base64 file to a varibale (like stringstream )

[mathewfer]

Hi,

I use the below function to get the contents of text files to a string variable so that I can use them to build MIME file for emailing.

Now I have a ZIPPed file converted to base64 file which I want to get it to a variable/buffer so that I can build my MIME file.

My question;

Is there a way similar to the below function or modify below so that it take base64 encoded file as an input return a string etc.

As I understand base64 encoded file is like a text file but when I use the below function the return string variable is empty.

Any help/ideas are much appreciated.


// function to convert file to a string
string FileToString(string filename)
{

ifstream fileToString(filename.c_str());
stringstream NewFileString;
NewFileString << fileToString.rdbuf();

return(NewFileString.str());

}

Regards,

Mathew

[mathewfer]

Hi Guys,

Any help for the above?
And how to handle a base64 encoded file?

Thanks

Mathew

[Azagaros]

The situation is taking the base64 and encoding in base 16 for most of the character systems that are used in email. But I am assuming that a base64 number is multiple bytes in length and is stored in a binary format which I can break down byte by byte and could be encoded to MIME fairly easily. If I wanted to insert text it, I would just count the bytes going by in the Mime encoding and stop the process print what I needed to print or what ever I was doing, like breaking up across multiple emails.

The base64 file has to be encode as a base16 on the disk. So storing the file is just printing the bytes of the file to which ever subsystem I needed to which I am Assuming MIME takes a unsigned char* of some form to encode its info. unsigned char is the equivalent to a single byte of information the base of the byte is irrelevant except to what ever needs to translate it on the other end after decoding.

[mathewfer]

Hi Azagaros,

Thank you for the reply. It looks like opening in binary mode doesnot help either. What is interesting is that with a simple code to open this base64 file & write to another fie after reading with "getline" works in text mode.

Also Wikipedia says base64 is a way to represent a binary file as text so that it can be set va text only smtp.

BTW, I use "zip" & "OpenSSL enc -base64" to generate base64 file of a zipped file. If I use a simple bash script to build a mime file to email, it works.

I thought I can consider the contents of base64 file as text so that I can read in text mode & use stringstream to hold the full file etc.

Any more ideas are much appreciated.

Mathew