Decode Base64 data in Java

Question

I have an image that is Base64 encoded. What is the best way to decode that in Java? Hopefully using only the libraries included with Sun Java 6.

Answer 1

No need to use commons--Sun ships a base64 encoder with Java. You can import it as such:

import sun.misc.BASE64Decoder;

And then use it like this:

BASE64Decoder decoder = new BASE64Decoder();
byte[] decodedBytes = decoder.decodeBuffer(encodedBytes);

Where encodedBytes is either a java.lang.String or a java.io.InputStream. Just beware that the sun.* classes are not "officially supported" by Sun.

EDIT: Who knew this would be the most controversial answer I'd ever post? I do know that sun.* packages are not supported or guaranteed to continue existing, and I do know about Commons and use it all the time. However, the poster asked for a class that that was "included with Sun Java 6," and that's what I was trying to answer. I agree that Commons is the best way to go in general.

EDIT 2: As amir75 points out below, Java 6+ ships with JAXB, which contains supported code to encode/decode Base64. Please see Jeremy Ross' answer below.