base64.b64decode() output differences: Python 2 vs Python 3

Question

I am trying to convert python3 code into python2 but output seems to be different.

The code in python2 is:

import base64
crypto = 'aGVsbG8=' #=hello
s = base64.b64decode(crypto)
print(s)

It prints what I want: Something like- Cs~as59 whatever

But for python3 the same script prints something like: b'\x45\x67\xe3'

Why am I getting different output for same input?

The output of b64decode is a sequence of bytes. In Python 2.x, that's exactly what a string was, so that's what was returned. But in Python 3, strings are now Unicode, so things that are explicitly composed of bytes use a separate bytestring type, indicated by the b prefix. Both of your outputs will be exactly the same data, just shown in two different representations. — jasonharper
– jasonharper, Commented Jul 23, 2020 at 14:41
@jasonharper how would i convert it to the python2 representation. because my script works with 2 but not 3. — Questions
– Questions, Commented Jul 23, 2020 at 15:07

Pappo · Accepted Answer · 2020-07-23 16:36:44Z

3

The output of the Base64 decode is now a bytestring, you can use the .decode() function to transform it into a normal string:

import base64
crypto = 'aGVsbG8=' #=hello
s = base64.b64decode(crypto)
print(s.decode("utf-8"))

This should now print the decoded string correctly.

answered Jul 23, 2020 at 16:36

Pappo

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1 Comment

tthe problem is it i dont think it is utf-8.... if i do utf-8 it gives an error, if i ignore error it discards some of the data