25 lines
1.3 KiB
Text
25 lines
1.3 KiB
Text
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An alternate base32 encoder (not RFC 3548 compliant).
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The rationale for base-32 encoding in RFC 3548 [1] is as written therein: "The
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Base 32 encoding is designed to represent arbitrary sequences of octets in a
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form that needs to be case insensitive but need not be humanly readable.".
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The rationale for our encoding is different -- it is to represent arbitrary
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sequences of octets in a form that is as convenient as possible for human
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users to manipulate. In particular, z-base-32 was created in order to serve
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the Mnet project [3], where 30-octet cryptographic values are encoded into
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URIs for humans to manipulate. Anticipated uses of these URIs include cut-
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and-paste, text editing (e.g. in HTML files), manual transcription via a
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keyboard, manual transcription via pen-and-paper, vocal transcription over
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phone or radio, etc.
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The desiderata for such an encoding are:
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* minimizing transcription errors -- e.g. the well-known problem of confusing
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`0' with `O'
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* embedding into other structures -- e.g. search engines, structured or
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marked-up text, file systems, command shells
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* brevity -- Shorter URLs are better than longer ones.
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* ergonomics -- Human users (especially non-technical ones) should find the
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URIs as easy and pleasant as possible. The uglier the URI looks, the worse.
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