Here is an article on encoding and decoding Ethereum addresses using Base58 in C#:
Base58 Encoding and Decoding with C#: A Guide
Ethereum addresses are encoded using Base58, a character set designed for simplicity and readability. In this guide, we will learn how to base58 encode and decode an address in C#.
Understanding the Basics of Base58
Before we dive into the code, let’s understand the basics of Base58 encoding:
- The 4-character prefix (
0x...) indicates a special character.
- The remaining characters are encoded as follows:
+ “0” becomes “b”.
+ 1 becomes c
+ 2 becomes d
+ 3 becomes e
+ 5 becomes f
+ 6 becomes g
+ 7 becomes h
+ 8 becomes i
+ 9 becomes j
The remaining characters are divided into two categories:
- Alphabetic characters: These are encoded as letters (a-z, A-Z)
- Numeric characters: These are encoded as numbers (0 to 9)
Base58 Encoding in C#
Here is a basic implementation of Base58 encoding and decoding:
» guys
using system;
using System.Text;
public static class EthereumAddressEncoder
{
public static string EncodeAddress(AddressString)
{
// Normalize leading zeros
string normalizedAddress = NormalizeLeadingZeros(address);
// Convert to hex and remove spaces
byte[] bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(normalizedAddress);
string encodedAddress = BitConverter.ToString(bytes).Replace(« -« , « »);
return encoded address;
}
public static string DecodeAddress(string encodedAddress)
{
// Remove hyphens and split into prefix and body
string[] parts = encodedAddress.Split(‘-‘);
if (parts.Length != 2) throw new ArgumentException(« Invalid Base58 address »);
byte[] bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(parts[0]);
int bodyLength = BitConverter.ToInt32(parts[1], 0);
string decodedBody = BitConverter.ToString(bytes).Replace(« -« , « »);
string decodedAddress = $ »{parts[0].Substring(0, bodyLength)}:{decodedBody} »;
return decoded address;
}
private static string NormalizeLeadingZeros(string address)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (address char)
{
if (c == »)
{
sb.Add(‘ ‘);
}
else
{
sb.Add(c);
}
}
return sb.ToString();
}
}
Example Usage
Let's code an example Ethereum address:
" guys
string encodedAddress = EthereumAddressEncoder.EncodeAddress("0x1234567890abcdef");
Console.WriteLine($"EncodedAddress: {encodedAddress}");
And then decrypt it:
» guys
string decodedAddress = EthereumAddressEncoder.DecodeAddress(encodedAddress);
Console.WriteLine($ »DecodedAddress: {decodedAddress} »);
«
What does "normalize leading zeros" mean?
Using the NormalizeLeadingZeros method, we take a string as input and iterate over each character. If the character is a space (‘ ‘`), we simply append it to the result string as is. However, if the character is not a space (such as an uppercase letter or number), we append it to the result string.
This process effectively removes leading spaces from the input string, ensuring that our encoded address does not have any extra space characters before its body. This is especially useful when working with text data, as it can make the code easier to read and understand.