant (RFC 3548
* sec. 4) where - and _ replace + and /.
*/
private static final int DECODE_WEBSAFE[] = {
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, 62, -1, -1,
52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, -1, -1, -1, -2, -1, -1,
-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, -1, -1, -1, -1, 63,
-1, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
};
/** Non-data values in the DECODE arrays. */
private static final int SKIP = -1;
private static final int EQUALS = -2;
/**
* States 0-3 are reading through the next input tuple.
* State 4 is having read one '=' and expecting exactly
* one more.
* State 5 is expecting no more data or padding characters
* in the input.
* State 6 is the error state; an error has been detected
* in the input and no future input can "fix" it.
*/
private int state; // state number (0 to 6)
private int value;
final private int[] alphabet;
public Decoder(int flags, byte[] output) {
this.output = output;
alphabet = ((flags & URL_SAFE) == 0) ? DECODE : DECODE_WEBSAFE;
state = 0;
value = 0;
}
/**
* @return an overestimate for the number of bytes {@code
* len} bytes could decode to.
*/
public int maxOutputSize(int len) {
return len * 3/4 + 10;
}
/**
* Decode another block of input data.
*
* @return true if the state machine is still healthy. false if
* bad base-64 data has been detected in the input stream.
*/
public boolean process(byte[] input, int offset, int len, boolean finish) {
if (this.state == 6) return false;
int p = offset;
len += offset;
// Using local variables makes the decoder about 12%
// faster than if we manipulate the member variables in
// the loop. (Even alphabet makes a measurable
// difference, which is somewhat surprising to me since
// the member variable is final.)
int state = this.state;
int value = this.value;
int op = 0;
final byte[] output = this.output;
final int[] alphabet = this.alphabet;
while (p < len) {
// Try the fast path: we're starting a new tuple and the
// next four bytes of the input stream are all data
// bytes. This corresponds to going through states
// 0-1-2-3-0. We expect to use this method for most of
// the data.
//
// If any of the next four bytes of input are non-data
// (whitespace, etc.), value will end up negative. (All
// the non-data values in decode are small negative
// numbers, so shifting any of them up and or'ing them
// together will result in a value with its top bit set.)
//
// You can remove this whole block and the output should
// be the same, just slower.
if (state == 0) {
while (p+4 <= len &&
(value = ((alphabet[input[p] & 0xff] << 18) |
(alphabet[input[p+1] & 0xff] << 12) |
(alphabet[input[p+2] & 0xff] << 6) |
(alphabet[input[p+3] & 0xff]))) >= 0) {
output[op+2] = (byte) value;
output[op+1] = (byte) (value >> 8);
output[op] = (byte) (value >> 16);
op += 3;
p += 4;
}
if (p >= len) break;
}
// The fast path isn't available -- either we've read a
// partial tuple, or the next four input bytes aren't all
// data, or whatever. Fall back to the slower state
// machine implementation.
int d = alphabet[input[p++] & 0xff];
switch (state) {
case 0:
if (d >= 0) {
value = d;
++state;
} else if (d != SKIP) {
this.state = 6;
return false;
}
break;
case 1:
if (d >= 0) {
value = (value << 6) | d;
++state;
} else if (d != SKIP) {
this.state = 6;
return false;
}
break;
case 2:
if (d >= 0) {
value = (value << 6) | d;
++state;
} else if (d == EQUALS) {
// Emit the last (partial) output tuple;
// expect exactly one more padding character.
output[op++] = (byte) (value >> 4);
state = 4;
} else if (d != SKIP) {
this.state = 6;
return false;
}
break;
case 3:
if (d >= 0) {
// Emit the output triple and return to state 0.
value = (value << 6) | d;
output[op+2] = (byte) value;
output[op+1] = (byte) (value >> 8);
output[op] = (byte) (value >> 16);
op += 3;
state = 0;
} else if (d == EQUALS) {
// Emit the last (partial) output tuple;
// expect no further data or padding characters.
output[op+1] = (byte) (value >> 2);
output[op] = (byte) (value >> 10);
op += 2;
state = 5;
} else if (d != SKIP) {
this.state = 6;
return false;
}
break;
case 4:
if (d == EQUALS) {
++state;
} else if (d != SKIP) {
this.state = 6;
return false;
}
break;
case 5:
if (d != SKIP) {
this.state = 6;
return false;
}
break;
}
}
if (!finish) {
// We're out of input, but a future call could provide
// more.
this.state = state;
this.value = value;
this.op = op;
return true;
}
// Done reading input. Now figure out where we are left in
// the state machine and finish up.
switch (state) {
case 0:
// Output length is a multiple of three. Fine.
break;
case 1:
// Read one extra input byte, which isn't enough to
// make another output byte. Illegal.
this.state = 6;
return false;
case 2:
// Read two extra input bytes, enough to emit 1 more
// output byte. Fine.
output[op++] = (byte) (value >> 4);
break;
case 3:
// Read three extra input bytes, enough to emit 2 more
// output bytes. Fine.
output[op++] = (byte) (value >> 10);
output[op++] = (byte) (value >> 2);
break;
case 4:
// Read one padding '=' when we expected 2. Illegal.
this.state = 6;
return false;
case 5:
// Read all the padding '='s we expected and no more.
// Fine.
break;
}
this.state = state;
this.op = op;
return true;
}
}
// --------------------------------------------------------
// encoding
// --------------------------------------------------------
/**
* Base64-encode the given data and return a newly allocated
* String with the result.
*
* @param input the data to encode
* @param flags controls certain features of the encoded output.
* Passing {@code DEFAULT} results in output that
* adheres to RFC 2045.
*/
public static String encodeToString(byte[] input, int flags) {
try {
return new String(encode(input, flags), "US-ASCII");
} catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
// US-ASCII is guaranteed to be available.
throw new AssertionError(e);
}
}
/**
* Base64-encode the given data and return a newly allocated
* String with the result.
*
* @param input the data to encode
* @param offset the position within the input array at which to
* start
* @param len the number of bytes of input to encode
* @param flags controls certain features of the encoded output.
* Passing {@code DEFAULT} results in output that
* adheres to RFC 2045.
*/
public static String encodeToString(byte[] input, int offset, int len, int flags) {
try {
return new String(encode(input, offset, len, flags), "US-ASCII");
} catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
// US-ASCII is guaranteed to be available.
throw new AssertionError(e);
}
}
/**
* Base64-encode the given data and return a newly allocated
* byte[] with the result.
*
* @param input the data to encode
* @param flags controls certain features of the encoded output.
* Passing {@code DEFAULT} results in output that
* adheres to RFC 2045.
*/
public static byte[] encode(byte[] input, int flags) {
return encode(input, 0, input.length, flags);
}
/**
* Base64-encode the given data and return a newly allocated
* byte[] with the result.
*
* @param input the data to encode
* @param offset the position within the input array at which to
* start
* @param len the number of bytes of input to encode
* @param flags controls certain features of the encoded output.
* Passing {@code DEFAULT} results in output that
* adheres to RFC 2045.
*/
public static byte[] encode(byte[] input, int offset, int len, int flags) {
Encoder encoder = new Encoder(flags, null);
// Compute the exact length of the array we will produce.
int output_len = len / 3 * 4;
// Account for the tail of the data and the padding bytes, if any.
if (encoder.do_padding) {
if (len % 3 > 0) {
output_len += 4;
}
} else {
switch (len % 3) {
case 0: break;
case 1: output_len += 2; break;
case 2: output_len += 3; break;
}
}
// Account for the newlines, if any.
if (encoder.do_newline && len > 0) {
output_len += (((len-1) / (3 * Encoder.LINE_GROUPS)) + 1) *
(encoder.do_cr ? 2 : 1);
}
encoder.output = new byte[output_len];
encoder.process(input, offset, len, true);
assert encoder.op == output_len;
return encoder.output;
}
/* package */ static class Encoder extends Coder {
/**
* Emit a new line every this many output tuples. Corresponds to
* a 76-character line length (the maximum allowable according to
* RFC 2045).
*/
public static final int LINE_GROUPS = 19;
/**
* Lookup table for turning Base64 alphabet positions (6 bits)
* into output bytes.
*/
private static final byte ENCODE[] = {
'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'F', 'G', 'H', 'I', 'J', 'K', 'L', 'M', 'N', 'O', 'P',
'Q', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'U', 'V', 'W', 'X', 'Y', 'Z', 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f',
'g', 'h', 'i', 'j', 'k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'o', 'p', 'q', 'r', 's', 't', 'u', 'v',
'w', 'x', 'y', 'z', '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9', '+', '/',
};
/**
* Lookup table for turning Base64 alphabet positions (6 bits)
* into output bytes.
*/
private static final byte ENCODE_WEBSAFE[] = {
'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'F', 'G', 'H', 'I', 'J', 'K', 'L', 'M', 'N', 'O', 'P',
'Q', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'U', 'V', 'W', 'X', 'Y', 'Z', 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f',
'g', 'h', 'i', 'j', 'k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'o', 'p', 'q', 'r', 's', 't', 'u', 'v',
'w', 'x', 'y', 'z', '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9', '-', '_',
};
final private byte[] tail;
/* package */ int tailLen;
private int count;
final public boolean do_padding;
final public boolean do_newline;
final public boolean do_cr;
final private byte[] alphabet;
public Encoder(int flags, byte[] output) {
this.output = output;
do_padding = (flags & NO_PADDING) == 0;
do_newline = (flags & NO_WRAP) == 0;
do_cr = (flags & CRLF) != 0;
alphabet = ((flags & URL_SAFE) == 0) ? ENCODE : ENCODE_WEBSAFE;
tail = new byte[2];
tailLen = 0;
count = do_newline ? LINE_GROUPS : -1;
}
/**
* @return an overestimate for the number of bytes {@code
* len} bytes could encode to.
*/
public int maxOutputSize(int len) {
return len * 8/5 + 10;
}
public boolean process(byte[] input, int offset, int len, boolean finish) {
// Using local variables makes the encoder about 9% faster.
final byte[] alphabet = this.alphabet;
final byte[] output = this.output;
int op = 0;
int count = this.count;
int p = offset;
len += offset;
int v = -1;
// First we need to concatenate the tail of the previous call
// with any input bytes available now and see if we can empty
// the tail.
switch (tailLen) {
case 0:
// There was no tail.
break;
case 1:
if (p+2 <= len) {
// A 1-byte tail with at least 2 bytes of
// input available now.
v = ((tail[0] & 0xff) << 16) |
((input[p++] & 0xff) << 
|
(input[p++] & 0xff);
tailLen = 0;
};
break;
case 2:
if (p+1 <= len) {
// A 2-byte tail with at least 1 byte of input.
v = ((tail[0] & 0xff) << 16) |
((tail[1] & 0xff) << |
(input[p++] & 0xff);
tailLen = 0;
}
break;
}
if (v != -1) {
output[op++] = alphabet[(v >> 18) & 0x3f];
output[op++] = alphabet[(v >> 12) & 0x3f];
output[op++] = alphabet[(v >> 6) & 0x3f];
output[op++] = alphabet[v & 0x3f];
if (--count == 0) {
if (do_cr) output[op++] = 'r';
output[op++] = 'n';
count = LINE_GROUPS;
}
}
// At this point either there is no tail, or there are fewer
// than 3 bytes of input available.
// The main loop, turning 3 input bytes into 4 output bytes on
// each iteration.
while (p+3 <= len) {
v = ((input[p] & 0xff) << 16) |
((input[p+1] & 0xff) << |
(input[p+2] & 0xff);
output[op] = alphabet[(v >> 18) & 0x3f];
output[op+1] = alphabet[(v >> 12) & 0x3f];
output[op+2] = alphabet[(v >> 6) & 0x3f];
output[op+3] = alphabet[v & 0x3f];
p += 3;
op += 4;
if (--count == 0) {
if (do_cr) output[op++] = 'r';
output[op++] = 'n';
count = LINE_GROUPS;
}
}
if (finish) {
// Finish up the tail of the input. Note that we need to
// consume any bytes in tail before any bytes
// remaining in input; there should be at most two bytes
// total.
if (p-tailLen == len-1) {
int t = 0;
v = ((tailLen > 0 ? tail[t++] : input[p++]) & 0xff) << 4;
tailLen -= t;
output[op++] = alphabet[(v >> 6) & 0x3f];
output[op++] = alphabet[v & 0x3f];
if (do_padding) {
output[op++] = '=';
output[op++] = '=';
}
if (do_newline) {
if (do_cr) output[op++] = 'r';
output[op++] = 'n';
}
} else if (p-tailLen == len-2) {
int t = 0;
v = (((tailLen > 1 ? tail[t++] : input[p++]) & 0xff) << 10) |
(((tailLen > 0 ? tail[t++] : input[p++]) & 0xff) << 2);
tailLen -= t;
output[op++] = alphabet[(v >> 12) & 0x3f];
output[op++] = alphabet[(v >> 6) & 0x3f];
output[op++] = alphabet[v & 0x3f];
if (do_padding) {
output[op++] = '=';
}
if (do_newline) {
if (do_cr) output[op++] = 'r';
output[op++] = 'n';
}
} else if (do_newline && op > 0 && count != LINE_GROUPS) {
if (do_cr) output[op++] = 'r';
output[op++] = 'n';
}
assert tailLen == 0;
assert p == len;
} else {
// Save the leftovers in tail to be consumed on the next
// call to encodeInternal.
if (p == len-1) {
tail[tailLen++] = input[p];
} else if (p == len-2) {
tail[tailLen++] = input[p];
tail[tailLen++] = input[p+1];
}
}
this.op = op;
this.count = count;
return true;
}
}
private Base64() { } // don't instantiate
}
